Initiated and funded by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, the Jockey Club Age-friendly City Project (“JCAFC Project”) organised the Jockey Club Age-friendly City International Conference cum City Partnership Scheme Award Presentation Ceremony today to bring together the government, businesses, academia, and the civic society in Hong Kong and overseas to share best practices in building an age-friendly city, facilitate knowledge exchange, as well as enhance future collaboration and sustainable development.

Officiating at the opening ceremony were HKSAR Chief Secretary for Administration Matthew Cheung and The Hong Kong Jockey Club’s Executive Director, Charities and Community, Leong Cheung.

Mr Leong Cheung in his welcome speech said The Hong Kong Jockey Club has been taking a proactive approach to tackling the challenges of an ageing population, including promoting a healthy community. “Hong Kong has come a long way and is becoming one of the leading age-friendly cities in the world. I’m glad to share that in partnership with four gerontology research institutes, the Government and various sectors of the community, all of Hong Kong’s 18 districts are now part of the World Health Organization’s Global network for Age-friendly Cities and Communities”.

Similar to all its charitable donations, the Club’s support for the Jockey Club Age-friendly City Project is made possible by its unique integrated business model through which it maintains tax and charity support for Hong Kong, contributing to the betterment of our society.

Mr Matthew Cheung said that the Jockey Club Age-friendly City International Conference offered an excellent opportunity for local and international participants to share their experience and good practices on building age-friendly cities. He also congratulated all awardees of the Jockey Club Age-friendly City Partnership Scheme for their outstanding achievements. Their great efforts in promoting an age-friendly culture through adopting age-friendly practices and providing products and services catering for the needs of the elderly are very much appreciated.
 
The theme of the Jockey Club Age-friendly City International Conference is “Age-friendly Cities 15 Years On: Origins and Best Practices Worldwide and in Hong Kong”. Speakers and participants from different regions, countries and sectors explored the origins of the age-friendly city movement, challenges arising from the ageing population, cooperation and participation towards sustainability, and insights from different cities in building an age-friendly city through plenary sessions, thematic forum and exhibitions.

The Award Presentation Ceremony for the Jockey Club Age-friendly City Partnership Scheme was also held at the event. Over 140 companies and organisations from different industries, Government departments and social enterprises have joined the Scheme. Seven special awards were presented at the ceremony. The award-winning companies and organisations have shown outstanding performance in promoting an age-friendly culture, including encouraging elderly employment, providing convenient and comprehensive facilities for the elderly, designing and providing innovative products and services that meet the needs of the elderly, utilising resources and cooperating with different parties to promote age-friendly measures, develop business opportunities in the silver market, and create inspirational stories through the implementation of age-friendly measures.   For details and the list of awardees, please visit the website of the Jockey Club Age-friendly City Partnership Scheme: www.jccitypartnership.hk.

In response to the challenges and opportunities of the ageing local population, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust has donated over HK$190 million to initiate the JCAFC Project since 2015. The JCAFC Project aims to promote an age-friendly culture in all 18 districts in Hong Kong. In partnership with four universities, it adopts a bottom-up, district-based approach in implementing programmes. To date, over 140 district-based programmes have been organised, with over 110,000 direct beneficiaries, and trainings have been provided to over 2,200 project ambassadors to help with promotion in the community. In conjunction with the efforts of the HKSAR Government, District Councils, academia and NGOs, all 18 districts have successfully been admitted to the WHO Global Network for Age-friendly Cities and Communities. The JCAFC Project was showcased at the Global Solutions Forum of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Solutions Network in 2020 as a way to implement local initiatives that advance Sustainable Development Goals.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club

Founded in 1884, The Hong Kong Jockey Club is a world-class racing club that acts continuously for the betterment of our society. The Club has a unique integrated business model, comprising racing and racecourse entertainment, a membership club, responsible sports wagering and lottery, and charities and community contribution. Through this model, the Club generates economic and social value for the community and supports the Government in combatting illegal gambling. In 2019/20, the Club contributed HK$19.9 billion in duty and profits tax and HK$0.8 billion to the Lotteries Fund. Approved charity donations were HK$4.5 billion. The Club is Hong Kong’s largest single taxpayer and one of the city’s major employers. Its Charities Trust is also one of the world’s top ten charity donors. The Club is always “riding high together for a better future” with the people of Hong Kong.