The activity "I Pledge‧YAS Ambassador of the Year 2013 Award Presentation Ceremony cum Drama Performance", jointly organised by the Customs and Excise Department (C&ED) and Intellectual Property Department (IPD), was held today (December 21). Some 200 Youth Ambassadors participated in the event which aimed at raising public awareness, especially among youngsters, of the importance of respect and protection of intellectual property rights (IPR).
Officiating at the ceremony, the Commissioner of Customs and Excise, Mr Clement Cheung, said that under the YAS (Youth Ambassador Against Internet Piracy) Scheme, the C&ED had recruited a total of 13 local youth uniform organisations from 2006 to form a strong alliance which greatly helped in the prevention of illegal file-sharing activities on the Internet.
Mr Cheung said that two theme programmes, the Drama Competition cum Workshop and Photo Contest, held this year under the Scheme aimed at educating the teenagers to understand the importance of IPR protection through the process of creating their own works.
The Director of Intellectual Property, Mr Peter Cheung, said at the ceremony that IPD is committed to promoting awareness of intellectual property rights protection and organised the Drama Competition cum Workshop with the C&ED to provide young people with the opportunity to demonstrate their creativity and to enhance their respect for original works and IPR.
At the ceremony, the officiating guests presented three group prizes and 13 individual prizes under the Youth Ambassador scheme to the youth uniformed groups and their members respectively to commend their active participation in the scheme and their outstanding performances in promoting IPR protection during the year. In addition, prizes were presented to the winners of the Drama Competition and Photo Contest to encourage their continued support to originality.
"I Pledge" campaign was launched by the IPD in 1999 and has attracted over 10 000 members who pledge not to buy or use pirated or counterfeit goods and to show respect for IPR on the Internet. A variety of activities have been organised for members in the past years, such as live band shows, film shows, and comic and design creative competitions.
The YAS Scheme was initiated by the C&ED in 2006 in collaboration with the IPR industry with an aim to strengthen public awareness and foster respect for IPR. This year, a series of training and educational activities were organised, including a study tour, a Creativity Film Show, the Drama Competition cum Workshop and Photo Contest.
Ends/Saturday, December 21 2013
