Sheldon Levy, President of Sheridan College and Rosanna Ure, Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) today announced the creation of the Hong Kong/Sheridan Multimedia Awards at a press conference held at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto. The Awards, which have a combined value of C$25,000, are open to post-secondary students across Canada and Hong Kong. They focus on computer animation and website design, and are designed to promote links between Hong Kong and Canada in technology and education.

"It is hoped that the Awards will further strengthen the already close ties between Hong Kong and Canada by providing students in both places the opportunity to showcase their own multimedia productions and to learn more about Hong Kong in the process," said Mrs. Rosanna Ure, Director of HKETO. "We are delighted to collaborate with Sheridan in such a meaningful project, and I am particularly happy to have secured the support of global companies including Manulife Financial, Bank of Montreal, HSBC Bank Canada and Cathay Pacific," she said.

The Hong Kong-Canada Business Association has agreed to serve as an advisor to the Awards, and the competition will be publicized to a wider audience through the Association's liaison network.

Four awards are being offered, with expectations that content be focused on the Hong Kong-Canada link in trade and commerce, or on Hong Kong business, culture or tourism. They include the Hong Kong/Sheridan Multimedia Award of Excellence (sponsored by the Bank of Montreal), a $10,000 prize to be awarded to the best overall Canadian entry from the Animation and Web Design submissions.

Students in Hong Kong are eligible to apply for the Sheridan/Hong Kong Digital Media Scholarship, a $10,000 prize sponsored by Manulife Financial and Sheridan College, to be awarded to a Hong Kong student who intends to study digital media or animation at Sheridan.

In addition, HKETO is sponsoring two scholarships of $2,500 each, for the best Web Design submission and the best Computer Animation submission, open to students from across Canada.

"We are very pleased to partner with the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office to offer these exciting opportunities to Canadian and Hong Kong students," said Sheldon Levy. "Sheridan has built a worldwide reputation based on the exceptional quality of its animation and digital media programs, and we're honoured to be associated with an awards competition that is open to post-secondary students from across Canada. We're particularly thankful to Manulife Financial for its support of a scholarship for a Hong Kong student to attend Sheridan."

The Awards have a deadline for entries of April 1, 2001. Detailed information is available from Sheridan's Awards Office.

Sheridan College, with campuses in Oakville and Brampton, offers post-secondary and postgraduate programs in animation, arts and design; business, computing and information management; community and liberal studies; and science and technology. Sheridan recently celebrated the opening of the Sheridan Centre for Animation and Emerging Technologies, a $32 million, state-of-the-art facility offering advanced educational and research opportunities in animation, multimedia and telecommunications.

Hong Kong is home to the largest Canadian business community in Asia with over 150 local or regional Canadian corporate offices. Canadian direct investment in Hong Kong represents 17% of all Canadian foreign direct investment in Asia. Hong Kong is currently Canada's 13th largest export market and 16th largest source of imports. It is expected that bilateral business links between Canada and Hong Kong will be further enhanced following the Team Canada mission to Hong Kong in November.

For more information, contact:

Susan Atkinson, Public & Media Relations Manager Sheridan College (905) 845-9430, Ext. 2096 e-mail: [email protected]