Media

HKU weekly notice (from November 25 to December 2)

25 Nov 2011

 

HKU to hold the 185th Congregation
The 185th Congregation of the University of Hong Kong will be held on November 29 (Tuesday) to confer degrees on a total of 7,406 graduands this year.

HKU Pro-Chancellor Dr the Honorable David Li Kwok Po will preside over the Congregation. The Honourable Anna Wu Hung Yuk will be the Guest of Honour. Both Ms Wu and HKU Vice-Chancellor Professor Lap-Chee Tsui will address the assembly.

Members of the media are cordially invited to the event, the details are as follows:
Date : November 29, 2011 (Tuesday)
Time : 2:30pm - 4pm
Venue : Hall One, AsiaWorld-Expo, Lantau, Hong Kong

Note:
- Press Reception Counter is located at the entrance of Level One, Hall One,
     AsiaWorld-Expo
- Reporters and photographers should arrive for registration no later than 2:15 pm -
     15 minutes before the start of the Congregation.
- Photographers are reminded to bring their long lenses.
- While the Congregation is in progress, please refrain from leaving the Hall.

For media enquiries, please contact: Ms Trinni Choy (Assistant Director (Media), Communications and Public Affairs Office) tel: 2859 2606 email: pychoy@hku.hk  or Ms Melanie Wan (Manager (Media), Communications and Public Affairs Office) tel: 2859 2600 email: melwkwan@hku.hk.

Seminar: The Case for Animal Welfare Legislation
The UK has a long history of protecting animals from cruelty. In 1822, UK Parliament passed the first legislation specifically intended to prevent cruelty to animals. In 2006, UK Parliament again passed ground breaking legislation to protect animals. The Animal Welfare Act 2006 has introduced the most significant changes to animal welfare legislation in almost a century. It recognizes that persons who keep animals have a responsibility to protect them from more than just overt cruelty. The Act focuses on the conditions in which the animal is kept and places a duty of care on those who keep them to provide their animals with a minimum standard of care. This talk will focus on the reasons for the introduction of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and the improvements to animal welfare protection which have resulted from the new law.

The speaker Mike Radford is Reader in Public Law and Animal Welfare Law in the University of Aberdeen, Scotland.
Date: November 29, 2011 (Tuesday)
Time: 1:00 to 2:00 pm
Venue: Room 404, 4/F, T.T. Tsui Building, HKU

Registration is required. For enquiries, please contact Flora Leung by email at fkleung@hku.hk or by phone at 2859 2941

Public talk: Dysfunctional Democracy in America
The United States is often held up as a model of democracy throughout the world. However, there are many ways in which the American political system falls short of democratic ideals. Some of these shortcomings reflect contemporary problems, but some are sewn right into the US Constitution. In this seminar, Professor Roscoe will evaluate how well the reality of American government and politics match the ideal. The discussion will focus in particular on elections and voting, as well as the role of money in politics, and how a core democratic value-political equality-is routinely violated. Proposals for reform will be considered, with an eye toward understanding the political factors that make these reforms difficult to achieve.

The speaker Professor Roscoe is a Visiting Fulbright Scholar at Lingnan University and Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.

Date: November 30, 2011 (Wednesday)
Time: 4:30 to 6pm
Venue: Room 813, K.K.Leung Building, HKU
Language: English

For enquiries, please contact Cice Chan by email at cice@hku.hk or by phone at 2219 4403.

HKU Centenary Distinguished Lecture "The Future of Medicine: Connecting Patients to Promising Research"
UCSF Chancellor Susan Desmond-Hellmann, MD, MPH, and Nobel Laureate Elizabeth Blackburn, PhD, two international experts on biomedical research and drug development, will discuss Dr. Blackburn's groundbreaking work on aging and how it applies to the future of medicine.

Dr. Blackburn, a UCSF professor and molecular biologist, was awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for her research into telomeres (pronounced TEEL-oh-meres) - the protective tips on the ends of our chromosomes that prevent them from damage each time our cells divide - and their role in protecting our genes as we age. Now, the health of those telomeres is being linked to a number of aging-associated diseases, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, inflammation and poor immune function.

Together, Drs. Blackburn and Desmond-Hellmann will explore how physical exercise and stress affect telomere length and health, and how university research into fundamental biology such as Blackburn's can be harnessed to create better products and therapies for patients worldwide.

Shaw Prize-winning geneticist Yuet W. Kan, MB.BS, DSc. will moderate, with an opportunity for the audience to pose questions to the three acclaimed scientists.

Date: December 2, 2011 (Friday)
Time: 5:30 to 8pm
Venue: Lecture Theatre 1, Cheung Kung Hai Conference Centre, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, HKU
Language: English

For media enquiries, please contact: Ms Trinni Choy (Assistant Director (Media), Communications and Public Affairs Office) tel: 2859 2606 email: pychoy@hku.hk  or Ms Melanie Wan (Manager (Media), Communications and Public Affairs Office) tel: 2859 2600 email: melwkwan@hku.hk.

VIRTUOUS HERITAGE: Xu Family of Guangzhou
As part of the celebrations to commemorate the centenary of the 1911 Revolution and the 100th anniversary of HKU, the University Museum and Art Gallery jointly present this exhibition with Guangzhou Xudi The Xu Clansmen's Association to trace the development of China through the legacies of the Xu Family.

The Xu (Hui in Cantonese) family migrated from Chaozhou to Guangzhou in the early 19th century. Members of the Xu clan include Qing mandarins; Chinese diplomatic corps; revolutionary military commanders; martyr general; celebrated poets; wives of a literary giant and outstanding scientist; as well as educators and pioneering engineers in the past two centuries.

Highlights of the exhibition include Xu Yingkui's first-rank court official robes, imperial necklaces, his imperial examination paper and personal effects such as a jade ruyi-sceptre, Fuzhou lacquer box, birthday celebration bunting, imperial examination paper, and other archival documents.

Date: November 25, 2011 to February 26, 2012
The museum's opening hours are 9:30 am-6:00 pm Monday to Saturday, and 1:00-6:00 pm Sunday. The museum is closed on 24-27 December, 31 December pm, 1-2 January and 22-25 January. Admission is free.

For enquiries, please contact Anita Y F Wong by email at museum@hku.hk or by fax at 25469659.

HKU weekly notice is sent to its subscribers on Friday afternoons. If you want to receive the event highlights, please regieter with Ms Helen Ho by email at hmsho@hku.hk.