CS: Shaping Future-Ready Education in Hong Kong at Learning and Teaching Expo 2026

Speech by CS at Opening Ceremony of Learning and Teaching Expo 2026

Following is the speech by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, at the Opening Ceremony of Learning and Teaching Expo 2026 today (June 25):

Mr Armstrong Lee (Chairman of the Board of Directors of Hong Kong Education City), Dr David Wong (Chairman of the Education Commission), Dr Elizabeth Quat (Founder and Honorary President of the Smart City Consortium), Dr Winnie Tang (Founder and Honorary President of the Smart City Consortium), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

Good morning. It is a privilege to join you at the Opening Ceremony of the Learning and Teaching Expo 2026. On behalf of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), I extend a very warm welcome to our global community of educators, innovators, policymakers, and digital education stakeholders who have gathered here today.

The theme of this year's event is "Reimagining Education: Human-Centric and Future-Ready", it captures our ambition perfectly. It aligns with our vision to make Hong Kong a premier international innovation and technology hub.

This is not just an economic goal. This is about our future. AI and emerging technologies are changing our world at lightning speed. To stay competitive and to prosper, we must move boldly. And we are.

The Hong Kong SAR Government is taking action on many fronts. We are building world-class I&T infrastructure. We are providing strategic funding to support growth. And we are building strong global partnerships to bring in the best talent and opportunities.

While technology builds the future, education builds the people who live in it. Technology without talent is meaningless. And talent, as all of you here know very well, does not emerge overnight. It is nurtured patiently.

What we need is an education that can nurture future-ready learners — young people who can navigate the digital world, who can solve problems, and who can handle new technologies wisely and responsibly. Ultimately, when we reimagine what education means in the AI era, we are also laying the very foundation that will power Hong Kong's future as a global technology hub.

That is why our strategy follows a powerful cycle. We grow technology through talent, we lead industries through technology, and we attract talent through industries. When education, technology, and talent move forward together, our city moves forward too — we build an unparalleled talent pool, we develop a richer knowledge reserve, and we strengthen our capabilities for scientific and technological innovation, lifting our competitiveness to new heights.

And I am pleased to let you know that our vision is already bearing fruit. Hong Kong now ranks third globally in "Technology" in the World Digital Competitiveness Ranking. The Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou cluster remains the world's number one innovation cluster in the 2025 Global Innovation Index.

In 2024, we set up the Committee on Education, Technology and Talents to bring these policies closer together. Many of the Committee's key proposals were integrated into the 2025 Policy Address. And I am pleased to say we are already putting them into practice.

Universities and research institutions are the pillars of innovation. 5 universities in Hong Kong ranked among the world's top 100, and we also have 4 of the world's most internationalised universities. They conduct strong basic research, which serves as a crucial starting point for innovative scientific development.

To further consolidate our upstream strengths, our InnoHK Research Clusters initiative has attracted more than 30 top-notch universities and R&D institutes from 12economies, bringing together some 3000 outstanding I&T talents around the world to work side by side.

All these achievements hinge on one core asset — our people. And the expertise of our people starts with education. So the key question is: how do we equip our next generation for an age constantly reshaped by technology, especially AI?

Our Education Bureau has worked closely with the Curriculum Development Council to answer that question. The result is the Blueprint for Digital Education Development in Primary and Secondary Schools— launched just last week. It is the product of countless professional conversations, with principals, with frontline teachers, with experts from our universities and our technology sector. It reflects our commitment to Hong Kong's future.

And its heart is a simple yet powerful message: cultivating values through education, keeping our students as the foundation, and using technology as the support. And this is what the word "Human-centric" in this year's Expo theme means to us in practice.

The Blueprint offers a clear roadmap for every school, every teacher, and every student to excel in the digital age — not by simply using more technology, but by using it wisely, ethically, and creatively.

It focuses on four key areas: nurturing talents with both digital literacy and humanistic qualities; strengthening teacher training to drive digital transformation of education; optimising infrastructure to build smart campuses; and promoting cross-sector collaboration to co-create a digital education ecosystem.

In the short-to-medium term, we aim to achieve AI education for all students across all schools, progressively reaching the goal of comprehensively enhancing all students' AI literacy.

To deliver this ambition, we need strong partners. Hong Kong Education City has firmly established itself as a premier digital learning hub, empowering our teachers and students with cutting-edge tools and high-quality educational content. It acts as the bridge that carries technology from policy into real practice.

Let me end where it all truly begins. The path to becoming a leading I&T hub is paved in our classrooms. When we invest in our teachers and when we empower our students with future-ready skills, we are building the foundation for a vibrant, innovative, and sustainable Hong Kong.

So to the teachers, the innovators and the officials with us this morning, the future you are helping to shape is already taking root right here, right now. I wish you all a rewarding and inspiring Expo. Thank you.

The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, attended the Learning and Teaching Expo today (June 25). Photo shows (from second left) Mr Chan, the Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin, and other guests visiting the Learning and Teaching Expo 2026. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, attended the Learning and Teaching Expo 2026 today (June 25). Photo shows (from fourth left) the Founder and Honorary President and Chairwoman of the Steering Committee of the Smart City Consortium, Ms Elizabeth Quat; the Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin; Mr Chan; the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Hong Kong Education City, Mr Armstrong Lee; the Permanent Secretary for Education, Ms May Chan, and other guests visiting the Learning and Teaching Expo 2026. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, attended the Learning and Teaching Expo 2026 today (June 25). Photo shows (from third left) the Permanent Secretary for Education, Ms May Chan; the Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin; Mr Chan; the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Hong Kong Education City, Mr Armstrong Lee; the Founder and Honorary President and Chairwoman of the Steering Committee of the Smart City Consortium, Ms Elizabeth Quat; Founder and Honorary President of the Smart City Consortium Dr Winnie Tang, and other guests at the event. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, speaks at the opening ceremony of the Learning and Teaching Expo 2026 today (June 25). Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

DH distributes individualised school health reports to schools participating in Whole School Health Programme

The Student Health Service (SHS) of the Department of Health (DH) will start releasing the "School Health Reports and Recommendations" (health reports) tailored to each participating school for the 2025/26 school year under the Whole School Health Programme (WSHP) tomorrow(June 26). Based on the overall health status of students in each school, the health reports provide tailored and targeted school-based health promotion measures. In addition, the DH will arrange school visits by health professionals to provide in-depth explanations of the health reports and recommendations, aiming to assist schools in continuing to implement or roll out relevant health promotion initiatives in the new school year, thereby further promoting students' physical and mental well-being in schools.

The Chief Executive's 2024 Policy Address announced that the WSHP would be strengthened and extended to cover all primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong. Based on the overall health status of students in each school, health reports will also be compiled for each participating school to recommend targeted school-based health promotion measures for physical activities, meals and other matters, to improve students' physical and psychological well-being. This year marks the second time the DH has distributed the health reports.

Currently, 901 schools (415 primary schools, 428 secondary schools and 58 special schools) have participated in the WSHP, covering nearly 80 per cent (77.8 per cent) of all primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong. Based on the progress of health promotion measures implemented, participating schools will be upgraded from "Pledged Schools" to "Action Schools", and ultimately promoted to "Advanced Schools" if they have fully implemented the Health Promoting School (HPS) framework, with a view to achieving the World Health Organization (WHO)'s vision of "making every school a health-promoting school". This year, a total of 254 schools have been classified as "Pledged Schools", 622 as "Action Schools" and 25 as "Advanced Schools" (see Annex). The number of "Advanced Schools" has doubled compared to last year, reflecting the education sector's active promotion of students' physical and psychological well-being. The DH expressed gratitude to the participating schools for actively promoting healthy schools and working together to create a safer, healthier and more positive environment in which students can flourish.

"The DH has comprehensively reviewed and analysed the overall results of the health reports. The proportion of participating schools implementing health promotion measures in the 2025/26 school year is generally higher than in the 2024/25 school year, and the progress is satisfactory. In particular, based on the aggregated data from the checklists submitted by schools, all schools have integrated the four major health themes, namely physical activity, healthy eating, mental health and social well-being, into their school curricula. There is still room for improvement in certain areas, such as inviting stakeholders in the community to provide advice for HPS, and providing space for staff and students to relax," the Consultant Community Medicine (Family and Student Health) of the DH, Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan, said.

Dr Chuang encouraged schools that have not yet joined the WSHP to do so as soon as possible. The WSHP is divided into three phases. First, the DH provides participating schools with guidelines and a checklist, referencing the HPS framework advocated by the WHO, to help them systematically review and formulate health promotion measures. Next, the DH will conduct an in-depth analysis of the annual health assessment data of students attending Student Health Service Centres and the checklists submitted by the schools. Finally, based on these assessments, the DH will compile a health report and provide targeted health promotion recommendations tailored to each school's specific circumstances to assist schools in establishing priorities and strategies for their school-based health promotion work.

"Evidence from international research shows that implementation of the HPS framework can bring about positive impacts on the health of students, such as effectively reducing the risk of smoking among students, reducing bullying cases, helping to improve the body mass index of students, as well as increasing their physical activity and intake of fruits and vegetables. Schools that have not yet joined the WSHP may visit the DH's designated webpageand sign theWhole School Health Charter,or call 3163 4574 to contact the DH'sHealth Promoting School Divisionto register for the WSHP," Dr Chuang said.

In addition, the SHS of the DH provides a comprehensive and free annual health assessment service for all primary and secondary school students in Hong Kong, including growth monitoring; screenings for vision, hearing and scoliosis; physical examination; health assessment questionnaires on health behaviours and psychosocial well-being; individual health counselling; health education; and mop-up vaccinations. Through these comprehensive assessments, the DH enables parents to understand their children's health condition and identify potential health problems early. The DH's healthcare professionals will offer health advice and recommendations based on students' health conditions. Referrals will be made for students in need of further assessment and follow-up at the Special Assessment Service of the SHS of the DH, specialist clinics, or other organisations as appropriate, thereby safeguarding the physical and psychological well-being of students. Furthermore, data from the annual health assessment service, with personal data removed, will be used to compile individualised school health reports for schools participating in the WSHP.

Source: AI-found images