The "I Pledge·YAS Ambassador of the Year 2014 Award Presentation Ceremony" was held at the Customs Headquarters Building today (December 20). The activity, jointly organised by the Customs and Excise Department (C&ED) and Intellectual Property Department (IPD) in the past nine years, brought about a higher public awareness of respect and protection of intellectual property rights (IPR), and set up role models for young people to fight against infringement.
The ceremony was officiated by the Commissioner of Customs and Excise, Mr Clement Cheung; Acting Director of Intellectual Property, Miss SK Lee; and Legislative Councillor, Mr Charles Mok. Some 250 Youth Ambassadors, members of the Intellectual Property Right Protection Alliance and "I Pledge" members participated in this activity.
At the ceremony, Mr Cheung said that all social engineering projects were founded with public support. Putting an end to IPR infringement relies on both law enforcement and public support. Since the launch of the Youth Ambassador Scheme (YAS) in 2006, C&ED had recruited 13 local youth uniform organisations (YUGs) with over 250 000 young people participating in it in the past nine years. Mr Cheung expressed his gratefulness for the unfailing support from the intellectual property industry and the 13 YUGs in making the Scheme a success. In view of the challenges of internet infringement, C&ED is prepared to launch a new Lineament System in 2015 to further tackle infringing activities on the social platform.
Miss SK Lee said that IPD was committed to raising public awareness of IPR protection and organising different creative activities in collaboration with the C&ED, intellectual property industry and youth organisations, such that youngsters would be provided with diverse opportunities for creation to enhance their interest and respect for original works and IPR through understanding, learning and application.
The officiating guests presented three group prizes and 13 individual prizes under the Scheme to the YUGs and their members to commend their active participation during the year. In addition, prizes were presented to winners of a Photo Contest and a Short Video Shooting Competition for encouraging their continued support to originality. Besides, messages of IPR protection were shared among participants through singing and magic performances at the ceremony.
"I Pledge" Campaign was launched by the IPD in 1999 and has attracted over 10 000 members who pledged not to buy or use pirated or counterfeit goods and to show respect for IPR on the internet. A variety of activities was organised for members in the past years, such as comic and design competition, live band shows and film shows.
The YAS was initiated by the C&ED in 2006 in collaboration with the IPR industry. The Scheme aims to strengthen public awareness and foster respect for IPR. This year, the Scheme organised a series of training and educational activities including a photography workshop, a photo contest and a visit to the Customs and Excise Training School. The Scheme also joined hands with the "I Pledge" Campaign in organising a film show, a short video shooting workshop, a filming tour to Foshan and a "2014 Piracy and Malware Liberal Studies Independent Enquiry Study Competition".
Ends/Saturday, December 20, 2014
