BODW 2019 partners with Great Britain to celebrate great designs

HONG KONG, CHINA - Media OutReach - 24 March 2018 - Hong Kong Design Centre (HKDC), Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), and the Department for International Trade of the United Kingdom (DITUK) signed a Letter of Intent today (March 24) to officiate their partnership for Business of Design Week (BODW) 2019 to be held in Hong Kong in late 2019.

The signing of Letter of Intent for BODW 2019 partnership

Group photo of Mr Edward Yau, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development and representatives from HKDC, the UK and HKTDC

The Letter of Intent was signed by the Director General, Trade & Investment, British Consulate General Hong Kong, Mr Paul McComb; Executive Director of the Hong Kong Design Centre, Dr Edmund Lee; and Director, Service Promotion, Hong Kong Trade Development Council, Ms Jenny Koo during the GREAT Festival of Innovation, in the presence of the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Edward Yau; Secretary of State for International Trade of the UK,Dr Liam Fox; Consul-General of British Consulate-General Hong Kong, Mr Andrew Heyn; Chairman of the Hong Kong Design Centre, Prof. Eric Yim, JP; Chairman of the BODW Steering Committee, Mr Victor Lo; and Deputy Executive Director of Hong Kong Trade Development Council, Mr Raymond Yip.

Mr Yau said, "the SAR Government attaches great importance to the design and creative industries, given their immense development potential as a driver of the Hong Kong's economy. By bringing and connecting global design talents and world-leading businesses in Hong Kong, BODW is a testimony of our dedication and commitment to supporting the design community. With the UK as our official partner country, I am confident that BODW 2019 will continue to inform and inspire with its dynamic and diversified programmes and create new collaborative opportunities on all fronts."

Dr Fox said, "As a world leader in innovation the UK had 58,000 tech startups last year, equivalent to one new business every hour.  As an international economic department, we are pleased to reenter into this partnership which will provide a huge boost for the collaborative work between our design and creative communities."

Professor Yim said, "We are delighted to welcome back the United Kingdom as our Official Partner Country after 13 years, who will shed new light on how design, technology and innovation can create a positive impact on business, and our communities at large. We are looking forward to being inspired by design masters and design-minded business leaders, through their unique insights, good designs and sharing of their enterprising spirit at BODW 2019." 

Mr Yip said, "DesignInspire, an international exhibition about creativity and design, is staged in Hong Kong alongside BODW every year to showcase design excellence. We are delighted to have the UK as our 2019 Partner Country to share their inspirational design and innovation with our global business communities, design-lovers and the general public."

BODW, Hong Kong Design Centre's flagship programme with CreateHK as the major sponsor and Hong Kong Trade Development Council as the co-organiser, is a world-class annual event celebrating design, innovation and brands. BODW 2019 will see the return of the UK as the official partner country, after their initial and successful collaboration back in 2006. The UK's joining hands again with Hong Kong Design Centre is surely a significant milestone in the long-term partnership between the UK and Hong Kong to groom the design and creative community together.

This week-long event is a multi-disciplinary event which serves as a valuable platform for professionals across industries and sectors to network, exchange ideas and explore new businesses. Summits, gala dinner, networking events and concurrent programmes, as well as a fascinating roster of satellite events will take place throughout Hong Kong in the first week of December, to ensure that the creative spirit will be felt all over the city. BODW has inspired over 120,000 global participants each year, from seasoned and emerging designers, entrepreneurs, business leaders, policy makers to the general public.

About Hong Kong Design Centre

Hong Kong Design Centre (HKDC) is a non-profit organisation founded in 2001 as a strategic partner of the HKSAR Government in establishing Hong Kong as a centre of design excellence in Asia. HKDC continues its public mission in using design and innovation to drive value creation of business development and improve the well-being of society, through the provision of diverse innovation-oriented knowledge sharing and exchange platforms, anchored by five major work directions: CONNECT, CELEBRATE, NURTURE, ADVANCE and ENGAGE.

HKDC's flagship programmes include Business of Design Week (since 2002) -- Asia's leading annual conference and event on Design, Innovation and Brands; DFA Awards (since 2003) -- the most recognised design awards from an Asia perspective; Design Incubation Programme (since 2012) and Fashion Incubation Programme (since 2016) -- 2-year incubation programmes to nurture future design and fashion entrepreneurs; FASHION ASIA HONG KONG(since 2016) -- a new initiative combining conversations, interactions and cultural exchanges to energise the city's image, and positioning it as an Asian hub for fashion trade and business development; Knowledge of Design Week (since 2006) -- an annual thematic design knowledge sharing platform on how design can solve complex challenges of our society.