Some 2 800 Youth Ambassadors Against Internet Piracy (Youth Ambassador), "I Pledge" members and other guests today (December 29) participated in the "I Pledge‧Youth Ambassador Ocean Night" held at Ocean Park. The event was aimed at raising public awareness, especially among youngsters, of the importance of respect and protection of intellectual property rights (IPR).
The Director of Intellectual Property, Mr Peter Cheung, and the Acting Deputy Commissioner of Customs and Excise, Mr Tam Yiu-keung, officiated at the ceremony which was jointly organised by the Customs and Excise Department (C&ED) and the Intellectual Property Department (IPD).
Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Cheung said that the IPD was pleased to join hands with the C&ED again to organise "I Pledge‧Youth Ambassador Ocean Night" which was supported and participated by Youth Ambassadors and "I Pledge" members as well as their families and friends. The event brought together people and communities to promote respect for IPR.
Mr Tam said that the Youth Ambassador Against Internet Piracy scheme which was developed in 2006 had boosted the public respect for IPR in various sectors of the society. He added that the scheme helped nourish an environment suitable for both creativity and the continued development of creative industry in Hong Kong.
During the ceremony, the officiating guests presented three group prizes and 11 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 "IPR Protection Umbrella Design Competition" and "2012 MyGame Design Competition" to encourage their continued support to originality. Various local singer-songwriters gave performances and shared messages of IPR protection with participants at the ceremony.
"I Pledge" campaign was launched by the IPD in 1999, the campaign has attracted over 10 000 members who pledge not to buy or use pirated or counterfeit goods and to show respect for the IPR of others.
In the past years, "I Pledge" campaign has organised a variety of activities for members, such as concerts, film shows, free music downloads and live band shows to raise public awareness of respecting IPR.
The Youth Ambassador scheme was initiated by the C&ED in 2006 in collaboration with the IPR industry. The purpose of the scheme is to strengthen public awareness and foster respect for IPR.
As in previous year, the scheme organised a series of training and educational activities including a study tour to Guangdong and the "Promote Creativity, Respect Intellectual Property Right" film show. The scheme and "I Pledge" campaign also co-organised the "2012 MyGame Design Competition" and the "IPR Protection Umbrella Design Competition" etc.
Ends/Saturday, December 29 2012
