News

This year, the Institute for Tourism Studies launched its entrepreneurship course for all of its bachelor degree programme students, namely Culinary Arts Management, Heritage Management, Hotel Management, Tourism Business Management, Tourism Event Management and Tourism Retail and Marketing Management, aiming to stimulate IFT undergraduates’ innovation and graduate entrepreneurship. With the fast changing consumer demands and expectations, entrepreneurial thinking and behaviour are critical to meet the fast rapidly changing needs of the consumers and sustain the competitiveness of each firm. Entrepreneurs as a role to play a key role in stimulating tourism development, developing existing and create new markets, pushing for competitive behaviour that will lead to value creation and innovation. It is hoped that this will stimulate the diversification of our local economy as well as develop innovation. The course leader Dr. Fernando Lourenço brought the course design which he developed in the UK to IFT and is very pleased to expand the career perspectives of students and to put theory into practice for students. IFT would like to thank the following entrepreneurs who shared their valuable experiences with students during the course: 2Legit Barbershop, 615 Interior Design, August Penco, Elvis Wong, GREENS Kitchen & Juicery, Hey Design, JC Makeup Workshop, La Bistro de Marcelino,Lemon Lemon Cafe, LinaLenço Dessert, Love Avenue No.9 Ltd, Macau Courseday, Midnight Predatory, MUGS, The Black Sheep, The Darling Buds of May, Vasion.c, 澳門興趣班, 寵物俱樂部 and 梅蘭竹菊.
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In celebration of the 16th anniversary of Macao’s handover to China and the 10th Anniversary of the inscription of “The Historic Centre of Macao” on World Heritage List, the “Parade through Macao, Latin City” was held on Sunday, 6 December, with “Fantastic VIVA Treasure Hunt Adventure” as theme and “An Annual Celebration for the Entire City - VIVA” as motto again. VIVA led the public into a fantastic adventure, uncovering mysterious treasures and promoting the ideals of “Peace, Love and Cultural Integration”, celebrating the handover together. It attracted over 1,000,000 audience including those who presented at the parade, those who watched the live broadcast from television and those who watched from outdoor screens at various locations. The opening ceremony of “Parade through Macao, Latin City” was attended by the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of the Macao S.A. R. Government, Alexis Tam Chon Weng; Deputy Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macao S.A.R., Sun Da; Deputy Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in the Macao S.A.R., Cai Siping; Consul General of the Republic of Cuba in Guangzhou, Isabel Esperanza Perez Suarez; Consul General of Peru in Hong Kong and Macao, Sergio Manuel Avila Traverso; Representative of the Consul General of Portugal in Macao and Hong Kong, Liliana Inverno; Consul of Mexico in Hong Kong, Beatriz Eugenia Nava Dominguez; Vice Consul of the Republic of Ecuador in Guangzhou, Carlos Francisco Lopez Arguello and the President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao S.A.R. Government, Ung Vai Meng. Set off from the Ruins of St. Paul's on a fantastic adventure This year the Parade developed as a treasure hunt . VIVA led the bravest citizens of Macao and abroad and followed the clues provided in a treasure map to uncover its secrets and conquer a mysterious energy. The Parade included new decorations and creative characters in three secret areas designed by three young local illustrators, Fok Hoi Seng, Un Chi Wai and Lam Ieong Kun, presenting a new surge of creativity and increasing the public’s engagement. The Parade’s opening ceremony was held at 4pm at the Largo da Companhia de Jesus. The guests activated the fantastic “Intrepid” ship to start the journey. In the meantime, several participants in “Macao Galaxy Entertainment International Marathon” also attended in the opening ceremony and witnessed the activation of “Party Gathering”. After that, performing groups from Latin-speaking countries and other countries and region, together with local talents, began an extraordinary treasure hunt journey. Nearly 60 performing groups participated in the Parade this year, in which 43 local performing groups joined, with a total of around 1,500 participants. Local performing groups featured Cantonese opera, mime, theatre, magic, music, martial arts, folk and oriental dances. The foreign performing groups included the French group Plasticiens Volants, French troupe Herbert’s Dream, Caretos de Podence from Portugal, the Luyi Folk Arts Group from Henan Province, Reyog Moncar Manggala Surakarta from Indonesia, Hong Kong Vigour Marching Band, the traditional Aztec dance brought by Mexican troupe Danza Azteca, the colourful and rich creole culture by the Caribbean Carnival Group from Guadeloupe, the sacred dragon from Hong Kong’s Art Home puppet workshop and performances by the street mime workshop “Black and White Journey” and oversea Chinese national performing groups, allowing the public to fully participate in this festive occasion and creating a joyful atmosphere in streets and alleys. At Rua de D. Belchior Carneiro and Rua de Sanches de Miranda “face painting workshops” were set up for the public to get their faces painted, thereby contributing to an even greater festive atmosphere. The performing groups began at the Ruins of St. Paul's and proceeded to Rua de S. Paulo, Travessa da Paixão, Largo de Santo António, Rua de D. Belchior Carneiro, Rua dos Artilheiros, Rua de Sanches de Miranda, Calçada da Igreja de S. Lázaro, Santa Casa da Misericórdia Albergue, Rua de São Roque, Rua Nova de São Lázaro, St. Lazarus Square, Rua do Volong, Rua do Tap Siac, Rua de Afonso de Albuquerque, and arrived at its final destination, Tap Seac Square, at 5:30pm to have the “Handover Celebration”. This year, the organizer set up two seating areas at Tap Seac Square so that the public could watch the performances clearly and comfortably. In the “Handover Celebration”, each performing group presented the performance one by one. French troupe Herbert’s Dream presents uncommon marvellous show on stilts whereby five enormous and four-metre high stilt artists participate in a mysterious ceremony held under hypnotising music, mutating into human light bulbs and creating a magical atmosphere. Besides, the audience were even more excited when it came with the colourful light show effect. The French group Plasticiens Volants brought giant balloon performance themed as kid’s dream. The story was originated from the classic American comic strip Little Nemo in Slumberland, with giant balloons built up the dream scene. This dream scene was brought to the sky over Tap Seac Square. Live broadcast of excerpts of the Parade and related activities Excerpts of the event were broadcasted on Hong Kong TV channels, thereby increasing reputation of the Parade. TDM, Teledifusão de Macau S.A., broadcasted the entire event live and outdoor screens were installed at several locations – Senado Square, Rotunda de Carlos da Maia, Areia Preta Garden and Rua de D. Belchior Carneiro. The popular Hong Kong TVB programme ‘Scoop’ will feature a foretaste of the event on 14 December, as well as a Parade Special Programme dedicated to the event’s highlights, to be broadcast on 15 December. The Parade has featured a series of related activities, including the contest “Find the Treasure and be Eligible to Win Plane Tickets” in WeChat, which had over 6,000 people actively participated. This year’s Parade was particularly organised on the same day with “Macao Galaxy Entertainment International Marathon”, with the opening ceremony of “Macao Light Festival - Journey of Lights” at night. The governmental departments from culture, sports and tourism areas cooperated in order to develop a synergistic effect more positively, bringing local specialised events’ celebration activities. The Parade was organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau and co-organized by the Macao Government Tourist Office, the Macao Sport Development Board, the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau, the Public Security Police Force, the Transport Bureau, the Fire Services Bureau, the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau of Macao and the Macao Association for the Promotion of Exchange between Asia-Pacific and Latin America. The Cultural Affairs Bureau also received the support of the Macao General Union of Neighbourhood Associations, the Macao Sam Pa Mun Residents Mutual Aid Association, the Macao Soi Ho Cheok Residents Mutual Aid Association, as well as VIVA Ambassadors' supporters, namely the Bank of China Macau Branch Volunteers Association, the Macau Flying Eagles Association, the Macao Community Youth Volunteers Development Association, General Volunteers Association of Macao, the Scout Association of Macau, and the Association of Volunteers Social Service Macao. In addition, this edition was also fully supported by Air Macau Co, Ltd. In addition, TDM - Teledifusão de Macau S.A. served as designated television broadcaster.
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The “Parade through Macao, Latin City”, organised by the Cultural Affairs Bureau in celebration of the 16th anniversary of Macao’s handover to China and the 10th anniversary of Macao as World Heritage, will be held on Sunday, 6 December. In order to make public resided along the Parade route familiar with the arrangements and the activities, the organiser dispatched personnel to deliver flyers close by the community on 3 December, in order to promote and introduce the event, enthusiastically received by residents. The team shifted in small groups and visited the public resided along the Parade route and shops, including students and elderly in community, to explain the Parade information, route maps and traffic arrangements for the event. This year, the Parade will gather nearly 1,500 local and foreign performers who will embark on a fantastic treasure hunt adventure, building a cultural exchange platform and an incentive for artistic creativity. The Parade includes remarkable performances by French troupe Herbert’s Dream, which will present an uncommon show on stilts in which five enormous four-metre high stilt artists participate in a mysterious ceremony held under hypnotising music, mutating into human light bulbs and creating a magical atmosphere; huge balloons and giant puppets by French group Plasticiens Volants; traditional solo dance by Indonesian group Reyog Moncar Manggala Surakarta; traditional Aztec dance by Mexican troupe Danza Azteca; and also performances by the Luyi Folk Arts Group, hailing from Henan Province, among others. This year, local illustrators Eric Fok Hoi Seng, Un Chi Wai and Lam Ieong Kun were invited to create three-dimensional sculptures and interesting characters along the Parade route, from the Ruins of St. Paul’s to Rua de Dom Belchior Carneiro, Travessa da Paixão and the Cinematheque ． Passion, Largo de Santo António, Calçada da Igreja de S. Lázaro and Tap Seac Square, among other places, where treasure chests will also be found. Residents can scan the QR Codes affixed to the treasure chests and participate in an interactive game using their mobile phones, standing a chance to win excellent prizes. A “Face Painting Workshop” will also be set up at Rua de Sanches de Miranda and Rua de Dom Belchior Carneiro, where professionals will offer participants colourful face painting, allowing them to fully immerse themselves in this day’s festive atmosphere. The organiser will provide a live broadcast of the Parade on TDM Macau and TDM HD TV channels from 4:00pm to 7:00pm, which will also be available on large screens located in Senado Square, Rotunda de Carlos da Maia, Areia Preta Garden and Rua de D. Belchior Carneiro. A Parade Special Programme will be broadcasted on 15 December at 7:00pm on the Hong Kong TVB Jade Channel for audiences to review the best moments of the Parade. For more information, please log on to the Parade website: www.icm.gov.mo/macaoparade.
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For the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12 June, Consumer Council conducted its specific price surveys on oral care products and milk powder on 4 December. Results of the mentioned surveys have been uploaded to the Council’s website (www.consumer.gov.mo) and are available in the Council’s ‘Supermarket Price Information Platform’ iPhone and Android apps. For inquiry, please call the Council’s hotline: 8988 9315.
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According to statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, broad money supply retreated in October. As total deposits decreased at a slightly faster pace than total loans, the overall loan-to-deposit ratio of the banking sector grew marginally from a month earlier. Money supply Currency in circulation and demand deposits grew 1.7% and 3.3% respectively. M1 thus increased 3.0% from one month earlier. Concurrently, quasi-monetary liabilities dropped 1.4%. The sum of these two items, i.e. M2, decreased 0.9% to MOP478.1 billion. On an annual basis, M1 and M2 dropped 2.5% and 2.4% respectively. The share of Pataca (MOP) in M2 stood at 29.2%, up 0.7 percentage points from a month ago or 3.8 percentage points from a year earlier. The share of Hong Kong Dollar (HKD) in M2 was 50.7%, up 1.5 percentage points month-to-month or 1.3 percentage points year-on-year. The share of Chinese Yuan (CNY) was 7.7%, down 1.5 percentage points month-to-month or 8.0 percentage points year-on-year. The share of United States Dollar (USD) was 10.2%, down 0.7 percentage points month-to-month but up 2.8 percentage points year-on-year. Deposits Resident deposits decreased 1.0% from the preceding month to MOP466.1 billion. Of which, MOP, HKD and other foreign currency deposits increased at respective rates of 1.5%, 2.1% and 1.0%. CNY and USD deposits decreased 17.2% and 7.4% respectively. Non-resident deposits rose 1.5% to MOP273.9 billion. Public sector deposits with the banking sector decreased 3.0% to MOP123.1 billion. As a result, total deposits with the banking sector dropped 0.5% from a month earlier to MOP863.2 billion. The shares of MOP, HKD, CNY and USD in total deposits were 19.6%, 41.7%, 10.6% and 24.7% respectively. Loans Domestic loans to the private sector decreased 0.4% from a month ago to MOP388.8 billion. Among which, MOP105.6 billion was MOP-denominated, MOP254.6 billion was denominated in HKD, MOP3.3 billion was denominated in CNY and MOP22.9 billion was denominated in USD, representing 27.2%, 65.5%, 0.8% and 5.9% of the total respectively. On the other hand, external loans dropped 0.3% to MOP387.1 billion; of which, loans denominated in MOP, HKD, CNY and USD accounted for 1.4% (MOP5.5 billion), 24.3% (MOP94.0 billion), 20.2% (MOP78.0 billion) and 48.7% (MOP188.5 billion) respectively. Operating ratios At end-October, the loan-to-deposit ratio for the resident sector grew 0.7 percentage points from the previous month to 66.0%. The ratio for both the resident and non-resident sectors also rose 0.1 percentage point to 89.9%. The one-month and three-month current assets to liabilities ratios stayed at relatively high levels, marked at 61.1% and 60.0% respectively. The non-performing loan ratio, an indicator for bank asset quality, was 0.1%, virtually unchanged from one month earlier but down 0.1 percentage point from one year ago.
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Over 1,000 ‘Certified Shops’ passed the annual assessment of Consumer Council and are awarded the 2016 ‘Certified Shop’ emblem; 11 of them are awarded ‘Class A ‘Certified Shops’. The Council indicates that through continuous improvements in the evaluation scheme, the status of the ‘Certified Shops’ is thus augmented. The Council will continue to improve its evaluation scheme by learning from quality control standards being adopted internationally. To ensure the quality of ‘Certified Shops’, Consumer Council has been making continuous improvements to its assessment scheme and criteria, this year, a ‘key question’ system and a ‘self-evaluation form’ have been added, different assessment elements have also been added according to different industries to ensure fairness, professionalism, and objectiveness of the assessment scheme. In the future, the Council will cite international management models and quality control index to maintain vitality of the assessment work. To sum up the assessment result of 2015, over 1,000 ‘Certified Shops’ passed the assessment and are awarded the 2016 emblem; 730 are graded A to B grades in which 11 of them are awarded ‘Class A Certified Shops’ . Consumer Council indicates that continuous improvements in the evaluation scheme in the past 15 years encourage ‘Certified Shops’ to appreciate the emblem and strive to improve themselves by strengthening service attitudes and providing training to staff. The SAR Government hopes that all enterprises in Macao could run their businesses with honesty and integrity to safeguard consumer rights and help to boost healthy growth of local economy. The Council believes that continuous enhancement of and monitoring on ‘Certified Shops’ help to cement the image of ‘Certified Shops’, therefore, new assessment criteria and methods will be introduced next year. Meanwhile, the Council plans to cooperate with other professional organizations to provide more trainings to ‘Certified Shops’. 23 ‘Certified Shops’ were also awarded the honour of entitlement to the ‘Certified Shop’ emblem for 15 years. Delegates attending the ceremony included Ms. Kan Cheng Ha, Arbitration Judge of the Consumer Arbitration Centre; representatives from consumers organizations from mainland China, and members of the Consumer Council General Committee, etc.. The 2016 ‘Certified Shop’ emblems were distributed during the ceremony to those ‘Certified Shops’ that passed the annual assessment. (See attached list of 11 ‘Class A Certified Shops’)
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The Government is committed to providing more platforms and policies to support Macao’s young people in setting up their own businesses, said the Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On. Mr Chui made his comments this morning when addressing young people from Shenzhen and Hong Kong during a visit to the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Youth Innovation and Entrepreneur Hub. The Government would create more exchange opportunities for young people in Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Macao, to share ideas on entrepreneurship, he added. The Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Leong Vai Tac, also took part in the visit. He said the Government was analysing what measures would be effective to help young Macao entrepreneurs extend their business activities to the Pilot Free Trade Zone in Guangdong. Macao’s Young Entrepreneurs Aid Scheme was likely to play a role, he said. The FTZ pilot scheme covers three designated areas in Guangdong Province – Qianhai-Shekou, Hengqin, and Nansha. Macao has a range of initiatives to help young people that wish to start a business, Mr Leong said. They included the Business Incubation Centre for Youth in Macao, as well as training and consultancy services. A businessman attending today’s event said cooperation with Macao entrepreneurs involved in business start-ups was to be welcomed. He noted there was an investment fund in Qianhai able to help young people from Hong Kong and Macao in establishing a business. Officials accompanying Mr Chui on the visit included: the Chief-of-Office of the Chief Executive’s Office, Ms O Lam; the Director of the Government Information Bureau, Mr Chan Chi Ping; the President of the Administrative Council of the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau, Mr Vong Iao Lek; the Director of the Protocol, Public Relations and External Affairs Office, Mr Fung Sio Weng; and the Consultant of the Chief Executive’s Office, Mr Kou Chin Hung. Officials representing the Shenzhen Government included: the Secretary General of the Shenzhen Municipal People's Government, Mr Li Tingzhong; and the Director-General of Qianhai Management Authority, Mr Du Peng.
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In October 2015, the Technical and Scientific Council of the School of Tourism and Maritime Technology of the Polytechnic Institute of Leiria (IPL), Portugal approved the recognition of the five 4-year bachelor degree programmes of the Institute for Tourism Studies (IFT), namely Culinary Arts Management, Tourism Business Management, Hotel Management, Tourism Event Management and Tourism Retail and Marketing Management, which are considered as equivalent to the similar programmes of IPL. Students graduating from these programmes can apply for and obtain the academic qualifications recognition from IPL, in which an equal sign is put between the recognition obtained from IFT and that from the European Union countries. As early as in 2004, the higher diploma programmes and bachelor degree programmes in Tourism Business Management and Hotel Management of IFT have already been recognised by IPL. The recognition of the five 4-year bachelor degree programmes by IPL this time demonstrates once again the high-quality education of IFT. By obtaining these recognised academic qualifications, IFT bachelor degree programme graduates specialised in Culinary Arts Management, Tourism Business Management, Hotel Management, Tourism Event Management and Tourism Retail and Marketing Management can choose to enroll in the master’s degree and doctoral programmes or even work in EU countries, thus their future career opportunities will be broadened. Furthermore, IFT students can participate in overseas student exchange programmes in many partner institutions of EU countries for 1 semester during the 4-year programme, which allow them to broaden their horizons, experience different cultures as well as get along with people from different cultures and backgrounds. It is believed that this will be of great help to their future engagement and career development in the tourism and service industry. Established in 1995, the Institute for Tourism Studies, Macao (IFT) offers the most extensive selection of tourism and hospitality related bachelor degree programmes in Macao, and about twenty thousand participants attend its vocational and professional training courses annually. IFT collaborates with 85 institutions and tourism organisations around the world, and builds strong links with 500 leading tourism and hospitality corporations to offer internship opportunities to its students. Being the first institution accredited by the UNWTO.TedQual Certification System for tourism education, IFT has the most bachelor degree programmes certified under the System of any tertiary education establishment worldwide. IFT has received the Medal of Merit in Tourism from the Macao SAR Government, and won twice the Gold Award in ‘Education and Training’ from the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA).
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The Secretary for Security, Mr Wong Sio Chak, stressed the police services were capable and confident of maintaining the stability of Macao at a time when the city’s gaming industry was experiencing a period of adjustment. The Secretary made the comments at a press briefing session on 2 December, when he disclosed the figures for crimes recorded in the first nine months of the year. Mr Wong said the number of crimes reported in the first three quarters of 2015 fell 2.2 percent compared to the same period last year. The police conducted a total of 10,347 criminal investigations during the nine months to September 30 – a decline of 229 cases compared to the prior-year period. Police enforcement efforts regarding casino-related crimes were effective, he said, given that a total of 1,281 suspects were prosecuted, a rise of 52 percent in the number of prosecutions compared to the corresponding period last year. Cases related to usury and false imprisonment have been increasing since March when judged year-on-year, said Mr Wong. But such cases mainly related to activities reportedly occurring on casino premises and involved people from outside Macao, he added. Usury cases rose 35.6 percent year-on-year and false imprisonment cases went up 135.1 percent. The police have been closely monitoring the gaming sector during the period of the industry’s adjustment, Mr Wong said. Intelligence gathered so far showed no unusual activity, he added. Regarding the case of an alleged fraud involving a gaming promoter called “Dore”, the Secretary said it was linked to a loophole in the promoter’s internal financial management, and showed no direct correlation to the market-wide adjustment of the gaming industry. Mr Wong said that the number of violent crimes reported in the first nine months of the year rose 30.8 percent year-on-year to 561 cases. The most serious forms of violent crime – such as murder, kidnap, and grievous assault – were either at a low level or non-existent, he stated. Crimes against society fell 6.9 percent to 639 cases in the first nine months of 2015. Crimes such as using forged documents and transferring counterfeit money showed a sharp decrease of 23.3 percent and 47.5 percent respectively judged year-on-year. There were a total of 23,366 incidents of illegal immigration and visa overstaying recorded in the first nine months of 2015. Of these incidents, 20,990 involved mainland residents and 2,376 involved people from overseas. Telephone fraud dropped to 152 recorded cases from the 236 recorded in the corresponding period of 2014, Mr Wong said. The Government would continue to collaborate with authorities on the mainland and step up awareness campaigns to notify the public of the latest trends in such criminal activity. Regarding infractions relating to taxi services, there were 4,050 recorded incidents in the first three quarters of 2015, compared to the 1,666 recorded for full-year 2014. The cases this year included 1,429 incidents of refusing to take passengers (35 percent of the total incidents reported); and 948 cases of overcharging (23 percent of total reported incidents). There were also 290 cases of illegal transportation of passengers detected by authorities. Mr Wong additionally said the Government would strengthen enforcement action against unlicensed transportation services in order to safeguard the rights of residents and the operators of licensed taxis.
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Cinematheque  Passion will host a seminar entitled “Film Arts – Theory and Application” on Sunday, 13 December, at 3pm. The seminar is open to the public and admission is free. Due to limited seats, interested parties are recommended to register in advance. The Seminar will be conducted by the Vice Chairman of the Hong Kong Film Arts Association, Alex Mok, and by the person-in-charge of the Moon Culture (Macao), Chan Ka Keong. The two speakers will share with the public theories and applications of film art with topics such as “The Relationship between Arts and Film Arts”, “Self-Positioning of Art Directors in Films”, “How do Post-Production Techniques Influence Film Arts Development” and “Case Studies of Film Arts Production”. Alex Mok is an experienced art director in film and has been an art director for advertising campaigns and cinema for many years, having with a meticulous attitude towards art and visual art creation. He has participated in over 50 works including 2 Young, Lust, Caution, I Corrupt All Cops, Cold War and The Viral Factor, etc. Macao director, Chan Ka Keong, is the President of the Audiovisual CUT Association and has been engaged in media art forms such as films and videos, visual arts and graphic design. His first feature film, Passing Rain, was selected as one of the films in “2013 Support Programme for the Production of Feature Films” subsidised by the Cultural Affairs Bureau. Admission to the above mentioned seminar is free and seats are limited. All interested parties are welcome to enroll via email (info.dpicc@icm.gov.mo) indicating as subject “Enrollment for the seminar on “Film Arts – Theory and Application”, as well as providing their name, contact number and contact email, by 11 December 2015 at 12:00pm . For enquiries regarding the Cinematheque, please contact Mr. Leong through tel. no. (853) 2892 4040 during office hours. For details, please visit the Cultural Affairs Bureau website (www.icm.gov.mo) or the Macao Cultural and Creative Industries Website (www.macaucci.com).
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