China National Arts Fund Selects 12 Hong Kong Projects for 2025 Funding, Celebrating Cultural Diversity and Exchange.

SCST congratulates 12 Hong Kong arts projects supported by China National Arts Fund

The Council of the China National Arts Fund recently announced the list of arts projects to be funded by the China National Arts Fund 2025. After assessment, the adjudication panel of the China National Arts Fund selected 818 projects out of 11 091 formal applications. Twelve Hong Kong arts projects were selected.

The Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Miss Rosanna Law, said, "I would like to express heartfelt thanks to our country for the support and recognition of Hong Kong’s arts and culture sectors, and congratulate the 12 Hong Kong arts projects supported by the China National Arts Fund. The projects selected in this exercise cover different genres and scales, manifesting Hong Kong’s thriving and diversified arts and culture ecology. We are deeply encouraged that some of the arts groups have continuously contributed to the development of high-quality arts, culture and creative industries, and are recognised by the China National Arts Fund again.”

The Hong Kong projects selected for 2025 cover areas such as large-scale productions, small-scale productions, visual arts creations, cultural exchange, training of arts talents, and youth in arts creation, which showcase the diverse arts and cultural achievements of Hong Kong.

Miss Law said, "The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government will continue to leverage our cultural characteristics which are rooted in Chinese culture and embracing Western culture to enhance international cultural exchanges and promote people-to-people bonds, further consolidating Hong Kong's position as an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange."

The China National Arts Fund was opened up for projects from Hong Kong and Macao in 2022. The HKSAR Government has announced various policy measures to support the awardees of the China National Arts Fund in Hong Kong in past Policy Addresses, as well as in the Blueprint for Arts and Culture and Creative Industries Development which was promulgated last month. Many Hong Kong arts projects have benefited so far. Those selected for 2025 will also benefit from the relevant measures, including providing funding to bring quality arts projects outside Hong Kong, as well as presenting them at the annual Chinese Culture Festival, and enabling the local public and international audience to understand the essence of Chinese culture in a more holistic and multifaceted manner, thereby promoting the inheritance and development of Chinese culture.

Green Tech Fund approves three projects in fourth round of applications

The Secretariat of the Green Tech Fund (GTF) said today (December 23) that a total of three projects have been approved in the fourth round of applications, involving a grant of around $14 million. Together with the first three rounds of applications, the GTF has so far approved 33 projects, involving a total grant of around $147 million.

About 125 applications were received in the fourth round of applications from December 2023 to March 2024. The three research and development (R&D) projects approved in this round of application cover promotion of new energy technology and turning waste into resources. They are:

New energy technology: Development of a waste-to-energy system utilising ultra-high-temperature gasification technology for converting different types of waste, including yard waste, municipal solid waste and construction waste, etc, into hydrogen; and

Turning waste into resources: Turning incineration ash into artificial aggregates to replace natural aggregates in construction projects, with a view to reducing carbon emissions arising from the disposal of incineration ashes and mining of natural aggregates; turning construction waste into self-healing concrete with biomineralisation enhancement technology for application in marine and coastal engineering for the purpose of reducing carbon emissions produced by the disposal of construction waste and production of concrete.

The list of the three approved R&D projects is in the Annex. Relevant details are published on the GTF webpage (www.gtf.gov.hk/en/project_information/approved_projects.html). These projects will help promote R&D as well as the application of green technologies in different areas, thereby expediting low-carbon transformation and helping Hong Kong strive toward carbon neutrality.

The GTF is open for the fifth round of applications from today to March 24, 2025. R&D projects that fall into four areas, namely net-zero electricity generation, energy saving and green buildings, green transport, and waste reduction will be accorded priority. The GTF welcomes applications from local public research institutions and R&D centres, as well as local private companies to develop low-carbon and green technologies that cater for the needs of Hong Kong's environment and market. The GTF Secretariat will hold a webinar at a later date to introduce the application procedures and priority themes of the GTF. Details about application for the GTF are available on the GTF website (www.gtf.gov.hk).