XN000022-1974-01-10 — Page 3

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Thursday, January 10, 1974

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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