Speeches and Transcripts

LUI Che Woo Prize – Prize for World Civilisation Prize Presentation Ceremony cum Gala Dinner 2018

3 October 2018 (Wednesday) at 7pm

Grand Hall, Level 3,

Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre

Mrs. Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; The Honourable Tung Chee-hwa, Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference; Mr. Wang Zhimin, Director of Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; Mr. Xie Feng, Commissioner of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; distinguished guests, and esteemed journalists, good evening!

Firstly, I would like to thank you for your continual support of LUI Che Woo Prize – Prize for World Civilisation and making time to attend this evening’s Prize Presentation Ceremony and share this important moment with us.

As an old Chinese saying goes, “No distance is too far between like-minded people”. Today, we have travelled thousands of miles to come together because we have a similar vision and philosophy: to use our efforts to create a better world for our future generations.

The three laureates of the LUI Che Woo Prize 2018 share this vision too. They not only believe in making a better world, but also overcome difficulties with courage, wisdom, and selflessness. They are role models in their fields and have greatly contributed to the world; inspiring more people to participate and jointly create our future. It is our honour to have the three laureates attending in person tonight to accept the Prize. Let us welcome them with a warm round of applause. I once again urge everyone to support us, and help make this dream come true.

Now, let me introduce the extraordinary stories and spirits of this year’s three laureates.

The 2018 Sustainability Prize – this year with the Specific Area of Focus being Development of Renewable Energy – was awarded to Mr. Hans-Josef Fell. Internationally recognised as a founding figure of the global renewable energy movement, Mr. Fell successfully fought for the Renewable Energy Sources Act in 2000 in Germany which has since been replicated over 100 times around the globe. He has further shared his successful experience and promotes the global transition to 100% renewable energy.

The 2018 Welfare Betterment Prize – with Reduction of the Impact of Natural Disasters being this year’s specific area of focus – was awarded to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). WMO sets worldwide standards and provides the framework for international cooperation by supporting its 191 member states and territories to implement the adopted policies, leading to better monitoring, forecasting and communication of meteorological hazards on a global scale over the past half-century. WMO leads the improvement of disaster prevention between members, and provides forecasts and warnings to the public and stakeholders so that everyone can respond to extreme weather in a timely manner.

The 2018 Positive Energy Prize – which this year had the Specific Area of Focus in Elimination of Illiteracy – was awarded to Pratham Education Foundation. Pratham has been wedded to evidence-based models over the past 23 years, focusing on high-quality, low-cost interventions which address gaps in the education system. Pratham is dedicated to improving quality of education and contributing to literacy attainment. Not only does it contribute to the development of local basic education in India, its teaching model is also being replicated to 16 countries in three continents, so that knowledge can continue to change destiny. Their efforts will help civilisation thrive.

From economy to technology, the world is now closer together than ever. Let’s continue to work together and help each other, as well as helping ourselves. The LUI Che Woo Prize takes learnings from the spirit of all laureates, never forgets its mission and will continue to gather and encourage more people across the world to make their own contributions.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank our nominators, our Board of Governors and the entire three-tier structure members of the Prize. Let us go further and do better together.

I look forward to recognising more individuals or organisations for their outstanding achievements in the three Prize Categories of Sustainability, Welfare Betterment and Positive Energy. In order to do so, we will broaden the scope and will not confine ourselves to one specific area of focus under each category from next year onwards. We hope to recognise to a wider group of people and organisations which embody the concept of the LUI Che Woo Prize and make unremitting efforts for a better future.

Thank you.