CCO holds “Retaining the Past” photo and video competition awards presentation ceremony (with photos)
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Organised by the Countryside Conservation Office (CCO) under the Environmental Protection Department (EPD), the awards presentation ceremony of the “Retaining the Past” photo and video competition was held today (August 20) at Central Market to commend the winners who presented the beauty of countryside through lens.
The CCO, established in 2018, spares no effort to co-operate with non-profit-making organisations, villagers and members of the public in conserving priority sites such as Lai Chi Wo and Sha Lo Tung through exploring strategies and action plans suitable for countryside conservation in Hong Kong, with a view to protecting and revitalising the ecological and living environment of the countryside. It also put forward conservation and revitalisation works in remote countryside by providing financial support to non-profit-making organisations through the Countryside Conservation Funding Scheme.
The CCO earlier launched the “Back to Our Countryside” campaign with a photo and video competition titled “Retaining the Past” to encourage people to visit the rural areas. An online guided tour, with the theme “Visible Now”, was held subsequently which enabled participants visit Lai Chi Wo, Sha Lo Tung, Sham Chung and Kuk Po online under the guidance of experienced tour professionals to explore the visible natural ecological environment. It is followed by the “Future Captured” exhibition which is being held at Central Market. Members of public can learn about the past, present and future of Hong Kong’s remote countryside through the three events, experience the warmth of village life and appreciate nature.
The “Retaining the Past” photo and video competition received an overwhelming response with nearly 700 submissions, many of which were high-quality entries. The champion entry in Photography (Open Category) captured a fisherman at a fish pond in Tai Sang Wai, Yuen Long, under a sunset sky filled with colours – an immersive scene that can seem like a magnificent painting to viewers. As for the champion entry of the Video Section (Open Category) titled “The golden time of Long Valley”, it documented how animals and migratory birds forage for food in the countryside and breed in the city and the rural areas, demonstrating the connections between the city and the Ramsar Site and at the same time presenting the beauty of Long Valley.
Guests attending today’s ceremony included the Deputy Director of Environmental Protection, Mr Raymond Wu; the Acting Assistant Director (Nature Conservation) of the EPD, Dr Sally Lee; the Head of CCO, Professor Stephen Tang; and members of the judging panel of the competition, namely Candy Chea, Victor Wong, So Wa-wai and Paul Chan. The Back to Our Countryside campaign is one of the celebration activities for the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
Winning entries are being displayed at the “Future Captured” exhibition, which is running until August 22 at Central Market. For details, please visit the designated website at www.backtoourcountryside.hk.