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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
are essential to the continued promotion of recreation and sports to the community to uplift our urban quality of life.
My seniors have called for cautious and incremental experiments in privatization. I echo their sentiments. Mr. Howard YOUNG cited the example of the swimming pools. I would like to cite the further example of bathing beaches which cost the Council some $19 million a year. This works out roughly to $1 of ratepayer's money for each swimmer. Although not a big area of expenditure when put into context, nonetheless this may be one area worth investigating into. Ideally, a contractor for a beach would have to supply life-guards, clean the beach and run the profit-generating kiosks. A judicious mixture of privatization and concessionaire arrangements may be workable.
Money-saving takes many forms. It may even mean aiming for a reasonable and manageable standard of service rather than aiming for rolls-royce standard irrespective of cost. A case in mind may be the standard to which parks and other planted areas under the Council are being maintained, and for which some 2,000 staff are being employed for planting and maintenance purposes. There may be room here for some degree of privatization as well as for a change in vegetation to contain or even reduce maintenance and recurrent cost. More imaginative incorporation of an element of wild-life type or natural vegetation into parks and other planted areas may not only be cost-cutting, but also educative and refreshing to urban dwellers.
I would like to think that needs assessment is fundamental to cost-effectiveness and thus, money-saving. Needs assessment helps policy makers and practitioners to come to grasp with the real situation. Within the context of recreation, this will include information on the pattern of participation, the areas of unfulfilled and preferred leisure activities, the public's support of proposed priorities, the possibility of fee-charging and the overall urban leisure service system including the internal operation of the department itself. At present, some headway is being made, albeit very slowly, in respect of reviewing the more popular sports and recreational activities organized by the Department on a district and urban-wide basis. A great deal more awaits to be done in the general area of needs assessment.
Turning to the promotion and programming of recreation and sports, my view is that now is always the best time to plan for future needs and existing deficiencies.
In an era of world-wide, increasing drug dependence, excessive television watching, legalized gambling, etc. and greater availability of dirty books, there is a need to develop greater awareness of positive leisure values and behaviours. Such awareness would include not only the 'fun', 'relaxation' and 'fitness' aspects of participation, but also the aspect of participant responsibility. One looks forward to the time when there will be little or no deliberate damaging and defacing of recreational facilities and the inevitable littering of parks and beaches.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
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213
The promotion and management of recreation and sports have always slanted towards major recreational pursuits at relatively low cost and which cater for large numbers of able bodies who generally speaking can take care of themselves. With steady prosperity and increased sophistication of our city, the time has arrived for us to take stock of our programmes to ensure that not too far in the near future, some fraction of our resources will be tailored to the needs of special groups. I have in mind pre-school children, the six to twelve-year-olds and the 'old' old age. Since I believe in the main-streaming of the disabled and the mentally ill and retarded, I have also their needs in mind. These are groups which have been shamefully but quietly ignored mainly because with few exceptions, they cannot make much noise for themselves.
Programming for special groups like the disabled and the mentally retarded may require a different approach, different cost level and an altogether different frame of values. It may involve cooperation with voluntary agencies and other government departments. The programmes may well be multi-purpose, thus linking recreation with, say, preventive health care, nutrition, social networking, education and community awareness.
Pre-school children deserve our special attention even if programming for them may involve a lot of headache and administrative inconvenience. The rewards, however, may be untold. With pre-school memories full of positive feelings about recreation and sports, they may well embark upon a lifetime of participation in recreation and sports with positive leisure values. Family ties, too, may be strengthened and whoever accompanies infants and small children to classes may acquire an even better awareness of leisure activities.
The pre-teens of Hong Kong are not that much privileged. A great number of them are addicted to TV at an age when they are physically and emotionally excitable, but with their minds malleable and receptive to positive values of recreation and physical fitness.
Senior adults, too, should be classified into 'young', 'middle' and 'old' old age with their respective needs catered to accordingly. Such needs may vary from preparing them for retirement, keeping fit, to remaining viable and leading as full a life as possible in the community. With life's experience behind them and plenty of leisure in front, senior adults could be encouraged to get involved in programme planning.
Finally, I come to my last point. To provide all such services economically and sensitively, urban sports and recreation staff need to become increasingly professionalized. This will strengthen their professional identity and competence in promoting needed governmental policies and public awareness of and participation in the field.
With these words, Sir, I support the motion before Council.
MR. LO KING-MAN (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, to endorse the Statement of Aims for 1986, I would like to speak on the Council's cultural affairs and activities.
Page 122 of 195
Page 122 of 195
212
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
are essential to the continued promotion of recreation and sports to the community to uplift our urban quality of life.
My seniors have called for cautious and incremental experiments in privatization. I echo their sentiments. Mr. Howard YOUNG cited the example of the swimming pools. I would like to cite the further example of bathing beaches which cost the Council some $19 million a year. This works out roughly to $1 of ratepayer's money for each swimmer. Although not a big area of expenditure when put into context, nonetheless this may be one area worth investigating into. Ideally, a contractor for a beach would have to supply life-guards, clean the beach and run the profit-generating kiosks. A judicious mixture of privatization and concessionaire arrangements may be workable.
Money-saving takes many forms. It may even mean aiming for a reasonable and manageable standard of service rather than aiming for rolls-royce standard irrespective of cost. A case in mind may be the standard to which parks and other planted areas under the Council are being maintained, and for which some 2 000 staff are being employed for planting and maintenance purposes. There may be room here for some degree of privatization as well as for a change in vegetation to contain or even reduce maintenance and recurrent cost. More imaginative incorporation of an element of wild-life type or natural vegetation into parks and other planted areas may not only be cost-cutting, but also educative and refreshing to urban dwellers.
I would like to think that needs assessment is fundamental to cost- effectiveness and thus, money-saving. Needs assessment helps policy makers and practictioners to come to grasp with the real situation. Within the context of recreation, this will include information on the pattern of participation, the areas of unfulfilled and preferred leisure activities, the public's support of prosposed priorities, the possibility of fee-charging and the overall urban leisure service system including the internal operation of the department itself. At present, some headway is being made, albeit very slowly, in respect of reviewing the more popular sports and recreational activities organized by the Depart- ment on district and urban-wide basis. A great deal more awaits to be done in the general area of needs assessment.
Turning to the promotion and programming of recreation and sports, my view is that now is always the best time to plan for future needs and existing deficiencies.
In an era of world-wide, increasing drug dependance, excessive television watching, legalized gambling, etc. and greater availability of dirty books, there is a need to develop greater awareness of positive leisure values and behaviours. Such awareness would include not only the 'fun', 'relaxation' and 'fitness aspects of participation, but also the aspect of participant responsibility. One looks forward to the time when there will be little or no deliberate damaging and defacing of recreational facilities and the inevitable littering of parks and beaches.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Page 122 of 195
213
The promotion and management of recreation and sports have always slanted towards major recreational pursuits at relatively low cost and which cater for large numbers of able bodies who generally speaking can take care of themselves. With steady prosperity and increased sophistication of our city, the time has arrived for us to take stock of our programmes to ensure that not too far in the near future, some fraction of our resources will be tailored to the needs of special groups. I have in mind pre-school children, the six to twelve-year-olds and the 'old' old age. Since I believe in the main-streaming of the disabled and the mentally ill and retarded, I have also their needs in mind. These are groups which have been shamefully but quietly ignored mainly because with few exceptions, they cannot make much noises for themselves.
Programming for special groups like the disabled and the mentally retarded may require a different approach, different cost level and an altogether different frame of values. It may involve cooperation with voluntary agencies and other government departments. The programmes may well be multi-purpose, thus linking recreation with say, preventive health care, nutrition, social networking, education and community awareness.
Pre-school children deserve our special attention even if programming for them may involve a lot of headache and administrative inconvenience. The rewards, however, may be untold. With pre-school memories full of positive feelings about recreation and sports, they may well embark upon a lifetime of participation in recreation and sports with positive leisure values. Family ties, too, may be strengthened and whoever accompany infants and small children to classes may acquire an even better awareness of leisure activities.
The pre-teens of Hong Kong are not that much priviledged. A great number of them are addicted to TV at an age when they are physically and emotionally excitable, but with their minds malleable and receptive to positive values of recreation and physical fitness.
Senior adults, too, should be classified into ‘young', ‘middle' and 'old' old age with their respective needs catered to accordingly. such needs may vary from preparing them for retirement, keeping fit, to remaining viable and leading as full a life as possible in the community. With life's experience behind them and plenty of leisure in front, senior adults could be encouraged to get involved in programme planning.
Finally, I come to my last point. To provide all such services economically and sensitively, urban sports and recreation staff need to become increasingly professionalized. This will strengthen their professional identity and compet- ence in promoting needed governmental policies and public awareness of and participation in the field.
With these words, Sir, I support the motion before Council.
MR. LO KING-MAN (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, to endorse the Statement of Aims for 1986, I would like to speak on the Council's cultural affairs and activities.
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