Six distinguished individuals have been named Honorary Fellows by The Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd) for their remarkable accomplishments and contributions to the Institute, educational development and the betterment of society at large.

They are (in alphabetical order):

• 　　Mrs Chan-Chen Shu-an (陳陳淑安女士)
• 　　Dr Darwin Chen, SBS (陳達文博士)
• 　　Mr Ng Hak-kim, Eddie, SBS, JP (吳克儉先生)
•　　 Dr Ting Sun-pao, Joseph (丁新豹博士)
• 　　Sr Wong Yeuk-han, Cecilia (黃若嫻修女)
• 　　Mr Yuen Siu-fai, BH (阮兆輝先生)

The HKIEd’s Council Chairman Mr Pang Yiu-kai presided over the 2012 Honorary Fellowship Presentation Ceremony held at the Tai Po campus today, 29 March.

Addressing the ceremony, the HKIEd’s President Professor Anthony B. L. Cheung paid special tribute to the six recipients, saying that in their respective roles they had made lifelong contributions to education, human resource development, history and museum management, as well as arts and cultural development. He said, “They, together with other remarkable people, have helped advance Hong Kong into what it is today”.

Professor Cheung also said that the Institute and the education sector needed to rethink the definition of “knowledge”. “The 21st century is widely acknowledged to be a knowledge era – ‘knowledge’ not in terms of hard knowledge, but the ability to understand, to diagnose and to solve problems, to communicate, and to think and act out of the box”, he said. “We need, in a word, to nurture ‘wisdom’ among our young generation through education. Arts and culture, those ingredients thought to be critical to creativity, are also receiving more attention worldwide”, he added.

Professor Cheung stressed that the Institute is well advanced on its path to becoming Hong Kong’s University of Education, carrying with it a strong conviction in the transformative power of education. He said, “Through whole-person education and character formation, we help our students broaden their minds, establish a sense of justice, cherish moral values, and promote humanistic concern for the immediate community and the world.”

With its “Education-plus” aspiration, the Institute has progressively diversified its programmes in both Education and the complementary discipline areas of the Humanities, Social Sciences and Creative Arts and Culture.

Professor Cheung noted that “our programmes do not merely serve vocational and professional needs, but also help groom a new generation of social leaders who can be people-oriented and appreciate others – other talents and capacities, and other cultures and values”. 

Professor Cheung added that as Hong Kong aspires to consolidate itself as Asia’s World City and a regional education hub, it needs to go beyond being just a financial centre or commercial city; it should also embrace diversity and display soft power through respect for historical heritage, a rich arts and cultural scene, a vibrant civic society, the celebration of multiculturalism, and active citizenship with a sense of vision and purpose.

Appendix:
Speech by HKIEd President Professor Anthony B. L. Cheung
Citations of six Honorary Fellowship recipients
CVs of six Honorary Fellowship recipients