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Recreation, Sport, Culture and the Arts
overseas jockeys and trainers, while also successfully nurturing local racing talent. It now hosts 10 races a season at the highest International Group 1 level, of which five are listed in the World's Top 50 Group/Grade 1 races, while 21 Hong Kong-trained horses are currently included in the world's Best Racehorse Rankings. The Hong Kong International Races held at Sha Tin each December are widely recognised as the 'Turf World Championships, with four top events being staged on a single day for a total purse of $83 million.
In recognition of its multi-faceted role in the community, the club is sharing its 130th Anniversary celebrations with the people of Hong Kong through a wide range of activities including exhibitions, a community festival, citywide lunches for the elderly, and sponsorship of the internationally acclaimed Cavalia horse show. It is also initiating and committing major charitable donations to a number of community projects in the long-term strategic areas of youth development, sports development and helping to make Hong Kong an elderly-friendly city.
Outward Bound Hong Kong
Outward Bound Hong Kong (OBHK) is a member of Outward Bound International, which was founded in the UK in 1941 and is the world leader and originator of experiential education, operating 38 schools in over 30 countries worldwide. OBHK was established in Hong Kong in 1970 to provide local people with personal development programmes to help them learn essential life skills and reach their maximum potential. OBHK is the first and only experiential education organisation in Asia to be accredited by the internationally renowned Association for Experiential Education.
Outward Bound's mission is 'to help people discover and develop their potential to care for themselves, others and the world around them through challenging experiences in unfamiliar settings. Courses are designed to foster confidence, responsibility, leadership, teamwork, creative thinking, problem-solving skills and social responsibility. The organisation uses challenges in the outdoors to help participants gain insights and skills that can be applied to work and real life situations. More than 6,000 people join OBHK's courses every year.
OBHK is based in Sai Kung, with headquarters at Tai Mong Tsai and an island base at Wong Wan Chau. OBHK has a wide range of facilities and resources, including a 67-foot sail training yacht, Spirit of Outward Bound, a world-class rope course and a fleet of sea kayaks and ketches. All of OBHK's resources are checked regularly and maintained according to international safety standards.
OBHK offers public courses that cater to people of different ages and needs, taking participants to remote and scenic areas of Hong Kong that many people are unaware exist. It also offers expeditions to Mainland China, Japan, the Philippines, and Taiwan.
Hong Kong residents are eligible for courses subsidised by the government's Continuing Education Fund. With up to 80 per cent of the course fees covered by the fund, these programmes help individuals become more confident and effective in the work place and better equipped to handle challenges in their careers.
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