In an effort to raise public awareness of privacy issues, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data and the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups are jointly organizing a competition entitled "Privacy Protection in Action: TV Advertisement Competition". Open to students and young persons in Hong Kong, the competition requires them to produce a one-minute TV advertisement based on their understanding of privacy protection and how they see such protection may be manifested in real life. There are attractive prizes on offer (cash, computer, etc) and the winning entry may be broadcasted on local television accessible to millions of viewers.

 "Privacy is part of the social structure by which we mutually respect the privacy rights of others. This is a relatively new concept in our society and more work needs to be done to promote it as an aspect of acceptable social behaviour. Through a youth educational campaign, we hope to achieve the goal of cultivating and fostering a culture where people are encouraged to respect other person's privacy,"says the Privacy Commissioner, Mr Raymond Tang.

 The Executive Director of the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, Dr. Rosanna Wong says that, "Protection of personal data privacy is one of the pressing issues of the day.  We need to develop and instill a respect of other people's privacy.  The need is to educate young people particularly, so that they may grow up with strong ethical values which will result in a harmonious society."

 In reference to a recent poll conducted by the Federation on the issue of privacy, Dr. Wong acknowledged that the awareness of young people in protecting their own personal data had increased.  "This is a positive conclusion,"  she says, "but one that must be reinforced in relation to others.  Through ongoing educational campaigns and exciting initiatives like this Competition, we can look forward to developing public support for privacy protection."

The competition is open to all young people in Hong Kong between the ages of 12 to 34. Applicants may enter under either the "Secondary School Group" or the "Open Group"

To ensure that the competition serves to educate the younger generation, seminars and workshops will be held to help potential participants learn more about privacy protection and the process of producing a television commercial. 

The first seminar will be held at 10 am on Saturday 9, November 2002 at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre and will focus on personal data privacy and the various aspects of television advertisement production.  Film director Mr Lee Lik-chee and marketing expert Mr Daniel Kong will speak on creativity and production techniques.  Assistant Director, Information Services Department, Mr Joe Yiu will briefly introduce the government's role in producing Announcement of Public Interest.  Some instructive government television advertisements will also be shown.

The competition is divided into two stages.  At the first stage, youths are invited to submit a proposal to outline the concept and production plan. A total of 30 outstanding proposals will be selected and the contestants will then be required to produce the advertisement.

A series of production workshops will be conducted by a group of professional consultants, including Dr. Stephen Sze, Principal Lecturer, General Education Centre, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University; May Fung, Hong Kong Arts Development Council Member, Film and Media Arts ;Mr.K C Tsang, Creator, Chan Tsang Wong Chu Mee Advertising Firm; Mr. Walter Chan Kar-lok, BBS, JP, Council Member, The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups; and Mr. George Chang, Assistant Professor, Department of Cinema and Television, School of Communication, Hong Kong Baptist University. Contestants will be able to gain first-hand practical experience from these renowned experts.

The adjudication will take place in May 2003. The distinguished panel of judges is comprised of film director Mr. Stanley Tong, Legislator the Hon. Audrey Eu, SC, JP, barrister Mr. Alan Leong, S.C, and Registrar of the Hong Kong Institute of Education,Dr. Cheung Wing-ming.

End