The third “Smart Consumption Academy” (SCA), co-organised by the Consumer Council and the Education Bureau (EDB) with the strong support of around 30 co-organisers and supporting organisations, held its award presentation ceremony today (9 July 2026) at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. The ceremony was officiated by Mr Joe Chow Yat-ming, the Commissioner of Police.
Through a diverse range of engaging activities under 3 key themes – “Rational Consumption”, “Sustainable Consumption and Green Lifestyle”, and “Consumption and Caring for the Community”, the SCA aims to instil positive consumption values in secondary school students, promote practical consumer information, and nurture them to become smart consumers. Over 37,000 students from 153 secondary schools signed up for this year’s programme, marking a record-high enrolment number since its inception. Furthermore, for the “My Best Ambassador Scheme” newly launched in the 2025/26 school year, a total of 40 enthusiastic students from 22 secondary schools were appointed as the first cohort of ambassadors to further promote consumer education among their peers.
Mr Clement Chan Kam-wing, Chairman of the Consumer Council, addressed the audience during his welcome speech, “The Consumer Council has long kept pace with the times in educating young people to avoid impulsive consumption and various consumer traps, and to become smart, rational and responsible consumers. ‘My Best Ambassador Scheme’ was officially launched this year. Following their training, the student ambassadors has transformed knowledge into action by organising nearly 50 consumer rights activities in their schools, and reach out to the community to gain understanding of consumption experiences of different social strata. We will continue to uphold our commitment and work with stakeholders across sectors to nurture a new generation of smart consumers who are responsible and forward-looking.”
The Guest of Honour Mr Joe Chow Yat-ming remarked in his speech, “With the rapid advancement of technology today, consumption platforms and channels have proliferated, while various electronic payment tools have brought great convenience. However, this means that consumers could easily fall into traps and scams with the slightest oversight. The SCA helps young people to establish proper consumption values and behaviours at an early stage, encouraging them to pause and reflect before every purchase, to distinguish “needs” from “wants”, and to avoid falling into the trap of impulsive consumption. I believe the programme will continue to rally a stronger youth force to promote sound and healthy consumer values.”
To encourage students to put their knowledge into practice and pass on proper consumption values across schools and the community, the Consumer Council has been running the new “My Best Ambassador Scheme” since the past school year. Through participating in a series of training activities, including volunteer experience sharing sessions, talk on social enterprises and sustainable consumption, and workshop on complaint case resolution, the student ambassadors enhanced their understanding of the Council’s work and a wide range of consumer issues, and strengthened their event planning skills. They then applied their newly acquired knowledge and skills to organise close to 50 highly creative consumer rights activities within their schools, including booth games, a consumer news voting campaign, a consumption logo design contest, and radio dramas, gaining valuable hands-on experience.
Ambassadors also proactively supported the Council’s consumer education initiatives, extending their impact to the community and different target segments. The programme adopts a progressive approach by gradually guiding student ambassadors to organise activities independently and promote proper consumer values to the public, empowering the students to make informed choices and become responsible consumers. Outstanding students and participating schools were also commended. During today’s ceremony, the student ambassador awarded the “My Best Ambassador Award” Gold Award, and representatives from the awardee schools of the Best “Consumer Rights Day/Week/Month” School Award and “Best Ambassador School Award” Gold Award shared their memorable experiences, insights as well as the impact of promoting consumer education within their schools.
In addition, the other 3 modules under the SCA, namely “My Witty Online Quiz”, “My Fun IG Post Creation” and “My Unique Project Study”, also concluded successfully. During the live final competition of “My Witty Online Quiz” on 9 June, the 6 finalist teams demonstrated thorough knowledge of the Council’s functions, rational consumption and sustainable consumption, delivering an exciting rapid-fire round that energised the crowd. Meanwhile, “My Fun IG Post Creation” leveraged social media as a platform for creative expression. Award-winning students showcased their awareness of various consumer issues through short comics, illustrations and videos. Notably, the 3 winners of the “Most Influential Post” award were voted by the audience during today’s ceremony.
Award-winning entries for “My Unique Project Study” covered a broad spectrum of topics, with many focusing on current social issues and emerging consumption trends. For instance, the champion of the junior division examined consumers’ attitude towards pre-made meals and their impact on the local food and beverage industry, while other entries explored trending consumption phenomena such as northbound consumption among Hong Kong residents, as well as paid micro-dramas. The champion of the senior division conducted an in-depth study of the commercialisation of the unique “villain hitting” local ritual, while many other projects utilised artificial intelligence (AI) to promote sustainable consumption, such as developing consumer decision-making AI tools to reduce the likelihood of impulse spending; another team also attempted to develop an app to tackle surplus food and reduce waste.
All competitions underwent rigorous screening and adjudication processes. Screening and final adjudication panels comprised Council Members and senior management of the Consumer Council, university professors, experienced educators, and professionals from various sectors.