Speech by Mr. K. H. Lau, Director of Information Technology Services at the Opening Ceremony of the Hong Kong Computer Society New Office and the IT Training Quality & Certification Institute on
18 January 2001

Mr. Lai (Daniel), ladies and gentlemen,

I am delighted to be here this evening to celebrate the opening of the Hong Kong Computer Society new office and the IT Training Quality & Certification Institute.

Under the able leadership of Mr. Lai and the past Presidents, the Hong Kong Computer Society plays a very important role in advancing the IT professional standards and promoting the use of IT in Hong Kong. The Society has set its Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct for members to observe. It has also made remarkable efforts in providing opportunities such as Special Interest Groups gatherings and the annually held Hong Kong International Computer Conference for the IT professionals to share experience and up-to-date technical information. The Society has taken the lead in producing the "IT Files" television episodes and participates in various community events to raise the awareness and adoptions of IT in Hong Kong. It also offers valuable professional advice to the Government on policy matters related to IT in developing Hong Kong into a centre of IT service excellence in the region.

The contributions made by the Society have been highly recognised by the IT industry and the community. Looking around this room, I can see many familiar faces who are the most influential and esteemed leaders in the IT sector in Hong Kong and who also render their concerted efforts in supporting the work of the Society to achieve its mission.

In Hong Kong, one of the greatest challenges we are now facing is to ensure that all sectors of the community benefit from the advancement in IT. To achieve this, the Government is committed to providing necessary educational and infrastructural framework to equip our people with IT skills and to make IT accessible to them. The establishment of the IT Training Quality & Certification Institute by the Hong Kong Computer Society nicely dovetails the Government's objective in raising IT awareness in Hong Kong. And more importantly, the training courses accredited by this Institute will have the quality assurance by the Society.

In order to build Hong Kong into a leading digital city, we need the continuous efforts of various organisations. The Hong Kong Computer Society is definitely one of the most active ones.

I wish the Society every success in the years to come and wish you all a prosperous year of 2001.

Thank you.