CAHK

Winners of the Geocaching Hunting Competition and CAHK Trophy

Hong Kong, China

Young people become involved

In the art contest, Nit Shun Hei won the first prize in the secondary school category

With the support of Hong Kong’s Office of the Telecommunication Authority, the Communications Association of Hong Kong (CAHK) organizes events to mark World Telecommunication and Information Society Day and raise public awareness of issues connected with information and communication technologies (ICT). The co-organizer of the celebrations in 2009 was the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups. Around 1800 teenagers, from more than 500 schools and colleges, took part in the activities, assisted by some 50 volunteers and with the involvement of more than 20 companies in Hong Kong.

Contests spread enthusiasm

On 16 May, celebrities, leading ICT companies, government officials, journalists, and over 200 students attended an event to launch the celebration and learn more about the future of ICT. A prize-giving ceremony was included for the winners of an art contest open to secondary school students and those at tertiary educational institutions. They had been asked to produce a four-panel cartoon to illustrate the theme of protecting children in cyberspace, and 672 entries were received from more than 50 schools. Famous artist, Ah Chung, was present to give in-depth advice to participants. The competition winners received travel coupons, sponsored by now.TV.

In the afternoon, a Geocaching Hunting Competition took place, in which teams of four students had to use location-based and wireless technologies to find five access points across Hong Kong and carry out tasks there within a time limit of three-and-a-half hours. A team leader stayed at a control centre and used a computer to find clues about the next point on the hunt, and then send the information to teammates via a mobile device. The computers were models from One Laptop per Child (OLPC), donated by CAHK.

The entertaining game was designed by Hong Kong Baptist University’s Research Centre for Ubiquitous Computing, while mobile devices were supplied by Nokia (HK) Limited and access to a mobile network and SIM cards were provided by Hutchison Telecommunications Hong Kong. Out of 40 teams in the contest, the fastest, winning team was from the secondary section of Kowloon Tong School, and each member received the latest model of a Nokia handset, sponsored by the company.
 

CAHK During the communications tour, students look at a model of developments at Hong Kong’s Cyberport

CAHK Students visit the Office of the Telecommunication Authority, Hong Kong

Another important highlight was the CAHK Trophy: ICT Quiz Competition, designed to encourage local students to equip themselves with knowledge and skills in ICT. With the support of TraxComm Ltd, about 400 questions were set in English and Chinese, focusing on ICT-related websites, including that of ITU. Each team had to answer 20 questions, and the winners (Queen Elizabeth School Old Student’s Association, Tong Kwok Wah Secondary School) received the trophy and the latest Sony Ericsson mobile phone handsets, donated by the company.

Communications tour

CAHK Leung Cheuk Yiu won the second prize for secondary school students

In an extension to the day’s activities, on 23 and 25 May a Communications Tour was arranged, with more than 900 students participating. Groups spent half a day at companies that opened up sites not normally accessible to the public. As well as the Office of the Telecommunications Authority, the firms involved included Cable TV Hong Kong, China Mobile Hong Kong Co Ltd, CSL Ltd, Hong Kong Communications Equipment Co Ltd, Hong Kong Cyberport Management Co Ltd, Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, Hutchison Telecommunications (Hong Kong) Ltd, PCCW Ltd, SmarTone-Vodafone, and TraxComm Ltd. To learn more about how communication technologies are applied in everyday tasks, the students could also visit major users of ICT: the Airport Authority Hong Kong, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd, and Hong Kong Jockey Club.

At each site, informative visits were arranged to such facilities as data centres, switching centres, and broadcasters’ newsrooms. A local developer of computer games demonstrated a new product that the students could try, while satellite operations and services were explained at REACH Stanley Satellite Earth Station. At some companies the visitors heard about working in ICT, and the event was a golden opportunity for the students to meet with top executives and discuss how they might pursue careers in these new and important technologies.