Hong Kong boasts a vibrant cultural legacy and is home to numerous internationally-recognized artists. Many have garnered international accolades in their fields of expertise; these talented individuals continue to contribute their skillsets towards enriching Hong Kong’s diverse culture, setting an excellent example of determination’s power in propelling people forward to success. With world-class art and music flourishing across Hong Kong’s landscape, no wonder so many have received accolades over recent years!

The Hong Kong Student Prize is open to secondary school students living within Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR). In order to participate, teachers need to nominate them online before submitting artworks which will then be reviewed by a panel of judges; winners will receive both cash prizes of HK$8,000 and school grants totalling HK$20 000.

At this ceremony, prize winners were not the only highlight: it also featured an exciting Fireside Chat moderated by Mr Adriel CHAN, Vice Chairman of Hang Lung Properties. Dr Owen H KO (2004 winner and Assistant Dean of Research of Faculty of Medicine of Chinese University of Hong Kong), as well as Ms Ewina PUN (2012 winner and doctoral candidate at Brown University) were speakers during this engaging discussion.

Since its creation, the Hong Kong Film Awards has awarded more than 80 prizes to more than 300 outstanding films since their introduction. An independent panel of industry professionals and film critics have conducted the judging process while an elected board of directors comprising representatives from thirteen professional film bodies in Hong Kong oversees operations of this festival.

Award-winning films will be showcased this year at the highly esteemed Asian Film Festival (HKFA) in Tokyo, Japan. As one of Asia’s premier film festivals, HKFA provides an invaluable platform for local and regional film promotion while becoming an annual favourite event among moviegoers in its region.

Since 1993, the Hong Kong Film Awards has been an annual festival that honors excellence in Asian cinema. One of the region’s most sought-after prizes, it attracts some of the world’s premier filmmakers as attendees. Over time, this awards program has gained an international reputation for excellence; becoming one of the most comprehensive film awards programs available in Asia.

HKFA has been recognized as the world’s best film festival three consecutive years and remains a premier event on the international film scene. This year alone, over 11,000 entries came in from 59 countries and territories – an all-time record! Judging will take place between January and March with results expected in May; over this nine-year span, over 300 trophies have been given out; one being designed this year by French artist Philippe Mounier himself!

SGP Pools, a state-owned company operating lottery and sports betting services, is regulated by the Gaming Regulatory Authority (GRA), who took over from previous regulators like Casino Regulatory Authority, Gambling Regulatory Unit of Ministry of Home Affairs, Singapore Totalisator Board in August this year. SGP Pools’ surplus funds go towards various community initiatives. It operates under Tote Board which in turn reports back its surplus for distribution. It channels profits back through to community initiatives.

Singapore Pools offers an assortment of products, such as Toto, 4D and Singapore Sweep. In addition, sports and horse racing betting is offered. In terms of IT strategy, Singapore Pools’ primary aim is digitalisation to enable an agile business structure.

Singapore Pools was challenged with quickly and efficiently introducing new services and systems in response to the pandemic, including an online lottery platform which enabled customers to purchase tickets for Toto draws as well as other products over the internet. Furthermore, customer service capacities needed to meet increased product demands had to be expanded in order to remain efficient.

PoolzConnect was instrumental in this achievement; an IP-based telephone system that allowed players to place bets by calling a specific number, then transferred winnings directly into predefined and approved bank accounts – ensuring players could easily withdraw winnings without worrying about being defrauded by unscrupulous operators.

SGP pools ensures its customers’ safety by conducting regular water testing. Evaporation issues caused by leaks in the pool structure or cracks around fittings are tested for; as are bacteria found in human faeces and urine samples. SGP pools uses these tests’ results to quickly identify and address any potential problems within its customer pool.

SGP Pools has also made the shift from gambling organization to “Company for Good.” In 2018, SGP established iShine Cloud, an affordable cloud-based IT platform offering affordable solutions that help charities improve their productivity, governance, and serve more beneficiaries.

Singapore Pools’ efforts in using their IT resources for charitable causes is an inspiring example, and we hope more organizations follow suit. COVID-19 has increased the pace of change within many organisations, so we expect many others to utilize IT capabilities in positive ways to make an impactful contribution to their local communities. We look forward to working alongside more organisations like Singapore Pools to meet their business objectives in the near future – thank you.