Consulat général de France à Hong Kong et Macao

Closing of Consulate on the Buddha's Birthday

assist_presse1 — 2013-05-10T01:54:35Z

On the occasion of the Buddha's Birthday, the Consulate General of France will be closed to public on Friday 17th May 2013 to follow the Hong Kong SAR General Holidays Ordinance.

Visit of Mr. Laurent Fabius, Minister of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong (5th & 6th May 2013)

assist_presse1 — 2013-05-08T04:40:01Z

Mr. Laurent Fabius, French Minister of Foreign Affairs, visited Hong Kong on 5 and 6 May 2013.

On the occassion of his visit, the Minister met the authorities of Hong Kong SAR, including the Chief Executive Mr. CY Leung. He signed with Mr. Matthew Cheung, Secretary for Labour and Welfare, an agreement on bilateral working holiday scheme. The Minister participated as well in several events to promote the attractiveness of France.

During a ceremony at the French residence, the Minister decorated the "Commandeur des Arts et Lettres" to the renowned Hong Kong film director Mr. Wong Kar-Wai.

It was followed by a reception for the French community in Hong Kong.

"Conseillers du Commerce Extérieur" then hosted a dinner for the Minister and introduced an overview of the activities of French companies in China and Asia.

On May 6, the Minister was present at a live interview on CNBC-Asia broadcast to over 400 million viewers around the world (link to the video CNBC)

A press conference was held at the Foreign Correspondents' Club Hong Kong (link to the audio and video recording of the conference)

He then shared the French vision on the relations between Europe and China at the Asia Society, an influential organization in economic circles, politicians and intellectuals in Hong Kong. Around 200 guests and journalists attended. (Asia Society Website)

In the afternoon, the Minister met Mr. CY Leung, Chief Executive of Hong Kong SAR. Then he signed with Mr. Matthew Cheung, Secretary for Labour and Welfare, in the presence of Chief Executive, an agreement to mark the establishment of a bilateral working holiday scheme to benefit young people from both sides, from 1st July onwards. Under this agreement, young people, aged between 18 and 30, from Hong Kong and from France, will be allowed to spend up to one year respectively in France and in Hong Kong, with the possibility to take up employment to finance their stay. (Link to the official statement of the HKSAR government)

The Minister also visited the Consulate General of France in Hong Kong and Macau and met the staff.

The Minister attended as well a reception in his honor, hosted by Sir David Li for the members of the "Chapitre de la Légion d'Honneur de Hong Kong".

The Minister finally inaugurated the major exhibition of Le French May - "Jean Cocteau: Spirit of the 20th Century Parisian Scene", in the presence of Mrs. Carrie Lam, Chief Secretary for Administration of HKSAR.

The visit terminated in the evening by a dinner with Hong Kong's economic figures.

Click here to view the full photo album of the visit on the Consulate's Facebook page

Hong Kong offers opportunities for 5 new French high-end brands

Ubifrance — 2013-05-02T07:40:28Z

5 SME's representative of high-end fashion brands and interior design from France, were coming to Hong Kong to test the market and received a warm welcome from local operators.

Last 18th and 19th of April, a delegation of 5 French luxury companies were in Hong Kong to participate to the Trade Commission - Ubifrance's Luxury Mission in China.

9 companies representing 11 up-scale/luxury brands of different sectors (ready-to-wear, jewelry, fine art) were guided by Ubifrance offices through Shanghai, Hong Kong and Beijing between April 15th and April 19th.

In Hong Kong, within a day and half, 17 meetings were organized for five ready-to-wear brands and high-end decoration manufacturers, covering a large spectrum of hongkongese distributors, investors and agents - all of them always keen on discovering new up-scale French savoir-faire.

Testimony :

“The Hong Kong operation was a success, thanks to the French Trade Commission. An order has already been placed, a contract with a distributor is about to be signed …I am more than happy. Thank you very much.”

“We'd like to thank everyone from Ubifrance in China and in Paris for the great job they've done, helping us take full advantage of these few days in China. We are coming back to France with an in-depth understanding of the opportunities in Hong Kong and China, along with a few interesting contacts to start getting involved with.”

Le French May and Le French GourMay celebrated at The East

Ubifrance — 2013-04-30T04:08:18Z

Le French GourMay, the French food and wine festival in Hong Kong celebrates the Bourgogne region this year. With parterned restaurants, bars and retails, the French and Bourgogne culture will be all around the town.

The East, the Hopewell center's mall in Wan Chai, is again this year one of the partners of le French May and GourMay, including 3 restaurants (W28, Zummer and Chez Patrick) and 3 workshops in the open plazza (May 16th, 25th and 30th). Moreover, The East will showecase an official exhibition from Le French May; the “Solar Dancing Flower” by Alxandre Dang.

In order to share its active participation in le French May with the public, The East organised on April 24th, a press conference in which journalists and passerby learned more about the festival with a speech given by the Alliance Française and the Service Culturel. Also, several activities entertained the audience such as a cooking demo by Chef Patric from Chez Patrick and a wine tasting session led by Louis Lee (official educator of the Bourgogne wine council). A great promotion of the French Culture in May !

For more information on Le French GourMay, www.facebook.com/LeFrenchGourMay

28 French higher education institutions present in Hong Kong for the annual APAIE international education conference in March 2013

scac_edu1 — 2013-04-26T11:13:15Z

The 8th APAIE Conference & Exhibition was held on March 11-14, 2013 in Hong Kong at the AsiaWorld-Expo.

APAIE, Asia-Pacific Association for International Education (http://www.apaie.org/), is an international non-profit organization whose goal is to activate and reinforce the internationalization of higher education in the Asia-Pacific region and around the world, and to engage the professional challenges of individuals in international education.

Since 2006, the APAIE Conference & Exhibition has been held annually in different cities ot the Asia-Pacific region. As one of the 13 founding members of APAIE, the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) was proud to be the host of the 8th Annual APAIE Conference and Exhibition in 2013. The Conference took part of the celebratory activities for CUHK's 50th anniversary. It offered extensive opportunities for international educators to exchange ideas and learn about new initiatives in the field.

For this 8th edition, the APAIE conference theme was "An Ascendant Asia-Pacific: International Higher Education in the 21st Century", emphasizing the challenges and opportunities for institutions both inside and outside the Asia-Pacific region in view of the trend of embracing international education as their strategic mission. The four-day conference featured two keynote addresses, 46 parallel sessions, a large-scale exhibition with 157 booths, a Presidents' Roundtable and a 'Global Dialogue' session gathering heads of international education associations from the five continents to exchange ideas. With an increasing scale from around 400 participants at the first conference in Seoul (then later in Singapore, Tokyo, Beijing, Gold Coast, Taipei and Bangkok), the number of international educators, policy-makers and experts, reached 1,300 in Hong Kong, representing 91 educational institutions, educational agencies and service providers, from 31 regions of the whole world.

For the third consecutive year, Campus France, in association with the Consulate General of France in Hong Kong and Macau, was present at the APAIE Conference and exhibition, as one of the Silver Sponsor of the event this year. Under the attendance of Campus France and the Consulate General of France, around 50 representatives from 26 French higher education institutions were brought together at the event and shared the remarkable Campus France booth to encounter representatives of their potential partners worldwide and, in particular, Hong Kong universities' representatives.

The Deputy Consul-General, Ms. Agnès Humruzian, representing the Consul General of France in Hong Kong and Macau, took the opportunity of a cocktail reception at the Residence of France to remind the French higher education representatives present at the APAIE conference the importance of the French presence in Hong Kong and the quality of Hong Kong universities, encouraging them to intensify partnerships. It was also reminded that, among the Department of Science, Education and Culture of the Consulate headed by Mr. Gilles Bonnevialle, Dr. Isabelle Saves, Attaché of Scientific and Academic Affairs, Mr. Maël Le Bail, Scientific Officer, and Mr. Louis Cheung, Academic Officer and Campus France Representative, are promoting academic exchanges between French and Hong Kong universities.

The result of the 2013 APAIE conference and exhibition, at its outcome, is very positive since the French representatives were able to meet all the target partners during the four-day conference. The appraisal, at longer term, will be conducted by the Department of Science, Education and Culture of the Consulate General of France, which will soon contact the 28 French institution representatives to assist them in establishing cooperation with Hong Kong universities.

Dissemination of Anti-drug Messages in the French International School

sctip — 2013-04-26T07:52:22Z

Drugs abuse affects the freedom and development of young people, the world's most valuable asset. Apart from supporting parents and schools to strengthen the basic protective net, we need greater community involvement to provide our young people with opportunities and positive influence. In connection with this, the French International School in collaboration with the Consulate General of France, the Hong Kong Police Force and the Correctional Services Department to organise a function - ‘Narcotics Day' in the French International School's Happy Valley campus to disseminate anti-drugs messages to students on 16 April 2013.

Mr. Cheng Chun-kit, Inspector of Police, delivered three sessions of preventive educational talks to junior forms of students in the morning. Through introducing the common type of psychotropic substance abused by young people and cases to implant knowledge on drugs, dispel misconceptions and address inadequate or incorrect knowledge about the legal consequences of drug offences.

The demonstrations performed by the police detective dogs were excellent and it attracted all attentions of teachers and students.

In the afternoon session, Mr. Fong Kung-fu, the Public Education Officer of the Rehabilitation Pioneer Project of the Hong Kong Correctional Services Department presented the existing judicial system of Hong Kong, the possible court disposal for young offenders; rehabilitative services in correctional institutes and re-integration programmes. In order to strengthen young people's life skills and resistance to adversity and temptations, the Correctional Services Department also organise various kinds of engagement activities such as Green Haven Project in Hei Ling Chau, educational talks and forums in schools. All measures aim to foster a responsible and caring culture for our youth within the community at large.

It is difficult for family members, teachers, social workers and law enforcement agencies to identify signs of drug abuse. The last session was held in the evening with the active participation of all stakeholders, including parents, teachers and law enforcers. Ms. Mandy Wu, the Police School Liaison Officers of Wanchai District, shared information between various parties. Through more engagement with parents to equip them with drug knowledge and skills to identify and handle youth drug problems, whereas parents can take early intervention as soon as possible.

On behalf of the French Consulate and the French International School, Mr. Jean-Christophe Marten-Perolin, Attaché of Police of the French Consulate, thanked the enormous support of the Hong Kong Correctional Services Department, the Hong Kong Police Force and their colleagues for coordination of this programme.

For more information :

France:

Mission for the fight against drugs and drug addiction (Mission interministérielle lutte contre la drogue et la toxicomanie): http://www.drogues.gouv.fr

Drug Info Service (Drogues Info Service): http://www.drogues-info-service.fr

Hong Kong: Narcotics Division, Security Bureau: http://www.nd.gov.hk

Rehabilitation Division, the Correctional Services Department: http://www.csd.gov.hk/english/reh/r...

Anti-Drug Formations, the Hong Kong Police Force: http://www.police.gov.hk/ppp_en/04_...

Hong Kong Police Dog Unit: http://www.police.gov.hk/ppp_en/11_...

Mr. CHENG Chun Kit, Inspector of Police conveyed anti-drug messages to French students. He presented different kinds of common drugs seized by the police in Hong Kong and answered student's enquiries.

Two Labrador Retrievers of the Hong Kong Police Dog Unit took part in a Crime Prevention activity in the French International School. They are used in searches for narcotics and dangerous explosives because of their superior sense of smell compared with other breeds.

Mr. FONG Kung-fu, the Public Education Officer of the Rehabilitation Pioneer Project presented the relative ordinances on dangerous drugs, the possible court disposal for young offenders, and the rehabilitative services provided for young inmates by the Hong Kong Correctional Services Department. Besides, he highlighted the Green Haven Scheme which is used to promote anti-drug messages and the importance of environmental protection among young people.

Scholarship application deadline EXTENDED!

scac_edu1 — 2013-04-12T09:41:42Z

Last call for scholarship applications to study in France in 2013-2014! See which scholarship suits your situation:

(1) You have applied / are applying for a Master's programme in France:

Alexandre Yersin Scholarship (Master, all disciplines)
Updated deadline: 22 April 2013

(2) You want to pursue a Master's degree in France in cultural management or contemporary art market:

Studialis group: IESA-PSB school Scholarship (Master, management / art and culture)
Updated deadline: 22 April 2013

(3) You want to learn French for a summer and understand the art market in France:

“Discovery Scholarship: art market and conviviality in Paris” by IESA (Certificate, French language and culture / art market)
Updated deadline: 22 April 2013

(4) You want to learn French for a summer to further study in France later:

Summer Linguistic Scholarship (Bachelor, French language)
Updated deadline: 3 May 2013

Act NOW!! For more information and online application: www.consulfrance-hongkong.org/education-scholarships.

Visit of Vendémiaire from 7th to 12th April 2013

assist_presse1 — 2013-04-12T08:49:35Z

The French Navy Ship Vendémiaire was in port call in Hong Kong from 7th to 12th April 2013 and berthed at China Merchants Wharf, Kennedy Town.

The "Vendémiaire" arrived to Hong Kong in the morning on 7th and left on 12th April

During its port call, many tours on the navy ship were organized, such as the official and the public visits. On 7th April Sunday, an open day was successfully held to the public, which drew around a thousand of visitors.

A cocktail reception was also held on the ship on 8th Monday evening, with many official guests and the representatives of the French community.

On the occassion of the visit of "Vendémiaire", a remembrance ceremony was organized on 11th at the Stanley military cemetery to the French Resistance fighters who died in the war in December 1941. "Souvenir français de Chine" was also present.

On 12th Friday morning, the "Vendémiaire" left Hong Kong for its next destination.

Let's discover the « Vendémiaire »...

Frigate Vendémiaire was the fifth of a series of 6 ships built in Saint-Nazaire shipyard in 1993 by « chantiers de l'Atlantique ». Its home port is Nouméa in New Caledonia.

Its name refers to the month of grape harvest in the calendar of the eighteen century French revolution (22nd of september to 21st of october). Frigate Vendémiaire is the second French vessel that has been called by this name after a submarine of the “pluviose” series (1905).

French overseas frigates have been designed to carry out surveillance missions as well as humanitarian action and enforce French interests far away from mainland.

They also have other goals in peace time :
Surveillance of overseas areas under French sovereignity (EEZ surveillance, fisheries protection, anti-smuggling)
Maritime domain awareness and police patrol (anti-pollution, SAR, medical and logistic assistance)
Fostering maritime cooperation with our allies in the area
Humanitarian action

French Pavilion at CARTES in Asia 2013

Ubifrance — 2013-04-10T09:29:43Z

For the fourth consecutive year, UBIFRANCE – French Trade Commission, French agency for international business development, had hosted a French pavilion at “CARTES in ASIA 2013“(www.cartes-asia.com) in Hong Kong from 27 to 28 March, 2013.

According to the event organizer Comexposium, the two day trade show has attracted more than 100 exhibitors and nearly 3, 000 visitors of 56 countries. The exhibition had showcased some of the best technology of the sectors and participants saw great value in the conference which featured more international and regional experts than ever before.

The French pavilion, composed of 15 companies, had displayed a range of products and technologies in smart card manufacturing, m-commerce and digital-security…etc. More than 30 business matching meetings had been organized by the French Trade Commission on site. Meeting participants include local innovative solution providers, government representatives as well as market leaders of the industries.

French higher education presented to 4,600 local students at European Higher Education Fair (EHEF) 2013

scac_edu1 — 2013-04-05T02:54:29Z

The 13th edition of the European Higher Education Fair (EHEF) 2013 was held successfully during the weekend of March 9th and 10th at the Hong Kong Central Library. 50 tertiary institutions from 11 European countries have sent representatives to come to Hong Kong to showcase their quality education to local students.

The presence of the Secretary for Education of Hong Kong, Mr. Eddie Ng Hak-kim, SBS, JP, at the opening ceremony has marked the importance of this education event throughout the territory. The ceremony was officiated by Mr. Vincent Piket, Head of the Office of the European Union to Hong Kong and Macau, together with Mr. Christodoulos Margaritis, Consul-General of Greece (acting EU presidency country) on behalf of the EU Working Group for Culture and the EHEF Steering Committee. European Consul-Generals of the EHEF participating countries, including Consul-General of France, Mr. Arnaud Barthélémy, were invited on stage to sign on the backdrop.

This year, for the first time, the EHEF 2013 cooperated with two media partners covering both English and Chinese press in Hong Kong - Classified Post of SCMP and Mingpao. Advertisements, site banners as well as interviews were published before and during the fair, including an interview with Mr. Louis Cheung, Academic Officer and Campus France Representative of the French Consulate, and Ms. Garfield Chan, an alumnus having obtained a Master's degree in culture management in France. Such an effective media coverage has attracted more than 4600 visitors to the Fair.

Campus France of the General Consulate of France in Hong Kong and Macau was not only one of the principal organizers of the event, it was also an exhibitor with its own booth to answer students' general inquiries about studying in France. Besides, 5 prestigious French institutions, specialized in diverse domains of management in brand and luxury, hotel and tourism, art and culture, etc. were present to exhibit their academic offers:
ESC Troyes (Champagne School of Management)
IESA / Paris School of Business
Rouen Business School
Toulouse Business School
VATEL - International Business School, Hotel & Tourism Management.

This two-day education fair has welcomed motivated students and their parents to obtain information about studying in Europe, particularly about Bachelor's and Master's programmes of French institutions and the benefits of studying in France. Besides distributing informative brochures and answering questions directly at the booth of Campus France, the seminar "Study in France - Let France change your life!" was given by Louis Cheung in both afternoons for a comprehensive idea about studying in France. On the other hand, a language learning session "French with fun!" was hosted by Martine Faure, Attaché of Educational and Linguistic Affairs, presenting French language and culture to the non-French-speaking public. Parallel alumni sharing sessions were held by local university students and alumni who shared their experiences as a student in Europe, with France as one of the top destinations certainly.

Being the leading destination in Continental Europe for foreign students due to its affordable yet high-quality tertiary education and its rich cultural heritage, France and its institutions have been the important exhibitors and supporters of the annual EHEF in Hong Kong. If you happened to miss the Fair and would like to know more about studying in France, please feel free to consult the Campus France (Hong Kong Office) website at www.hongkong.campusfrance.org/en or contact Mr. Louis Cheung at louis.cheung@consulfrance-hongkong.org.