4th Greater Bay Area Culture and Arts Festival Launches with 260 Events Across Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao

2024-10-19 22:38 Last Updated At：10-20 00:08

4th Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Culture and Arts Festival opens today

The 4th Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Culture and Arts Festival opened today (October 19) at the Hong Kong Coliseum, kicking off over 260 events to be held in the "9+2" cities in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) from today until November 24. The Festival is presented by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), the People's Government of Guangdong Province and the Government of the Macao Special Administrative Region.

Click to Gallery

4th Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Culture and Arts Festival opens today Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

More Images

4th Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Culture and Arts Festival opens today Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

In a video speech addressing the opening ceremony, the Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, said that the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Culture and Arts Festival is an annual mega event for the arts and culture industry in the GBA. This year also marks the first time for Hong Kong to be the host city of the Festival, presenting audiences with the rich arts and cultural essence of GBA cities. He expressed gratitude to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism for its ongoing support to the arts and cultural exchanges and collaborations in the GBA, enriching the cultural soft power of the region. He is confident that this year's Festival can further promote cultural integration and talent exchanges among Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao and inject new creativity and vitality into arts and cultural development, while showcasing to the world the new landscape of a bay area for culture.

Mr Lee noted that with the support of the National 14th Five-Year Plan, Hong Kong is dedicated to developing into an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange, and has been steadfastly presenting rich and diverse arts and cultural mega events. Hong Kong will continue to leverage its unique advantages of enjoying strong national support while maintaining unparalleled connectivity with the world under the principle of "one country, two systems", thereby driving its cultural exchanges and co-operation with the Mainland and overseas countries, promoting Chinese culture, and telling the good stories of China on the global stage.

The Deputy Director General of the Department of Culture and Tourism of Guangdong Province, Ms Zhao Hong, gave her video speech at the ceremony. Officiating guests at today's opening ceremony included the Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Cheuk Wing-hing; the Deputy Director Generalof the Department of Publicity, Cultural and Sports Affairs of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Mr Li Shuguang; and the Vice President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau Macao Special Administrative Region, Mr Cheang Kai-Meng.

The opening programme of the 4th Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Culture and Arts Festival, "Sound River", featured a new work of the same name written by contemporary renowned Chinese composer and conductor Tan Dun. This concert is also one of the highlight events in celebrating the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. Under Tan's baton, the concert tonight featured the newly formed Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Culture and Arts Festival Orchestra, comprising over 100 members from the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra, and the Macao Orchestra, to perform the world premiere of "Sound River". Sixteen meticulously crafted short videos capturing the vanishing sounds, instruments and culture of the ancient cities along Tan's journey from Europe, through the Arab world to Central Asia, then to the GBA in the past 12 years, were screened during the performance. Through interweaving light, shadow and music, audience members were able to explore the past and future of the "Silk Road of sound". In addition, the concert featured the indigenous singer Wuyuntana and Mainland singer Zhou Shen, who delivered the concert's theme song, bringing the concert to a final climax. The brilliant performance won warm applause from the audiences at the end of the performance.

The concert was broadcast live on various radio, television and online platforms, including RTHK Radio 4 (FM97.6-98.9), RTHK TV32, Phoenix Hong Kong Channel (Channel 85), the Festival website (www.gbacxlo.gov.hk), the RTHK website (www.rthk.hk), Ifeng (www.ifeng.com) and Feng Show APP, allowing audiences around the world to enjoy the evening live performance online and offline at the same time.

This year's Festival, with the theme of "Integration in Diversity - Power and Possibilities", aims to showcase the vibrant and diverse cultural richness of the region and foster cultural exchanges and co-operation among the GBA cities. For detailed information about the rich programme line-up of the Festival, please visit www.gbacxlo.gov.hk.

Hospital Authority Wins Global Award for Innovative 3D Ultrasound Models Enhancing Healthcare Training

2024-10-20 10:00 Last Updated At：10:08

Hospital Authority commended for promoting healthcare technology

The followingisissued on behalfof theHospital Authority:

The Hospital Authority (HA) has been committed to promoting the development of healthcare technology to enhance patient experience and the quality of clinical services through innovative technologies. Recently, the research team at Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital (PYNEH), led by medical physicists Dr Carrison Tong and Mr Oliver Chan, was awarded the 2024 Global Innovation and Tech Excellence Award for Innovative E-Health Solutions Award (Public Sector) from the World Innovation, Technology and Services Alliance, often referred to as the "Oscar Award in the Information and Communications Industry", for their efforts in successfully developing a new technology for creating ultrasound-visible anatomical models with tactile reality.

With the maturation of 3D printing technology, the PYNEH team has been striving to develop anatomical models with tactile reality to be used by healthcare professionals during clinical training. Dr Tong said, "The model's surface offers tactile realism. When healthcare staff conduct puncture training with the equipment, the model closely simulates the sensation of human skin, muscles, organs and blood vessels. It is produced using actual Computed Tomography, Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Positron Emission Tomography data, together with AI-aided segmentation and 3D printing technology. Additionally, the model enables healthcare staff to visualise internal structures through ultrasound scanning."

Currently, the PYNEH utilises the models in clinical training across various specialties, including neurosurgery, surgery, medicine, accident and emergency, paediatrics, as well as intensive care unit. The hospital team custom-designed the models to meet the specific needs of healthcare staff, while keeping production costs low. Dr Tong said he believes that this innovative technology will benefit different specialties within the hospital, enhancing simulation training for healthcare professionals and continually improving patient safety.

In addition, the HA was recently awarded the highest maturity level, Stage 7, on the Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society. As the first healthcare organisation in Hong Kong to attain this achievement, it not only shows that the HA is internationally recognised in areas such as smart health and healthcare information management but also marks a remarkable milestone in its electronic medical records development.

The Head of Information Technology and Health Informatics of the HA, Dr Cheung Ngai-tseung, said, "This accomplishment across all 43 public hospitals and institutions of the HA underscores the HA's commitment to integrating advanced electronic medical records and analytics to enhance patient-centric services and operational efficiency."

The HA will continue to enhance digital capabilities through advancements in clinical management systems, smart hospital initiatives, workflow optimisation, and integration of data analytics and interoperability to drive improvements across clinical and operational domains.

4th Greater Bay Area Culture and Arts Festival Launches with 260 Events Across Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao

HK