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Recreation, Sport, Culture and the Arts

preservation, promotion and transmission of such heritage. The government would select items that have higher cultural value and an urgent need for preservation to draw up the first representative list of ICH. In May, the ICH Unit under the Heritage Museum was upgraded to an independent ICH Office with enhanced manpower and funding to heighten its efforts to safeguard ICH. The office would make use of the Sam Tung Uk Museum to house an exhibition and resource centre dedicated to ICH-related exhibitions and associated activities. In June, the government co-organised with the Ministry of Culture the 'Genesis and Spirit: A Showcase of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Gansu' to enhance the public's knowledge of the Mainland's ICH.

Lord Wilson Heritage Trust

This trust aims to preserve and conserve Hong Kong's human heritage by organising activities and providing funding support to heritage-related community activities and research. The trust approved 19 heritage-related projects in 2015, bringing the total to 196 since its establishment in 1992.

Conservation Office

In 2015, the Conservation Office conducted conservation treatments on more than 700 museum artefacts, including paintings, prints, historical documents, textiles, metals, ceramics, sculptures, organic objects and archaeological finds. It also performed scientific research and analyses to better understand the deterioration mechanisms of the collections and help formulate preservation strategies to retard their ageing.

Under Muse Fest HK 2015, Hong Kong held a Conservation Clinic for the first time. Participants received free conservation consultation service on the condition and care of treasures they brought to the event. The office also organised 37 educational workshops and behind-the- scene laboratory tours in 2015, bringing its total number of students and other event participants to about 1,000, with 152 conservation volunteers contributing altogether more than 8,700 service hours.

The office was represented at three international conferences - TechArt 2015 held in Italy in April, the 25th CIPA International Symposium on Heritage Documentation held in Taiwan in August, and the International Conference of Future Museum and Gallery Design held in Hong Kong in November.

Nurturing talent

Hong Kong Jockey Club Music and Dance Fund

Scholarship recipients under this fund pursue postgraduate studies in music or dance at degree-awarding tertiary education institutions in Hong Kong; post-diploma or postgraduate studies or professional training in music or dance at world-renowned institutions; or less formal studies, projects or creative work outside Hong Kong. The fund awarded four scholarships in 2015, bringing the total to 297 since its establishment in 1980.

Arts Administrator Trainee Scheme

The Arts Administrator Trainee scheme aims to nurture a pool of arts administrators to support the development of performing arts. Trainees undergo two years of training in venue operation,

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