HONG KONG, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Ng Teng Fong Charitable Foundation ('NTFCF') and the Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation are delighted to announce 'Art Journey for Youth at HKPM', a multiple-year partnership with the Hong Kong Palace Museum ('HKPM') to provide an immersive cultural experience to inspire Hong Kong youth and help them appreciate Chinese arts and culture. Commencing on 1 October 2022, the Foundations will sponsor 50,000 special exhibition tickets of the Hong Kong Palace Museum annually and distribute to more than 500 primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong to provide opportunities for local students, in particular those from underprivileged families, to appreciate first-hand over 900 priceless national treasures. The artefacts, on loan from the Palace Museum in Beijing, range from grade-one cultural objects, paintings and calligraphy to ceramics, jade, costumes and textile, jewellery, rare books, many of which are on display in Hong Kong for the first time ever. There will be workshops for the young talents to learn more about Chinese history, architecture and culture at the world-class museum. The Foundations are working closely with schools and community partners, and details will be announced in due course. NTFCF Launches Cultural Appreciation Programme to Palace Museum in Beijing To deepen appreciation of Chinese culture and foster a sense of identity, the NTFCF is launching the Beijing-Hong Kong Cultural Appreciation Programme, through which 50 local university and college students will be hosted to the Palace Museum and other historic buildings in Beijing per year. The Programme will entail learning workshops with museum professionals at the Palace of Prolonging Happiness (Yanxi Gong) on heritage research and artefact conservation. Through this Programme, the students will be able to experience first-hand Lingzhao Belvedere of Yanxi Gong, the only Western-style architecture in the Forbidden Palace, and appreciate how traditional Chinese form of arts and architecture blends with Western style, while learning about management of relics and intercultural dialogues that celebrate harmony and diversity. Mr Bernard Charnwut Chan, GBM, GBS, JP, Chairman of the Hong Kong Palace Museum Board, extends his appreciation to the meaningful undertaking, 'The Hong Kong Palace Museum, with cultural resources belonging to the community of Hong Kong, is committed to promoting the study and appreciation of Chinese art and culture in addition to advancing international partnerships. We are appreciative of the kind effort by the Ng Teng Fong Charitable Foundation and Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation to bring our young generations to experience national treasures and culture first-hand. We look forward to more meaningful partnerships with more like-minded partners.' Mr Kenneth Fok, JP, Executive Vice Chairman of the Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation and LegCo member representing the Sports, Performing Arts, Culture and Publication sector, says, 'The opening of the Hong Kong Palace Museum not only strengthens the position of Hong Kong as an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange which is supported by the National 14th Five-Year Plan, but also facilitates the cultural and art development between Hong Kong and the Mainland, including the Greater Bay Area. Through this programme, the Foundation hopes to deepen Hong Kong youth's understanding on the history and culture of our nation.' Mr Daryl Ng, SBS, JP, Director of the Ng Teng Fong Charitable Foundation and Chairman of the Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation, shares, 'We are honoured to work with Hong Kong's world-class museum to promote the appreciation of Chinese arts and culture. This is particularly meaningful as we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region this year. We hope that by providing our young people with the eye-opening opportunities to experience first-hand the national cultural treasures, they can expand their horizons, appreciate the national culture and foster a sense of unity.' About Ng Teng Fong Charitable Foundation The Ng Teng Fong Charitable Foundation was established in 2010 in memory of the late founder of the Sino Group, Mr Ng Teng Fong. The Foundation is a steadfast advocate of education, youth development and community services. In the past years, the Ng Teng Fong Charitable Foundation has supported over 300 local NGOs and community partners. In addition to supporting good causes such as the Hong Kong Arts Festival, the National Gallery of Singapore as well as restoration of the Great Wall and Yanxi Gong, the Foundation provides financial assistance for students from less-resourced families in Hong Kong and mainland China through the Ng Teng Fong Scholarships. It also supports scholastic initiatives of Peking University, Tsinghua University and Zhejiang University in mainland China as well as the National University of Singapore, Singapore University of Technology and Design and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. In 2019, the Foundation donated RMB 100 million to the Palace Museum to support the restoration of Yanxi Gong. www.ntfcf.org.hk About Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation The Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation, established in September 2019, is a charitable organisation that mainly serves Hong Kong youth. To ride on the new era, new Greater Bay Area and new opportunities, the Foundation is a joint effort of youth leaders from various sectors. With our mission of 'For Our Youth, For Our Future', we support youth in their studies, careers and business development in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Since our establishment, we have initiated and sponsored over 70 projects in areas such as technology, art, education and sports, serving more than 49,500 Hong Kong youths. In 2021, we launched two key initiatives - YO PLACE and GBA Youth Card. These will allow us to establish closer ties with young people from all walks of life in Hong Kong. Operated under a membership scheme, YO PLACE is an integrated online and offline youth platform that provides information on study, career and entrepreneurship opportunities in the Greater Bay Area. The GBA Youth Card gives Hong Kong youth many conveniences while studying, working and living in the Greater Bay Area. The card was developed in co-operation with Bank of China (Hong Kong), the Guangdong Youth Federation, Hong Kong United Youth Association and Macao Youth Federation. In addition, the Foundation's Wish Builder Programme sponsors diverse projects by local youth organisations for young people in Hong Kong, for example, the Dream Brewer - Pacific Coffee HKCT@GBA Entrepreneurship Training Programme, Hong Kong Youth Animator Development Programme, 'Stage Your Dream' Public Relations and Event Talent Incubation Project and Arts Administrators Training Programme. To learn more details please visit the Foundation website www.gbayouth.org.hk. SOURCE Ng Teng Fong Charitable Foundation; Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation