Swire Properties Placemaking Academy

This programme is a competition that welcome students from all Hong Kong universities. It will once again put the next generation of local youth in the spotlight, as they work together during a six-month apprenticeship to make the White Christmas Street Fair a greener, smarter and more engaging event for the greater Hong Kong community.

In addition, students also took part in:

• Masterclasses:

Totalling more than 100 hours; lectures by industry experts and our department heads, from a variety of backgrounds such as architecture, urban planning, design and communications.

• Mentorship Sessions:

Students were mentored by our senior management, event-planning experts, and thought leaders from the design and community-planning industries.

• Talent retention:

Offering Placemaking Academy Alumni with work opportunities from the greater Swire Properties community. Up to now, we have provided job opportunities in various projects of Swire Properties for more than 25 outstanding alumni.

Team qualities

Participating teams, comprised of no more than four members, will need to specialise in space and event design, communication, sustainability, digital and social media.

Spatial design:

Design the event space and transform it into something inspiring, incorporating a captivating Christmas theme through decorations, setup, and various event elements. Additionally, students may leverage Al technology to enhance the experience by creating interactive and immersive elements using Al-powered visuals or augmented reality.

PR & communication:

Develop, propose and execute engagement initiatives and a communication plan for the event; provide copywriting support for corporate collaterals such as the press invitations, press releases and corporate invitations to VIPs and key stakeholders.

Environment & sustainability:

Develop, propose and execute a plan to make the White Christmas Street Fair as green as possible; “zero waste” concepts can be applied to the Street Fair.

Digital & Social Media:

Identify relevant areas of the Street Fair where digital innovation can help to enhance visitors’ event experience. Propose and execute a communication strategy with a social media plan for the Street Fair 2024; monitor the public response on social media channels.

WALKING INTO THE SANTA’S WHIMSICAL FACTORY

As a continuation of our youth empowerment mission, this year’s event is the first-ever physical Street Fair fully designed and run by seven local university students from the Swire Properties Placemaking Academy (SPPA). Beginning in July, students joined as a team and pitched ideas to the organisers, with two teams winning a paid six-month project apprenticeship at the SPPA. During the apprenticeship, our top management and SPPA’s star lecturers transferred skills and knowledge to students on Company’s long-term goals in Placemaking, Innovation, and Sustainable Development. To give the seven students a hands-on experience on the skills learnt, they were given the chance to design and execute the Street Fair, and set to fill the Quarry Bay and wider Hong Kong community with loads of festive joy.

To make the Street Fair a more unique and engaging event to the community, students from SPPA interviewed stakeholders and community members, and visited the Swire Archives to collect lesser-known stories about the Taikoo Sugar Refinery. With the theme of “Santa’s Whimsical Factory”, the SPPA team set the Sugar Refinery as the blueprint of the event design, and combined the elements of it, including gear wheels and classic design of the candy boxes, with fantasy and Christmas. On one hand, students hope to pay tribute to the golden age of the Sugar Refinery, and bring the collective memory of the Quarry Bay community back to life; on the other hand, they would like to bring a little respite in the midst of the epidemic, and restore the hope and fantasy of Christmas in the community.

In line with the Company’s commitment to sustainable development, the Street Fair aims to become the community's first-ever Zero-Waste Event. The SPPA team worked closely with designers, suppliers, vendors and the Sustainable Development early on, to carefully choose the materials and resources used. The aim is to divert an average of 90% or more of waste from landfills, which will be reused, recycled, composted and/or recovered for productive use in nature or the economy. Through different measures, the team hopes to reduce the excessive waste of the event, and celebrate a green Christmas with the community.

Project Timeline

8 - 26 April, 2024

Application Opens

3 May, 2024

Sharing sessions for all interested students

6 - 17 May, 2024

Consultation

20 May, 2024

Proposal submission

27 - 30  May, 2024

Workshop for selected teams

31 May, 2024