Sun Hung Kai Properties : SHKP Reading Club further expands its Read & Share programme Spreading the joy of reading to 120 primary and secondary schools

To further promote a fun reading experience to more students, the SHKP Reading Club under Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP) has expanded its Read & Share programme to secondary schools for the 2017/18 academic year, inviting guests to share their insightful experiences in a relaxing and interesting way to spark students' curiosity and interest in reading. Currently, there are 120 schools in Hong Kong participating in the Read & Share programme.

Committed to promoting reading, the SHKP Reading Club has collaborated with the Hong Kong Aided Primary School Heads Association to launch the Read & Share programme since 2014. With support from SHKP and the community, various activities, competitions and award schemes have been organised to encourage students to enjoy reading. Guest speakers of the programme including three comic artists Malone Yuen, Chao Yat and Fatmoonba, playwright Ko Tin-lung, veteran journalist and writer Yip Fai, prolific writer Zita Law, writer and advertising professional Anthony Wong, novelist Wong King-tin, multimedia artist Keith Ho, and winners of the SHKP Young Writers' Debut Competitions. More celebrities will join the programme in the latter half of this academic year.

Entering its fourth academic year, the Read & Share programme has been extended to secondary schools through organising themed talks where celebrity guests share their reading experiences. For instance, Anthony shared a few interesting yet easily-neglected plots in The Journey to the West, provoking students to ponder whether they truly understand this Chinese classic. Malone pointed out how reading Chinese ancient classics is never just a turgid academic exercise by bringing out catchy idioms and commonly used phrases which originated from the ancient classics themselves, providing an alternative perspective and enriching the overall fun of reading.

The 2017/18 Read & Share programme theme for primary schools is 'Love Reading, Love Nature' that features a series of activities to raise students' environmental awareness through reading. For instance, in the 'Recycle Your Read' celebrity talks, book-lovers from various sectors as well as writers visit schools with a book they have read and share their inspirations from it. The book will then be given to a student attending the talk, encouraging him/her to pass the book along to family and/or friends after reading it in order to share the joy of reading. To cultivate local students' global vision, the Club continues to invite overseas students from AFS Intercultural Exchanges as part of the Read & Share programme. Exchange students share interesting green ideas from their countries in 'A Whole Green World' activity and recommend good books related to the environment and green living while getting up close and personal with local students.

The Read & Share programme also encourages students to broaden their horizons and learn beyond books by making tours to the environmental education centres at Landmark North in Sheung Shui and Grand Central Plaza in Sha Tin. Students learnt about harmonious ecosystems for fish and plants and methods for recycling food waste and more. The tour helps youngsters gain a deeper understanding of the close ties between eco-friendliness and daily life. Furthermore, collections from the award-winning works of the 6th Young Writers' Debut Competition and nature-themed picture books have been added to the Read & Share mobile bookshelves which will pop up across schools.

All schools in Hong Kong are welcome to participate in Read & Share programmes to promote the joy of reading. Visit the Club's Facebook page (www.facebook.com/shkpreadingclub) and website (www.shkpreadingclub.com) for more information.