In 2008, Mr. Lee Kam Woon and Mrs. Lee Shum Shuk Yuen (BA 1953) generously donated HK$2 million to the JMSC to establish an endowment fund for the Lee Shu Pui Leung Wai Hing Distinguished Lecture, named in honour of Mr Lee’s late parents.  As donations made by graduates are matched by the university, the matching funds have been used as seed money for setting up a Digital Media Development Fund.

The endowment fund will be used to organize an annual distinguished lecture in digital media.  The JMSC will invite a visionary leader and thinker to deliver the Lecture which will address critical issues confronting the media in the age of revolutionary change. The Lecture will also bring together academics, industry practitioners, and community members in a common pursuit for the enhancement of the industry. The Lecture will be widely publicized locally and internationally.

The inaugural lecture will be held on 24 October, 2008 (Friday) from 5 – 6:30pm at Wang Gungwu Theatre, The University of Hong Kong. The lecture will be delivered by Professor Lawrence Lessig, the C. Wendell and Edith M. Carlsmith Professor of Law, Stanford University, and founder of Creative Commons.  The subject of the lecture is “Free Culture and Free Society: Can the West Love Both?”

The Digital Media Development Fund will support research and teaching developments that will enhance journalism education for the 21st century.  Further donations to support this project are most welcome.