Sustainability Report 2020/21

Fostering a Reading Atmosphere Reading and Holistic Development Objective • Promote a happy reading and learning culture among youths Approach • Spread the joy of reading through SHKP Reading Club programmes and initiatives • Inspire youth’s interest by sharing experiences and book recommendations on our online Read for More platform • Promote reading via seamless online-offline experiences SHKP believes reading facilitates holistic development of individuals and the society. Accordingly, we have invested great resources in promoting a passion for reading among the young. The SHKP Reading Club – an open and complimentary hub – organizes activities, programmes and competitions. To date, the club has enrolled more than 57,000 members in Hong Kong and on the mainland. Read for More Online Platform Our interactive Read for More, launched in 2019, promotes reading and sharing among youth. It features inspiring and accessible multimedia content and celebrity interviews. This year, the Club expanded the content line-up by introducing detective fiction books and English literature. Since the platform’s debut, it has attracted more than 546,000 users and 2.075 million page views. More details can be found on the Read for More website. Read to Dream Read to Dream is one of the SHKP Reading Club’s signature events. Since its launch, more than 28,000 underprivileged students have benefited. In collaboration with St. James’ Settlement (SJS) and Hong Kong Trade Development Council, Read to Dream 2021 was held online for the first time spanning the entire school summer vacation of 1.5 months. Selections of offline activities including drama performance at schools and cultural tours to a local water village provided experiential engagement for the students involved. Via our community partners – the Federation of New Territories Youth Foundation and the Tai Po Youths Association – 1,500 students have benefited from the summer programme, nearly 50% more than the previous programme. Read & Share Programme Since 2014, the SHKP Reading Club has collaborated with the Hong Kong Aided Primary School Heads Association (HKAPSHA) to organize the Read & Share programme. The programme provides annual school-based support for teachers to promote reading. So far, more than 250 primary and secondary schools have participated. During the 2020/21 academic year, the programme focused on offering reading promotion sponsorships Case Study – SHKP Reading Club ‘Return to School’ to Deliver a Seamless Online-to-offline Reading Experience The SHKP Reading Club strove to provide reading and sharing opportunities amid the pandemic. As schools gradually resumed face-to-face classes, the SHKP Reading Club hosted outreach activities in the form of dramas and board games. This academic year, 25 secondary schools participated in the school outreach activities of the SHKP Reading Club. The Live Theatre staged a sci-fi love story, and the author and actors discussed its message with students. We broadcast the performance via Zoom so students could enjoy the drama remotely. Over 500 students watched the live webcast at the same time. Together with the online reading platform Read for More, which offers multimedia content about books and interviews, SHKP Reading Club extends the students’ reading experience from offline to online. • School outreach activity under SHKP Reading Club’s Read & Share programme and school outreach activities. The former – capped at HK$30,000 – enabled 31 primary and secondary schools to implement their own creative ideas for effectively promoting reading among students. Value Created for Community Sun Hung Kai Properties Limited • Sustainability Report 2020/21 42