At a later meeting the committee further decided that our active support should begin by informing you officially of our views on this important subject, but in doing so, I must not give you the impression that it represents the considered opinion of the Society as a whole. That may be forwarded later.
I would however like to take this opportunity of making the point which I personally believe cannot be too strongly stressed at this stage of Hong Kong's development, where one so frequently still hears the question asked: "Why do we need a public museum?" Those who still ask that question obviously know nothing of modern museums or modern education. We need an up-to-date museum, not because all other cities in the world worthy of the name have at least one museum and that therefore we must follow suit, but because a museum in these days is something more than a mere repository of things relating to the past; it is as much an active, integral and essential part of any system of public education as a school, a college or a university is.
Any modern museum worthy of the name provides opportunities for study which are complementary to the routine courses provided by institutions of learning at all levels of education - primary, secondary or tertiary - and the real value of these complementary opportunities lies in the fact that they are of a more informal nature, and consequently allow (and indeed encourage) the development of initiative and specialization among pupils.
For this reason, expenditure on a museum project is not to be regarded as favouring the intelligentsia or a minority group; it is essential for its part in the balanced development of the young minds in the colony of all classes.
This makes it of all the more importance in Hong Kong where our youth forms over 50% of our population, because the financial provision for these educational facilities is every bit as important as the provision of recreational facilities for our young people which so much more readily captures the imagination of social workers and the readers of the headlines in our press.
Yours faithfully,
L. T. RIDE
President,
Hong Kong Branch, Royal Asiatic Society.
8
At a later meeting the committee further decided that our active support should begin by informing you officially of our views on this important subject, but in doing so, I must not give you the impression that it represents the considered opinion of the Society as a whole. That may be forwarded later.
I would however like to take this opportunity of making the point which I personally believe cannot be too strongly stressed at this stage of Hong Kong's development, where one so frequently still hears the question asked: "Why do we need a public museum?" Those who still ask that question obviously know nothing of modern museums or modern education. We need an up-to-date museum, not because all other cities in the world worthy of the name have at least one museum and that therefore we must follow suit, but because a museum in these days is something more than a mere repository of things relating to the past; it is as much an active, integral and essential part of any system of public edu- cation as a school, a college or a university is.
Any modern museum worthy of the name provides opport- unities for study which are complementary to the routine courses provided by institutions of learning at all levels of education primary, secondary or tertiary and the real value of these com- plementary opportunities lies in the fact that they are of a more informal nature, and consequently allow (and indeed encourage) the development of initiative and specialization among pupils.
For this reason, expenditure on a museum project is not to be regarded as favouring the intelligentsia or a minority group; it is essential for its part in the balanced development of the young minds in the colony of all classes.
This makes it of all the more importance in Hong Kong where our youth forms over 50% of our population, because the financial provision for these educational facilities is every bit as important as the provision of recreational facilities for our young people which so much more readily captures the imagination of social workers and the readers of the headlines in our press.
Yours faithfully,
L. T. RIDE
President,
Hong Kong Branch, Royal Asiatic Society.
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