Dr Thomas Mok, Chairman of the HKLFFounded in 1996, the Hong Kong Lung Foundation (HKLF) is 15 years old. The past one and a half decade has witnessed the tremendous success of the Foundation in fulfilling its objectives, namely, to promote public education, to support research and to support professional education and training, all in the fields of lung health and respiratory diseases.
The Foundation has taken every opportunity to increase public awareness of respiratory diseases and lung health by organizing press conferences to disseminate important health messages and producing education pamphlets for distribution and posting on its website. To promote continuous professional development, the Foundation has co-hosted local and regional chest conferences with HKTS and ACCP(HKM), supported the publication of education monograph and supplements in the journal Respirology and established HKLF Fellowship. To date 29 members of HKTS or ACCP HKM have received overseas training or attended conferences as HKLF Fellows. The Foundation also supported doctors from mainland China to attend meetings held in Hong Kong. The establishment of HKLF Sino-exchange Scholarship in 2009 will further encourage our professional exchange. To encourage research, the Foundation has so far funded 32 research projects to help advance respiratory medicine, and supported the BOLD study as part of its 10th Anniversary activity. Results of many research projects were published in peer-reviewed journals.
In 2009 the HKLF Honorary Fellowship was established and was awarded to Prof WK Lam in the same year for his outstanding contribution to respiratory medicine in the local and international arenas. In 2010 we received enthusiastic response from secondary school students competing for the Year of the Lung (YOTL-HKLF) Dr Tse Yuen Man Memorial Scholarships Open Essay Compensation. Awarded essays will soon be published.
To celebrate the 15th Anniversary of HKLF and 25th Anniversary of HKTS, the HKLF, HKTS and ACCP (HKM) will co-organize a series of thematic activities on COPD, including public education via TV, radio and newspaper interviews, a spirometry campaign, press conferences, a COPD carnival, and a grand Anniversary dinner. So expect an eventful 2011.
The Foundation should rightly be proud of its excellence in the past 15 years. We owe much of the success to the vision and commitment of pioneers and leaders, and hard work and dedications of generations of office bearers and Board members to whom I offer my heartfelt gratitude. With the full support from the Board and close collaboration with HKTS and ACCP (HKM), I am confident our Foundation will continue to go from strength to strength, and further benefit the respiratory community and the society of Hong Kong.
