In January 2004, a group of Queen's College senior secondary students and their teacher whose group work won the Gold Award in the "Learning from SARS and Beyond" project were rewarded by the Institute with a study trip to the Headquarters of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva. The junior secondary and senior primary Gold Award winners, DMHC Siu Ming Catholic Secondary School and the Church of Christ in China Kei Wa Primary School (PM) respectively, were sent to Japan where they visited health and hygiene organisations in Tokyo.

The Learning from SARS and Beyond project enabled school children to reflect on and learn from the SARS epidemic. It encouraged creative learning and project-based learning. To enrich the quality of contributions, the Institute ran workshops for school teachers and students in July and August 2003 featuring guest speakers from local museums, the media and the medical profession. The highlight was a session with Professor Joseph Sung, Head of the Department of Medicine and Therapeutics of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), in which he shared his personal experience of fighting the war against SARS.

Exhibiting excellence

One hundred and forty-six schools took part in the project and 680 individual and group entries were received. The climax of the project was an exhibition of outstanding works in the Hong Kong Museum of History, running from 10 December 2003 to 19 January 2004. At the Exhibition opening, 35 awards were presented to outstanding individuals and teams in recognition of exemplary work and commendable effort.

Speaking at the award presentation ceremony, Professor Bernard Luk, Vice President (Academic) remarked: All of us will be amazed by the vigour, creativity, observational and analytical power illustrated in the works displayed here. The most treasured part of the project is the deep reflection and active learning students drew out of a serious crisis in our society.'

Learning from SARS and Beyond was made possible by the patronage of the Education and Manpower Bureau, the concerted efforts of co-organisers, Hong Kong Education City Ltd and the Hong Kong Museum of History, and sponsorship from Hong Kong and China Gas Co Ltd and Cathay Pacific Airways.