Press Release
8 March 2019
Immediate Release
Golden Age Expo & Summit
Age beyond Borders
8-10 March 2019 Hall 3G HKCEC
Organized by Golden Age Foundation, the 4th “Golden Age Expo and Summit” opens today (8th March) at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre. This is a large-scale Expo and Summit specially catered for the Golden Age population (i.e. people aged 45 and above, retirees and the elderly). The Guest of Honour, the Chief Secretary for Administration, Matthew Cheung Kin-chung states that “Hong Kong is one of the places enjoying the longest life expectancy in the world. In 20 years’ time, one in three people here will be aged 65 or above. This Event provides an excellent opportunity for cross-sectoral, inter-generational and cross-boundary dialogue and collaboration that fosters joint efforts in finding solutions to tackle the shift of the society towards smart ageing, and contributes indispensably towards the building of ‘the Golden Age’ of society.” Over 600 retired and present government officials, leaders from businesses, NGOs, social enterprises and delegations from the Greater Bay Area attended the Opening Ceremony.
The Expo assembles over 100 booths, showcasing thousands of advanced and high-quality products, technologies and services from Hong Kong and around the world, including home care products, smart homes, health products, medical and rehabilitation equipment, innovative technology, continuing education, insurance and financial planning, entertainment and lifestyle products, life and death education and social services, etc. Moreover, the Summit gathers over 70 renowned international and local speakers to discuss and explore innovative ways of building Hong Kong into a ‘Smart Aging City’, covering business, finance, research and technology, new models of elderly services, productivity and cross-generation cooperation, etc. There are also numbers of health talks, on-site health screening and various performances throughout the three-day event.
Mrs Rebecca Choy Yung, the Founder & Chair of Golden Age Foundation, states that increasing longevity is bringing us both challenges and opportunities. With growing numbers, Golden Ager is a treasure trove of talents that can enhance the productivity and cohesion of society. The golden years of business in the future will be driven by the new demand of the Golden Age population, from smart homes to innovative elderly services, from lifelong learning to new offerings in consumer products, bringing unprecedented economic growth. Moreover, the financial market will also be driven by the impending need to make proper financial planning ready for the 100-year life. This market crosses borders, be it geographical, sectoral or generational. Hence, the theme of the 2019 Golden Age Expo & Summit is “Age beyond Borders”. The event was organized by people from various sectors including civil, business, government, science and research. More than 600 volunteers participated in various preparatory work, performances and activities.
A Large-scale Event catered for Golden Agers
Initiated by the Golden Age Foundation in 2016, Golden Age Expo and Summit set off a lively discussion on the issue of aging. In its 4th edition in 2019, it continue deliver thousands of innovative products and services. Numerous innovative social enterprises, non-profit organizations and commercial organizations participate with new thinking, new methods and new technologies, and strive to solve various social problems brought by aging. The followings are some highlights of the exhibits:
Hong Kong Federation of Senior Citizen Industries (HKFSCI) Pavilion
As this year’s new partner, the newly established "Hong Kong Elderly Industry Association" organized their members and formed the HKFSCI Pavilion. Exhibitors such as:
- Pine Care Group, the first elderly home operator to be listed on the main board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. Currently, it runs 12 facilities in Hong Kong and China.
- Forica Foods (HK) Co., provides medical food, food for post medical treatment, nursing care meals and disaster.
- PHASE Scientific, with ground-breaking sample preparation technology, it change the landscape in diagnostics and healthcare management, shifting from treatment to prevention.
- Medifocus, provide FDA approved medical equipment Prolieve which is safe and reliable for BPH treatment without operation and medication.
- EasyHear, a hearing-aid made in Hong Kong by a group of local Electronic Engineers with persistent RnD for 14 years. Accredited with world class technology awards.
- Hong Kong Health Care Federation, a charitable organization devoted to improve the quality of medical and nursing services and promote healthy society, showcases Technothy "Negative Hydrogen Ion Water Machine" and "Bathing Guard".
Start-up Pavilion
Assembled numbers of technological start-up enterprises, provided various innovative pension technology, including medical supplies and assistive devices, rehabilitation products, smart home etc., to provide all-rounded and innovative experiences for the seniors, including medical care, gourmet food, living environment and life style.
Life & Dead Pavilion
It promote life and death education and environmental funeral. One of the social enterprises "Forget Thee Not Limited" is planning the funeral with humanize and environmental protection, providing funeral service with the concept of life and death education. The company chooses the reusable gyroscope, decoration, using potted flowers to replace disposable flowers, using recycled paper for Taoist paper art, exquisite environmentally friendly paper coffin, and biodegradable urn and so on.
Culture Homes exclusively introduces “Suberakaze” and “SuberakazeMeat” soft meal from Japan. It showcases a variety of soft meals with the theme of Hong Kong's nostalgic ice room at the venue for three days, such as chicken and roasted pork rice, western toast, egg tarts, fried stuffed peppers, red bean ice drink and lemon tea, etc., bringing nostalgic Hong Kong-style culture and collective memories to the elderly, regaining the classic taste. Formulated with enzymes to convert the original taste of the food into a soft meal that is easy to swallow. It’s safe and stable, with soft and smooth taste, suitable for all kinds of ingredients. The elderly can regain the pleasure of eating and greatly improve the quality of life.
Another award-winning electric wheelchair "Whill" from Japan, well-deisgned and capable to drive on mud, gravel and slopes. Equipped with an omnidirectional wheel that can rotate 360 degrees, and easily disassembled and transported. It highly improve the mobility of elderly.
HOHOLIFE, a social enterprise that provide creative lifestyle products for the elderly. It introduces the new "Elder Furniture" series, including: Swivel Chair (Made in Japan), which can easily slide forward or backward or 360 degrees, with a 90-degree safety lock for the elderly to enter and exit the dining table very easily. Electric Self-supporting Chair, just a button, the seat will atomically raised or lowered, assisting the elders with weak legs and joint pains to sit up and down independently, reducing the pressure of the caregiver. Special offers are also available during the event.
Other innovative exhibits include:
- Smart technology products, such as multi-functional electric wheelchairs, swallowing assisted soft meals, self-supporting chairs, automatic drainage care machines, rehabilitation robots, portable hair washing machine, intelligent hearing aids, etc.;
- Health care products, supplies and services; organic health foods; health testing equipment;
- Smart home design and supplies, to enhance the safety and quality the elderly’s life;
- Mental wellness including counseling, assessment & report;
- Chinese & Western medical and health care services;
- Retirement planning, wealth management, leisure activities, cultural and educational training, on-site health test.
Golden Age Summit
The Summit gathers over 70 renowned international and local speakers to discuss and explore innovative ways of building Hong Kong into a ‘Smart Aging City’, covering business, finance, research and technology, new models of elderly services, productivity and cross-generation cooperation, etc. In this digital age, through innovation and collaboration with all sectors and generations, we strive to improve and develop Hong Kong into a Smart Ageing City. This is an integrated framework with five prioritised areas for strategic development:
- Golden Age economy
The development of the golden age economy need the participation of the political and business community. The summit invites numbers of well-known speakers from political and business sectors to discuss:
- Policy Dialogue: How public policy could facilitate a robust elderly care industry?
- CEO Forum - the Golden Age Economy
- Ageing cross Borders
- Exploring Innovative Retail Model
- Wellness and health
Entering the golden age, age no longer determines your life, your health determines your life. As long as you are in good health, you can still live a wonderful life like the young. There are multiple topics at the summit to discuss wellness and healthcare.
- Innovative Healthcare Models beyond Border
- Living and Leaving - My Way!
- The Paths to R.I.P.
- Family Chinese Medicine
- Ageing and Dementia
- Exploring Primary Health Care Models
- Productivity and engagement
Do you think technology is difficult for elderly people? In fact, in recent years, the development of science and technology has become closer to the needs of the elderly, so that they can be used more easily, and help the elderly to integrate into the community. Several summits introduce technological innovations designed for the golden age.
- Advance Technology in Healthcare Management
- Softmeal Academy – Creative Culinary for Elders
- Telemedicine beyond Now
- Technological application
The problem of aging has made the golden generation more and more important in the social structure. They have undoubtedly important productivity for the society.
- Ageless Employment: How to Counteract the Impact of an Ageing Population?
- 100-Year Life Unlimited Possibilities
- Concluding Session: Truth of Ageing
- Social Innovation for Golden Age : DBS Impact Award
- Social cohesion and inclusion
The event is supported by more than 600 volunteers from different ages and sectors. It achieved the concept of cross-generation cooperation. A session named "Generations of Love - Pledge of Love" Launching Ceremony will be held on 10 March 10:30am, to promote the sense of cross-generation communion among the young, middle and elder in family and the society.
Special Programme:
Social Innovation for Golden Age: DBS Impact Award
It aims to nurture social innovators to develop practical, scalable and sustainable business models for the Golden Age era. Dozens of startups applied for the Award. Five finalists were selected to participate the Pitch Final before a panel of judges as well as an audience made up of investors, professionals and people who are interested in ageing innovation on 10 March. The winning team will receive an award of HK$50,000.
More informaiton is available at the following link:
Ticket Registration: www.goldenage.foundation/expo-2019
Summit Registration: www.goldenage.foundation/summit2019
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For more information, please visit www.goldenage.foundation or contact:
Ms. Milla Wong
Public Affairs Manager
Tel: (852) 2561 5566 / 6229 1907
Email: milla.wong@goldenage.foundation
Website: www.goldenage.foundation
Facebook: www.facebook.com/gafhk