Press Releases
$6 million approved for 42 projects to promote healthy ageing
The following is issued on behalf of the Elderly Commission:
About $6 million have been allocated to 42 projects under the Elderly Commission's Community Partnership Scheme to encourage the participation of the community in the promotion of healthy ageing.
Announcing the results at a presentation ceremony today (December 11), Chairman of the Community Partnership Committee under the Elderly Commission, Mr Wan Man-yee, said the scheme received over 230 applications in the first round of bids for funding support.
The approved projects cover a wide range of topics, ranging from district health promotional activities for the elders such as health talks, educational classes, senior volunteer programmes and health ambassadors; to thematic activities, including bird watching, sex education for elders, smoking cessation programmes, gardening, promotion of the use of the Internet among the elders.
Mr Wan said, "These projects will be organised by non-governmental organisations in the health and welfare sectors, district organisations, tertiary institutions and interests bodies. An independent evaluation mechanism will also be set up to assess the effectiveness of individual projects."
The Community Partnership Committee is making preparations for the second round of funding allocation under the Scheme, he added.
The Community Partnership Scheme, made possible with a donation of $21 million from the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, is one of the initiatives by the Elderly Commission under its Healthy Ageing Campaign to widely involve the community in its efforts to promote the physical and psychosocial well-being of older persons through advocating a cultural change in society's perception of health and ageing.
Also present at today's presentation ceremony was Chairman of the Elderly Commission, Tam Yiu-chung. He said that the three-year Healthy Ageing Campaign aims to promote healthy ageing according to four major strategic directions: promote personal responsibility, strengthen community action, create supportive environment, and improve image of ageing. Through the programmes and projects supported under the Community Partnership Scheme, the Elderly Commission hopes to rally multi-sectoral participation and strengthen community action in the promotion of healthy ageing, and to obtain positive feedback which can be used to fine tune its future strategies.
The Elderly Commission has also produced a manual for distribution to various organizations to explain the concept of healthy ageing, and to promote healthy ageing in their respective sectors. In addition, a Healthy Ageing Resource Centre has been set up on the Internet at www.healthyageing.gov.hk to provide information on healthy ageing and hyper-linkage to relevant web sites promoting healthy ageing.
END/Tuesday, December 11, 2001