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Children and families had a blast at “Tally & friends” storytelling competition
“A child is an uncut diamond,” the writer Austin O'Malley once said. With the right care and cultivation, every child will shine and dazzle, each with their unique brilliance. The EOC’s storybook series Tally & friends, launched last October, was precisely an early education initiative that aimed to help children appreciate themselves and others, embrace differences, and develop a sense of empathy and self-worth.
This year, the EOC rolled out a series of storytelling workshops and a competition based on Tally & friends, and attracted over 200 applications and 150 entries respectively. The competition invited children studying in kindergartens and primary schools to tell a story from the series or created a new one featuring characters from the books. On 10 November 2018, contestants shortlisted under five categories – Pre-School, Lower Primary, Upper Primary, Team and Sign Language – came together at Hong Kong Central Library for a final showdown and an award ceremony.
The theatre was filled with joy and excitement as the children proudly held their certificates and trophies in their hands, accompanied by judges Prof Alfred CHAN Cheung-ming, Chairperson of the EOC; Ms Joyce CHOI, Director of Community Outreach of Bring Me A Book™ Hong Kong; Ms Ada HO, Chairperson of Hong Kong Children’s Arts Society; Ms Cherie LEUNG, Marketing Director of BabyKingdom.com Limited; Ms Juan LEUNG, EOC Board Member; Ms Snoopy LAI, Chairperson of Silence Limited; Ms Michelle TAM, Executive Director of End Child Sexual Abuse Foundation; and Mrs Winnie WONG, Director of The Hong Kong Society for the Deaf. To top it off, a balloon artist with hearing impairment from the social enterprise YM Balloon gave out adorable balloon dolls in the shape of Tally and his friends!
“The EOC believes that nurturing values of equality, diversity and inclusion among children should be made a priority in any approach to education or parenting,” said Prof Chan. “We are therefore very much delighted by the enthusiastic response to the competition and grateful for the generous support of our partners, including Hong Kong Public Libraries, Baby Kingdom, St. James’ Settlement, Hans Andersen Club, Books & Beyond Reading Club and Lutheran School for the Deaf. Going forward, we will continue to engage the younger generation in our public education efforts.”
