News

In order to promote the development of classical music in Macao, raise the training and musical interpretation ability of young musicians and offer learning and performance opportunities, the Cultural Affairs Bureau organises the 33rd Macao Young Musicians Competition, dedicated this year to piano, to take place between August 2 and 8. All interested parties are invited to apply online from April 13 to 18 and in person from April 19 and 22. For purposes of convenience, aside from applications in person, online applications are also available and can be done from 10am on April 13 to 9pm on April 18 through the webpage www.icm.gov.mo/cjmm; supporting documents and the application fee of MOP80 per category must be submitted at the Cultural Affairs Bureau Building, daily from 10am to 7pm (opens during lunch time and weekends) from April 23 to 26. Applications in person can be done at the Cultural Affairs Bureau Building, daily from 10am to 7pm (opens during lunch time) from April 19 to 22, by submitting the application form duly filled out, the supporting documents and the application fee of MOP100 per category. Applicants must necessarily be holders a valid Macau ID card and must have been born on or after 1994. More information on application, the competition’s regulations, the application form and the list of compulsory pieces are available on the website of the Macau Young Musicians Competition. Applicants who wish to consult the scores of the compulsory pieces can do so at the Cultural Affairs Bureau Building as well as the Macao Central Library and its branches, namely the Sir Robert Ho Tung Library, the Ilha Verde Library, the Mong Há Library and the Red Market Library, during office hours. For more information call 8399 6911, 8399 6620, 8399 6637, 8399 6609 and 8399 6618, during office hours. During the online application period, a related hotline will be available daily up to 9pm through the number 8399 6911.
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A Government group has chosen two pandas for Macao after a long selection process. The eight-year-old female called “Shurong” and its seven-year-old male partner “Yalin” are expected to arrive in June. According to the Secretary for Administration and Justice, Ms Chan Hoi Fan, who led the co-ordinating group for the selection, an expert team had shortlisted the two best pairs from 55 pandas that met stringent criteria including age, physical and psychological health, behaviour, breeding capabilities and heredity, from Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. The group decided on “Shurong” and “Yalin” after visiting Chengdu. As for Hoi Hoi, which lost its female partner last year, the team suggested that it be returned to Chengdu for further breeding because of his potent fertility. The offer of two more pandas for Macao was announced by President Xi Jinping when he was here for the inauguration ceremony of the new government team last December.
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In order to encourage savings and making good use of money, and motivate young people to participate in cultural creative activities, Macao Postal Savings (CEP) is organizing a “Creative Savings Box” with the theme of “Penny and penny laid up will be many” jointly with Communications Museum. All full-time students of Macao are welcomed to participate individually either in the Primary School Category or Secondary School Category. Each participant is required to design and construct a 3 dimensional savings box with a coin insertion hole. There is no restriction on the material used, colour, outlook design and size of the submitted work. From now till 5:30 pm of 31st July 2015 (Friday), participants can submit their work together with a completed application form to the Reception Counter of Communications Museum (Estrada de D. Maria II, No. 7, Macau). In addition to awarding trophies, gift vouchers and philately items to the first, second and third prize winners, there will also have three Appreciation Awards. Souvenirs will be offered to the guidance teachers of all participants. For details of the contest and application form, please visit the website of Communications Museum (http://macao.communications.museum).
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The University of Macau (UM) today (31 March) held a ceremony in Beijing to confer an honorary doctorate upon Prof Chen Ning Yang, winner of the Nobel Prize in physics. Prof Yang said in his acceptance speech that he felt greatly honoured to receive the highest honour from UM, especially when this honour was received at Tsinghua University where he has spent more than 70 years. Guests at the ceremony included Xu Ting, director of the Department of Culture and Education of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macao SAR; Zhao Lingshan, deputy director of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Affairs Office of the Ministry of Education; Hong Wai, director of the Office of the Macao Special Administrative Region in Beijing; Qiu Yong, president of Tsinghua University, Beijing; Lam Kam Seng, chair of UM’s University Council; Wei Zhao, rector of UM; Lionel M Ni, vice rector (academic affairs) of UM; Philip Chen, dean of UM’s Faculty of Science and Technology; and Liu Chuan Sheng, master of UM’s Chao Kuang Piu College. Lam Kam Seng presented the honorary degree to Prof Yang in the company of Rector Wei Zhao. Faculty members and students from UM and Tsinghua University, as well as Macao residents studying in Beijing, also attended the ceremony. ‘I visited UM last spring, and the new campus left a deep impression on me,’ said Prof Yang at the ceremony. ‘At that time, all the buildings on the new campus had been completed, and they looked beautiful. Now UM has moved to the new campus, which I believe will have an enormous impact on the university’s development over decades to come.’ UM Rector Wei Zhao thanked Tsinghua University for its assistance in organising the ceremony, which allowed UM to present the highest honour to Prof Yang at his alma mater. Rector Zhao noted that Tsinghua University was the most important member of the National Southwest Associated University (NSAU) during Chinese people’s resistance against Japanese invasion. Wei Zhao said that NSAU was among the first universities in Asia to successfully combine liberal arts education with research, two important tasks of higher education, and UM’s ‘4-in-1’ model of education, which consists of education inside the classroom and education outside the classroom, is designed for the same purpose. And Prof Yang, who has received education at the NSAU, and who has now become a member of UM, is the epitome of UM’s ‘4-in-1’ model of education. Tsinghua University President Qiu Yong said in his speech that over the past three decades, UM has grown to be the best university in Macao in a number of areas, such as microelectronics. UM and Tsinghua University signed collaboration agreements in 2000, and Qiu Yong hopes that faculty and students from the two universities will have more opportunities for exchange and collaboration in the future. Philip Chen, dean of UM’s Faculty of Science and Technology, praised Prof Yang as a world-renowned physicist, saying that one of Yang’s most important contributions is that he has changed Chinese people’s self-imposed feeling of inferiority.
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The University of Macau (UM) Faculty of Social Sciences (FSS) today (31 March) held an opening ceremony for its Russian Centre. FSS Dean Hao Yufan says that the Russian Centre aims to provide a platform for UM faculty and students to learn more about Russia. He hopes the establishment of the Russian Centre will increase collaboration and cultural exchange between China and Russia. Attendees of the ceremony included Georgy D Toloraya, a representative of the Russkiy Mir Foundation; and Vladimir A Kalinin, consulate general of the Russian Federation in the Hong Kong SAR and the Macao SAR.
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Macao Post urges public to be vigilant and pay attention to an email written in simplified chinese with an indication of Macao Post Logo that solicit the recipient to disclose address (please refer to the image for details). As the domain name of the sender is different from the domain name of Macao Post “macaupost.gov.mo”, we have to clarify that Macao Post did not send the email concerned to their customers. Given the attached zip file “macaupost.zip” contains computer virus, public is advised not to download the file concerned.
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Dr. Helena Lo, the alumna of Institute for Tourism Studies, Macao (IFT) and Director of Pousada de Mong Há – Educational Hotel of IFT, was honoured by The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) with the 2015 PATA Face of the Future Award on 18 March, 2015. PATA’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Mario Hardy, said “Ms. Lo’s outstanding contribution to the responsible development of travel and tourism, specifically in the area of human capital development, is especially relevant today. “Her experience and insight will be most welcomed to the PATA Chairman in inviting her to join the PATA Executive Board as a non-voting member and observer”, he added. As a Macao native, Helena graduated from IFT in 2002 with a bachelor degree in Tourism Business Management. She joined the Pousada team after graduation, rising to be its head in 2012. Ms. Lo has furthered her studies, earning a master’s degree in Education and a doctorate degree in Business Administration. Her research interests include human resources and green hotel management. With a wealth of experience in the hotel industry, including almost 14 years overseeing the operations and development of Pousada de Mong-Há - the Educational Hotel and training unit of IFT, which has been recommended by Michelin Guide Hong Kong and Macao for 7 consecutive years and received Travelers’ Choice Award from TripAdvisor travel website for 5 consecutive years as well as 2013 Macao Green Hotel Gold Award. She also works closely with industry practitioners and maintains a network with the Macao hotel industry. “I am grateful to receive this prestigious award. This award gives me more energy and enthusiasms to further contribute to training future tourism talents”, Helena said. “The greatest achievement for me is to see my students achieving great careers after graduation; many of them pursued postgraduate degrees and have taken up prestigious positions in the tourism and hospitality industry”, she added. Founded in 1951, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is a not-for profit association that is internationally acclaimed for acting as a catalyst for the responsible development of travel and tourism to, from and within the Asia Pacific region. The Association provides aligned advocacy, insightful research and innovative events to its member organisations, comprising 87 government, state and city tourism bodies, nearly 31 international airlines, airports and cruise lines, 61 educational institutions, and hundreds of travel industry companies in Asia Pacific and beyond. As the Associate Member, Education Committee Member, Industry Council Member and Council Representative to the PATA Board, IFT received the PATA Gold Award in “Education and Training”, which acknowledged the content and quality of IFT’s programmes in 1997 and was honoured the award again in 2002 for having set up the “Macao Occupational Skills Recognition System” (MORS) for the tourism and hospitality industry in collaboration with the European Union (EU).
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The University of Macau (UM) today held an Open Day on the new campus, attracting more than 8,000 people. This is UM’s first Open Day held on the new campus. Many middle school students and their parents visited the various faculties and residential colleges, where they got a taste of UM students’ campus lives and inquired after courses that interested them. Some people came with their families to sample food from around the world at the International Food Festival and watched student performances. ‘For those who are interested to apply to UM after graduation, the Open Day provides a great opportunity for them to know more about the campus and the university,’ said a teacher from Pui Ching Middle School who is also an alumna of UM. ‘I’m so happy for UM’s progress in recent years. The bigger campus and the advanced facilities will no doubt benefit future students and will help to foster a greater sense of belonging among the students.’ Many people came with their families. ‘We love the serene atmosphere of the campus,’ exclaimed a couple attending the Open Day. ‘Just looking at the green lake quiets our mind and makes us feel peaceful. We often come here for bicycling, to breathe the fresh air. This is the kind of environment that is conducive to learning, and I hope my children will be able to study at UM in the future.’ Another visitor in the Student Activity Centre was impressed by the international mix in the student body. ‘UM has attracted students from around the world, and it’s nice to experience different cultures on the campus. It makes the campus more vibrant,’ she said. The opening ceremony was held at 11:00 in the morning. Officiating guests at the ceremony included Lam Kam Seng, chair of UM’s University Council; Wei Zhao, rector of UM; Ao Peng Kong, president of the General Assembly of UM Alumni Association; Kiang Hao Chi, director general of UM Students’ Union; and Evenlyn Yuan, vice president of UM Postgraduate Association. In his speech at the opening ceremony, Rector Wei Zhao noted that UM is a university of and for Macao, and that it is open to the public every day. He said that UM hoped to take the Open Day as an opportunity to let people from Macao and the neighbouring regions, including representatives from the education sector, to learn more about the campus and UM’s educational philosophy. He also mentioned that UM received a large number of applications from outstanding local students this year. Of the 329 students accepted through the Principals’ Recommended Admission programme, 39 rank No 1 in their classes or schools, which Rector Zhao believes is an indication of their recognition of UM’s educational philosophy. After the opening ceremony, a group of guests attended the opening ceremony for the Creative Media Lab in the Faculty of Social Sciences, visited the Gaming Laboratory and Trading Room in the Faculty of Business Administration, and sampled food at the International Food Festival in the Student Activity Centre, in the company of UM faculty and staff. In an attempt to showcase academic programmes and students’ campus lives, UM’s various faculties and residential colleges prepared a lot of fun filled activities for the Open Day, including the Blackbox Theatre, stone rubbing, food sampling in the campus dining facilities, Card Production Workshop, lecture on whether cancer is curable, and moot court demonstration, to name but a few. There were also exhibitions, booth games, and student performances. To help the public know more about the campus, UM designed numerous touring routes and options, including campus tours guided by its PR Student Ambassadors.
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2015 Macao International Environmental Co-operation Forum and Exhibition (2015MIECF) was successfully concluded today. The three-day event attracted over 9,600 visitors, with an increase in the number of trade visitors compared to last year. According to the participants, MIECF has successfully played its role as a green platform to promote regional and international development and co-operation. “Green Economy – Solutions for Clean Air” was adopted as the theme for the 2015MIECF. Since its inception in 2008, the quality of activities held under MIECF has constantly improved, and no efforts were spared in facilitating business matching and to promote business co-operation. This year, a number of renowned hotels including various local environmentally friendly hotels were invited to procure greens products and services at the venue and Green Matching sessions were arranged for local government agencies and public utilities organisations. An Eco-friendly Hotel Area was set-up this year, with the participation of a number of large local well-known hotels, including several “Green Hotel” awardees. Green products available for procurement include LED energy-saving products, solar systems equipment, air purifiers, sewage treatment equipment, electric vehicles, green cleaning products and waste recycling equipment. Several government agencies/public utilities organisations/public schools also participated in the procurement negotiations. Besides, many internationally renowned enterprises also sent staff to participate in the Green Matching, looking for co-operation opportunities in green technologies and seeking investment partners. During MIECF, networking sessions were arranged for the environmental industry, to provide an exchange platform for the environmental industry associations, chambers of commerce and trade promotion agencies. In addition, bearing in mind the development occurring in the neighbouring regions in recent years, the Organizer has also organised a Green Building Industry Networking Session for professionals in the construction industry and related fields to meet and exchange views and information about the latest technologies, as a mean to promote business opportunities and to enable MIECF to serve as a platform for the construction industry, particularly in the field of environmental protection. During the three-day event, agreements of 28 co-operation projects were signed. A total of 296 green matching sessions were held at the business matching area. Additionally, 8 networking sessions for the environmental industry were arranged. Hosted Buyers recommended by the Event Project Manager participated in 1,149 business negotiation sessions. For the first time, “Air Quality” was adopted as the focus of the six sessions and seminars held under the Green Forum. More than fifty environmental experts, leaders of multi-national environmental enterprises and regional policy-makers from nine countries and regions spoke on hot issues related to air quality , namely “The Business Case for Better Air Quality: Solutions for the Commercial and Industrial Sectors”, “Reviewing Air Quality and the Transportation Industry”, “Strategizing Climate Change – Innovation in Policy and Technology”, “Clean Urban Air – Lessons Learnt and Future Trajectories” and “Standardization Drives the Sustainable Development of Chemical Industry”. Experts sharing air pollution control technology and their experiences were one of the highlights of this year´s Green Forum. The keynote speaker at the Opening Ceremony was Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland, Former Prime Minister of Norway, former Chair of the World Commission on Environment and Development (the “Brundtland Commission”), Special UN Envoy on Climate Change and Former Director-General of World Health Organization (WHO), and generally recognized as the “Mother” of Sustainable Development. “A Special Interview Session with Dr. Brundtland” has been arranged, with a question and answer session to allow participants to interact with one of the world´s top environmental experts and learn more about her views on environmental and air pollution policies. Over 3,600 people participated in the Green Forum this year. This year´s Green Showcase covered an area of approximately 16,900 square metres. Over 450 exhibitors from 22 countries and regions showcased their products and services, ranging from energy efficiency, renewable energy, green building, green transportation, to waste and water management solutions, environment services, air quality, as well as other green products and services. At the VIP Exhibitors Zone, 16 local and overseas enterprises showcase their products and services, including renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy-saving products, green building services, power management and electric vehicles. In addition, buyers delegations from the Pan-Pearl River Delta and Southeast Asia were invited to participate in business matching. MIECF continued to organiser the Hosted Buyer Programme, Green Hotel Procurement Zone, networking meetings for the environmental industry, which enable exhibitors and buyers to explore business and co-operation opportunities. Ms Chan, who trades in cleaning supplies, said that through MIECF she has discovered that Macao offers great potential and hopes that her company´s research and business activities would be based in Macao in the future, and taking this city as the company´s headquarters in research and marketing products suitable for Macao as well as the Pan-Pearl River Delta. On the other hand, Mr Kang, who is in charge of another company, which serves as a platform for the marketing of products from many countries, said that his company operates as a platform for marketing international branded products in Portugal, the Asia-Pacific region and Australia, and that the main objective of participating in MIECF is to promote his company´s products. Mr Chan also said that he plans to set up selling points in Macao in August this year, to further expand the market. To actively promote the concept of a green exhibition, recyclable building materials were used for the design and setting-up of the venue, dispensing the use of carpets. Additionally, over 3,000 potted plants were used to decorate the venue and were distributed to the public in the afternoon of the last day of the event, which was designated as “Green Public Day”. This year’s MIECF is in line with the government policy in waste management by reducing waste at the source and recycling, and further decreasing the amount of waste generated by the event. The last day of the event, the “Green Public Day” was held under the slogan “Waste Reduction at Source Starts with Me” and attracted over 2,400 visitors. A series of family activities were organised focusing on environmental protection and energy conservation, including environmental workshops, game booths, stage performances and magic shows, turning MIECF into a creative environmental education material, to promote and raise environmental awareness. Over 500 teachers and students from 12 schools participated in the Green Public Day today, and for the first time, civil servants are organised by the department responsible for welfare services under the Public Administration and Civil Service Bureau to visit MIECF. Concurrent events held under MIECF include the Carbon Forum Asia Seminar, organised by the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) for the first time in Macao, as well as the 1st International Conference on Promotion and Education of Green Enterprise and Green Management organized by the Green Environment Protection Association of Macau, are the networking platforms for international professionals. The next MIECF will be held from 31 March to 2 April 2016.
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Green Public Day, one of the activities under 2015 Macao International Environmental Co-operation Forum and Exhibition (2015MIECF) took place today and attracted a large number of visitors. The theme adopted for this year´s Green Public Day was “Waste Reduction at Source Starts with Me”. By means of family activities, environmental-themed performances and magic shows, visitors got an opportunity to understand the importance of reducing waste at source and raise environmental awareness. 2015MIECF aims to promote the concept of “Thinking Green, Going Clean, Living Cool”. The number of visitors this year exceeded 2,400. A series of family activities related to environmental protection, including workshops, games booths, stage performance and magic shows, were held. In addition, an exhibition of the paintings of the winners of the “I´ve Got Solutions for Reducing Plastic Use” creative painting competition was on show, to encourage the practise of reducing the use of plastic materials. Green Living Station continued to display and sell all types of environmentally friendly products, to promote green consumption. To encourage everyone to jointly participate in the development of a green city, potted plants were distributed to the public at the end of the event, hoping that they would give continuity to the green concept and enjoy a pleasant weekend. Lucky Draws were held and the winners received a special edition electronic stored-value cards (with a value of MOP50.00), designed by the Environmental Protection Bureau with slogans to encourage green consumption and green transportation. At the exhibition venue, a booth was installed for the public to apply as member of “Eco Fun – Waste Separation, it´s a Lot of Fun”. New members immediately got 50 points and existing members who have participated in the Green Public Day activities today also received a bonus of 50 points. Green Public Day is an ideal platform to promote the concept of environmental protection to Macao´s students, to enhance their environmental awareness, promote the concept of MIECF and encourage them to be more aware of the importance of caring for the environment. Apart from the environmental-themed songs performed by the Choir of Luso-Chinese Vocational-Technical School, guided tours were also organized for the schools that visited the venue, to disseminate environmentally-friendly messages and behaviours, and putting the concept of “Waste Reduction at Source Starts with Me” into practice. Over 500 students from 12 schools participated in the Green Public Day today, including Macao Polytechnic Institute, Lingnan Middle School, Colégio Santa Rosa de Lima (English Secondary Section), Escola Xin Hua (Secondary Section), Escola Choi Non Chi tai (Secondary Section), Escola Choi Non Chi Tai (Primary Section), Hou Kong Middle School Hou Kong Middle School (Primary Section), Premier School Affiliated to Hou Kong Middle School, Sheng Kung Hui Choi Kou School (Secondary Section), Escola Nossa Senhora de Fátima (Primary Section) and Luso-Chinese Vocational-Technical School. For the first time, civil servants are organised by the department responsible for welfare services under the Public Administration and Civil Service Bureau to visit the MIECF venue. According to the participants, the Green Public Day helped to enhance their awareness of green living and understand the importance of environmental protection. The Organiser hopes that this activity will help to promote environmental protection, encourage the public to put the concepts into practice and build a green low-carbon city.
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