(04 July 2014, Hong Kong) –Swire Properties’ Community Ambassador Programme today launched the “Stories from Island East”exhibition at TaiKoo Place in Quarry Bay. Combining text, historic images and personal mementoes, the one-month exhibition showcases the new publication Stories from Island East, which documents the memories of 15 elderly residents living in the Island East district and reflects the historical changes in Hong Kong since the mid-20th century.
Davy Ho, Swire Properties’ Executive Director, today opened the exhibition with a special ceremony. The event was attended by Silas Poon, Director (Elderly & Movement) of Hong Kong Young Women’s Christian Association (HKYMCA), representatives of the two supporting organisations Tai Koo Primary School and The Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs Association of Hong Kong, as well as the participating elderly and volunteers.
“Island East holds a very special place for us, as it marks the beginning of our company’s business activity in Hong Kong,” said Mr Ho in his opening speech. “We are very proud of our Community Ambassadors for devoting their time and efforts to putting together this book and exhibition. This project has not only helped record important changes that have taken place in this district’s history, but has also offered the opportunity for everyone involved to form new friendships across different generations, allowing the stories of Island East to be passed on to new generations.”
Swire Properties’ Executive Director Davy Ho spoke at the opening ceremony of “Stories from Island East” exhibition
Mr Poon said: “It has been our pleasure to work with Swire Properties’ Community Ambassadors since 2009 to promote community inclusion projects, so as to offer help to the less fortunate members of our community. Through different kinds of cooperation and partnerships, we observe the pulse of the community, address the needs of elderly and promote the spirit of mutual help in our neighborhoods.”
This project is made possible by the joint efforts of an inter-generational volunteer team comprising volunteers from Swire Properties’ Community Ambassador Programme, HKYWCA Ming Yue District Elderly Community Centre and students from Tai Koo Primary School and The Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs Association of Hong Kong. The volunteer team dedicated their time to conducting home visits and interviews with the residents and compiling their oral histories into this book.
Starting today till 26 July, the “Stories from Island East” exhibition is open to the public every day between 9 am and 8 pm at Linkbridge, Lincoln House in TaiKoo Place. Visitors to the exhibition can pick up the publicationStories from Island Eastfor free at the venue.