Content

Each student is required to take an animal photograph and compose a poem at Ocean Park during the Competition, expressing the proper value(s) and attitude(s) – such as perseverance and filial piety – assigned for the day.

 Rules and Regulations

• Each participant should submit only ONE entry (i.e. ONE photo and ONE poem) for the Competition. Entry submission which is incomplete or does not comply with the entry requirements or the rules and regulations may be disqualified.
• Plagiarism is strictly prohibited.
• Each entry should be the original work taken and written by the participant on the day of the Competition that has not been published or submitted to other competitions.
• Entries shall NOT include any information or content that is obscene, abusive, violent and defamatory, or violates the laws of the HKSAR.
• All submitted entries will NOT be returned.
• The Education Bureau (EDB) reserves the right to modify the rules and regulations of the Competition.

• Participants should be full-time students of secondary schools in Hong Kong.
• Students should enrol in the Competition through their school.
• Entries should be submitted on an individual basis.
• Each poem should have a title and be limited to a maximum of 150 words.
• Each photo should be of a minimum of 8 megapixels in resolution and in JPG/JPEG/PNG/HEIC formats, with file sizes of between 1MB to 5MB. 
• The entry should NOT contain any personally identifiable information or details of schools/teachers/students (e.g. school emblems, school uniforms, faces of teachers/students).
• Only minor modifications, such as photo cropping, red-eye removal and adjustments to brightness, contrast or colour saturation are allowed. Post-editing by computers or mobile phones and/or AI-assisted modifications including but not limited to change in colours, addition of lines, watermarks or patterns is not accepted. If the judging panel is of the view that the photo in an entry has been excessively processed, the participant will be disqualified and no objection shall be raised.
• Participants should retain the original digital file to prove that they are the original authors of their submissions.  The EDB may require participants to provide the original file (containing EXIF data) and reserves the right to disqualify participants who fail to provide the proof.

 Intellectual Property

• All participating students, their parents or guardians, and schools should note and agree with the following terms:
  (a) All entries should be original and have not been publicised on any occasions.
  (b) Participants need to ensure that the content of the entries does not infringe any copyright and publication rights. Please visit the following website for details related to intellectual property: https://www.ipd.gov.hk/en/ip-overview
• Any entries that have infringed any intellectual property right would NOT be accepted.
• The EDB takes no liability whatsoever for such infringement.
• The EDB retains the right to edit, modify, publish and use any entries in any forms for display and educational purposes, and has the final decision of the above actions.

 Inclement Weather Arrangements

• The Competition will be postponed if:

  (a) Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal No. 3 or above, or Red/Black Rainstorm Warning Signal is issued and still in force 3 hours before the activity is scheduled to begin; or
  (b) the EDB has announced class suspension for secondary schools due to inclement weather.

 Adjudication

• A judging panel comprising language and art professionals/practitioners, and representatives from the EDB will select entries for the Outstanding, Commendable and Best Photography Awards.
• Entries will be assessed based on the following criteria:
  (a) content and message of the poem and photo (e.g. relevance to the theme, clarity of message);
  (b) connection between the poem and the photo;
  (c) creativity and originality;
  (d) language use in the poem; and
  (e) artistic quality and photography skills.

 Awards and Prizes

 Important Dates

 Online Briefing and Professional Development Programme for Teachers

In support of the Competition, the following two events will be organised. Teachers interested in joining these two events should apply through the Training Calendar System (https://tcs.edb.gov.hk).

 Application

• Each school should enrol 10 students for the Competition and assign up to two teachers-in-charge (one offering advice on English Language and the other on photography) to supervise the participating students and facilitate the submission of entries on the day of the Competition. All participating students and teachers-in-charge will be provided with admission tickets for entry to Ocean Park.
• Schools should submit the application online Enrolment from 17 November 2025 (Monday) to 12 December 2025 (Friday). Priority will be given to schools which did not join the Competition in the 2024/25 school year. Remaining places, if any, will be offered to returning schools on a first-come-first-served basis.

Contact Persons

• Dr Eddy LI, English Language Education Section, Education Bureau  (cdoe5@edb.gov.hk / 2892 5454)
• Ms Shandy WONG, Arts Education Section, Education Bureau  (cdoae3@edb.gov.hk / 3698 3541)
• Mr Erik CHAN, Discovery and Education, Ocean Park Hong Kong (erik.pc.chan@oceanpark.com.hk / 3923 2351)