Students urged to join territory-wide design contest as part of patriotic education push

All students from primary, secondary and tertiary institutions are invited to participate in a mascot creation and logo design competition organized by the Working Group on Patriotic Education.

Its theme, "Love our Country, Love Hong Kong, Love our Community," is aimed at developing a sense of patriotism among youths under the one country, two systems principle.

The competition has two design categories - mascot and logo.

Each is further divided into primary, secondary and tertiary sectors.

Participants are allowed to enter multiple competition categories, but can only submit one entry per category.

For each sector in the two competition categories, there will be one champion, one runner-up, one third runner-up, and one merit award recipient.

Winners will receive annual passes to the Hong Kong Palace Museum.

Also, the working group has also established a "Most Supportive School Award" to encourage active student participation in the competition.

Contestants must ensure that the content of their entries aligns with the competition's purpose and objectives, and does not contain elements like violence, slander, or threats to national security.

Convener Starry Lee Wai-king said "young people are the pillars of society's future, and an important target for patriotic education promotion."

Lee expressed confidence in the participation rate, citing high student turnouts in past government-run competitions in schools.

Regarding organizational costs, she said: "The expenses will be modest and handled by the Information Services Department."

Chief Secretary Eric Chan Kwok-ki said: "Patriotic education should start at an early age and be integrated into students' daily lives through interesting and diverse means."

The working group sent invitation letters to schools yesterday.

The deadline for submitting applications is July 15, and the competition results are expected to be announced between September and October.