Hong Kong marks 30 years of language promotion at SCOLAR ceremony
Acting Education Secretary Dr. Chun-yee Sun praised Hong Kong's five world-top-100 universities at the SCOLAR 30th anniversary ceremony on 23 October. He highlighted the importance of biliterate and trilingual education, while SCOLAR Chair Dr. Rita Chan thanked partners and outlined future plans.
Acting Secretary for Education Dr. Chun-yee Sun was the guest of honour at the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research (SCOLAR) 30th anniversary ceremony on 23 October 2026 at Youth Square Y综艺馆. In his speech, Dr. Sun noted that five Hong Kong universities ranked among the world's top 100 in the latest international higher education rankings, making the city one of the densest concentrations of elite institutions globally.
Dr. Sun said this achievement reflected not only the efforts of tertiary institutions but also a solid foundation in language education. The Education Bureau promotes biliterate and trilingual proficiency, aiming for students to write fluent Chinese and English and communicate confidently in Cantonese, English and Putonghua. He stressed leveraging Hong Kong's unique position of being backed by the nation and connected to the world to nurture talent with deep cultural roots and broad international perspectives.
Dr. Sun praised SCOLAR's three decades of research and advice on language education development, and thanked schools, teachers and community partners for supporting biliterate and trilingual promotion. The bureau will continue collaborating with SCOLAR and society to build a strong language foundation for the new generation.
SCOLAR Chair Dr. Rita Chan expressed gratitude to former chairs, past and current members, the education sector and community partners for their support. She said SCOLAR had worked with various parties over 30 years to create language learning and usage opportunities through diverse measures, responding to societal and educational needs. Looking ahead, SCOLAR will build on past achievements and continue the spirit of innovation, partnership and community engagement to write a new chapter in language education.
The ceremony featured videos and presentations showcasing SCOLAR's Early Childhood Chinese and English Development Plan, research and development projects, and the International Summit on AI Applications in Language Learning and Teaching. Student representatives recalled their growth as language ambassadors, while contest winners and community partners performed, demonstrating language abilities and community participation. In a talk session, SCOLAR 30th anniversary ambassador, singer Cheung Hok-hei, and other programme participants shared their language learning experiences.
Nearly 600 community partners, teachers, parents and students who had taken part in SCOLAR programmes attended the event.