Date:    19 October 2025 (Sunday)
Time:    3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Venue:  Lecture Theatre, Hong Kong Central Library

Topic 1: Sport’s Role in Boosting Children's Language Development and Addressing Communication Challenges in Adult Athletes with
               Brain Injury
Topic 2: How Competent Can Children in Hong Kong Swim?

Conducted in Cantonese.
Free admission. First come, first served.

Members of the public can also watch a live broadcast of the lecture through the YouTube Channel of the Hong Kong Public Libraries (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJUipdvSACZjO1ldoO3YQBA)

Brief Introduction

Topic 1:    Sport’s Role in Boosting Children's Language Development and Addressing Communication Challenges in Adult Athletes
                  with Brain Injury
Speaker:  (1) Prof. Kong Pak-hin, Anthony
                  Unit Head and Associate Professor, the Academic Unit of Human Communication, Learning, and Development,
                  The University of Hong Kong
                  (2) Ms Elaine Eramela
                  Senior Speech Therapist, Wonder Word Speech Therapy Clinic
                  (3) Ms Amy Wong
                  Speech Therapist, Hospital Authority

Sports can play a crucial role in enhancing children's language development and tackling communication obstacles faced by adult athletes with brain concussions. This lecture explores how engaging in sports activities can positively impact communication skills in children with or without special needs. We will also discuss how physical activity plays a role in promoting cognitive functions related to language acquisition and communication. In addition, this lecture will also explore how speech-language therapists can assist adult athletes with breathing issues, voice disorders, and communication difficulties related to brain injuries.

Topic 2:    How Competent Can Children in Hong Kong Swim?
Speaker:  Dr. Chan King Chung, Derwin
                  Associate Head and Associate Professor, Department of Early Childhood Education, The Education University of Hong Kong

Swimming, a popular sport in Hong Kong, offers significant health benefits and life-saving skills, preventing drowning and enabling water sports participation. This lecture will introduce ground-breaking studies on Hong Kong children’s swimming competence, demonstrating factors associated with children’s swimming competence in Hong Kong, as well as that in Australia, Singapore, and the United States. These studies show that learn-to-swim programmes in Hong Kong significantly enhance children’s skills and participation. This lecture will also discuss how the research findings can be applied to develop an internationally recognised standard that systematically evaluates the age-relevant swimming competence of children.