Organized by the Committee on Health Promotion and Protection and administered by the University Health Services, the Campus Health Ambassador Programme has entered its 12th year. This year, 32 health ambassadors from 20 departments have organized health-related events in the Colleges with which they are affiliated, and taken part in University-wide and community activities, such as the walking campaign and mass CPR training. They have gained valuable experience of coordinating large-scale activities and have disseminated health-related information to CUHK members and the community.

One of the ambassadors, Hung Hing-yu, Year 3 student of Chinese medicine, said, 'I have learned how to mount a successful health campaign. In addition to providing accurate health information, the success of a campaign also depends on the balance of costs, the number of participants, its appeal and the long- and short-term effects to be achieved.'

Since 2007, exchange visits to other cities and countries have been arranged for the health ambassadors to gain a deeper understanding of other cultures and health promotion practices. This year, the destination is Xi'an and the delegation was led by Dr. Scotty Luk, Director of University Health Service. He said, 'The delegation of 15 set off for the Xi'an Jiaotong University on 19 May. We learned a great deal during the four-day visit. We shared with our counterparts from Xi'an Jiaotong University thoughts on and experience in campus health promotion in Hong Kong and on the mainland. Laughter and fun were never absent during the exchange. Our students had made the most of communicating in Putonghua.'

Lau Hiu-ching Jo Jo, Year 2 student of public health, said, 'The Programme provided me with a chance to promote a healthy environment at CUHK by putting theories from my major studies into practice. More importantly, I was given the opportunity to meet with students from Xi'an Jiaotong and engage in in-depth discussions of public health policies in the two places. Things I have learned from the trip will be beneficial to my future development.'

Chan Wing-man, Year 2 student of nursing, agreed, 'For four days we'd been travelling back in time in our museum visits, roaming the streets to taste local cuisines, and exploring the ancient city. The highlight was of course our meeting with the Xi'an Jiaotong students and exploring with them how the same health issues were handled in the two places.'

Hung Hing-yu added, 'The lesson I took away from the Xi'an visit is that due to cultural differences there is no single formula for running a campaign in the two places, both in terms of form and content. Different peoples have different cultural backgrounds and needs, and so amendments and adaptions to the original plan have to be made.'

Dr. Luk concluded, 'Xi'an is an ancient city where every stone, every tree has its own story to tell. Besides formal exchanges, we were taken by the Xi'an Jiaotong students on expeditions to local landmarks, sumptuous tours of historical sites, architectural heritage, the people, the culture and the customs. It is no doubt a valuable lesson for our students. Their knowledge and communicative skills will never be the same.'