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Thursday, January 10, 1974
·
In
"In spite of unusual difficulties in 1973, Hong Kong's exports
continued to increase at a satisfactory rate. I believe that this has
been due to superior capacity to adjust quickly to new conditions.
this I believe our growing design capability, with the ability it provides
to innovate and create, has played a part. And I am sure its importance
will steadily increase. We have all the necessary ingredients for
success in the development of good product design. We have the technical
and business skills; we have an increasing knowledge of overseas markets
and consumer preferences; there is a growing readiness to allocate
resources to product development; and we certainly lack nothing in
imagination.
We have also an improving institutional framework for the
promotion of good design. The Education Department is paying increasing
attention to the early development of creative talent. The Hong Kong
Polytechnic provides specialist courses in industrial design, and I am
very pleased to note that virtually the entire class who qualified in 1973
have secured jobs in industry. The Hong Kong Training Council, under
the guidance of Mr. Ann, should also be able to exert a beneficial influence
on the training of potential designers. The recent establishment of
the Designers' Association should encourage the interchange of ideas between
qualified designers. And, of course, the work of the Industrial Design
Council itself, and its coordinating influence, is important to the
development of design consciousness and skills in Hong Kong.
"But real progress, of course, lies in the hands of our industrialists
themselves. You have, Mr. Ann, already announced the winners of all but
one of the awards to be presented this evening.
/"I congratulate