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CUHK Jockey Club Initiative Gaia (Gaia) will hold a forum entitled ‘AQHI: A New Approach to Public Health Protection’ at the Boys’ & Girls’ Clubs Association of Hong Kong in Wanchai on Friday, 30 January.  The forum, under the ‘Environment and Climate Change Forum Series’, will bring together experts from different backgrounds to share knowledge and insights into the Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) system.  The forum will be conducted in Cantonese.  Members of the public are welcome and admission is free.  Limited seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis.  Interested parties can register at www.cuhk.edu.hk/gaia. 

The previous Air Pollution Index (API), employed by the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) of the HKSAR Government since 1985, was a single number system of air quality information.  To reflect the impact of air quality on health, EPD launched the AQHI system to replace the old system in 2013.  The AQHI system is a health risk-based reporting system based on the relationship between local air pollution and hospital admissions, thus providing a locally relevant index that is more useful as a health reference than the older system.  It aims to inform the public of the short-term health risk caused by air pollution, so that the public may take precautionary measures to protect their health. 

At the forum, Mr Dave Ho, Principal Environmental Protection Officer (Air Policy) of EPD, will deliver a keynote speech on the purpose, key elements and use of the AQHI system.  Mr Angus Wong, Policy Advocacy Manager of World Green Organisation, and Prof. Ignatius Yu, Honorary Clinical Professor of the Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), will share their views on the topic and interact with the participants. 

Environment and Climate Change Forum Series—AQHI: A New Approach to Public Health Protection

Date: Friday, 30 January 2015
Time: 3:00 pm–5:00 pm
Venue: 5/F Lecture Hall, The Boys’ & Girls’ Clubs Association of Hong Kong, Wanchai 

CUHK Jockey Club Initiative Gaia

CUHK Jockey Club Initiative Gaia is a 5-year community engagement programme launched in 2012 by CUHK, with a generous donation of HK$70 million by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust.  Committed to paving a sustainable future for Hong Kong, the programme aims at promoting environmental conservation and sustainability in local communities, through public education and carbon reduction partnerships with schools and non-governmental organizations. 

In order to draw on collective wisdom and to encourage active public participation in tackling various environmental issues, CUHK Jockey Club Initiative Gaia has organized the ‘Environment and Climate Change Forum Series’ to invite experts and practitioners from different fields, as well as members of the public to look into different perspectives of environmental challenges and impacts of climate change, and to develop possible solutions. 

The Jockey Club Museum of Climate Change (MoCC) maintained by Gaia is open for free to the public.  The MoCC showcases the ‘Three Poles’ (the North Pole, the South Pole and Mount Everest) collection of the renowned Hong Kong explorer Dr Rebecca Lee, innovative research in environment, energy and sustainability initiated by CUHK, and the Jockey Club’s initiatives that promote green living in the community. 

More details of the CUHK Jockey Club Initiative Gaia can be found at www.cuhk.edu.hk/gaia.