I am delighted to welcome you all to this year's Asia Cultural Co-operation Forum (ACCF). The Hong Kong SAR Government is committed to promoting cultural co-operation and exchange with our friends and neighbours around the region. We initiated the ACCF in 2003 to foster cultural collaboration and promote our region's cultural industries. We have since held six Forums that have successfully brought together policy makers and cultural experts from across Asia.

The theme for this year's ACCF is "Intangible Cultural Heritage - Continuation and Enhancement". In the face of a rapidly changing and modernising world, the preservation of intangible cultural heritage is a pressing issue for all nations. How are we going to preserve our traditions in an age of globalisation and consumerism? Will new media and technology kill off our traditions or help to preserve our heritage? While economic progress is welcome and inevitable, it is also disheartening to see many of our younger generation becoming less interested in traditional arts and culture and more consumed by new forms of entertainment.

In the current environment of change, we must not allow our intangible cultural heritage to gradually disappear. This Forum is a great opportunity to discuss the issues and formulate strategies to preserve our heritage.

My heartfelt thanks to the ministers, representatives, speakers and all our guests for joining this year's ACCF. Your participation will help to forge new partnerships and explore various insights in preserving and promoting intangible cultural heritage. Working together, I am confident that we can continue to enhance our valuable and unique heritage. I wish you all a fruitful ACCF 2011 and a very enjoyable stay in Hong Kong.