Media OutReach
World Vision marks its 75th anniversary with World Vision Day , sharing the achievements of its global poverty alleviation efforts and expressing gratitude to its partners for walking alongside
Centered around the theme “Light On, Hope Ahead”, World Vision Day highlighted how partners joined hands with World Vision to bring transformation and new hope to vulnerable children and their communities. The opening ceremony was officiated by Andrew Morley, President and CEO of World Vision International, and Amy Fung, the Chief Executive Officer of World Vision Hong Kong. Long-term sponsor Stephen Chan and artists who have witnessed World Vision’s work — Priscilla Wong, Michelle Wai, director Benny Lau and his family, and music producer Cedric Chan — attended and shared valuable reflections.
Stephen Chan engaged in a heartfelt conversation with Andrew Morley about the tangible impact of the Child Sponsorship Programme, and the passion and motivation behind World Vision’s 75 years of work on global poverty.
Andrew Morley reiterated that urgent humanitarian needs have rocketed almost 10 times from 3 crises annually 15 years ago to 33 crises today, but international humanitarian funding remains critically insufficient, posing immense challenges for frontline relief efforts. He recalled he met an 8-year-old girl, Esther, living between southern Kenya and the border of northern Tanzania, whose parents sold her for marriage to an old man in exchange for six cows because the family was starving. Being abused by her husband, Esther escaped and failed. After a few attempts, she went to World Vision’s local office. Eventually she was adopted by foster parents and enrolled into a local school — an outcome made possible by the support of World Vision’s child sponsorship programme. Andrew Morley said he was impressed by her smile and the thankfulness in her eyes.
As a child sponsor of 6 children, Andrew Morley said every donation had the power to help vulnerable children like Esther transform their lives. “If you think what you are doing isn’t making any difference, just remember Esther,” he added. Andrew Morley also thanked Hong Kong people and partners. “To everyone, corporate partners, schools, hospitals, child sponsors, and to those who raise money for us, and those who pray for us, for all of you I would like to say thank you,” he said.
To honour their long-standing efforts in providing vital assistance and igniting hope of vulnerable communities, certificates of appreciation and plagues were presented to partners from nearly 300 organisations and units, and commemorative pins were awarded to donors showing more than 20 years of support.
Kenny, a child sponsor supporting World Vision for 12 years, recalled visiting his sponsored daughter in Bangladesh during a once‑in‑a‑century cyclone. Despite the devastation and the clean-up at home, she insisted on keeping their meeting, and Kenny felt deeply moved. “We often think donating money for a child’s education is the best option,” he reflected. “But if the community doesn’t have a school, the child still has no way to study even when there is adequate funding. It’s something I only came to understand after becoming a child sponsor.”
During the event, a live band made up of students from Ma On Shan Tsung Tsin Secondary School that participated in World Vision’s “Joint Secondary School Famine”, performed two record hits – “Amani” and “We Are One”. The golden hit “Amani” was written by the well-known local band Beyond after joining World Vision’s trip to Kenya in 1991, while “We Are One” was the theme song created for “30-Hour Famine” by another local band RubberBand, following their visit to Zimbabwe. Both songs conveyed messages of hope for world peace and solidarity. The event was further uplifted when 24 children of Benji’s Choir with speech impairments performed “This Little Light of Mine”, a song World Vision’s founder Dr. Bob Pierce taught children in Xiamen in 1947.
World Vision has been actively promoting the concept of legacy giving, which enables donors to bring long-term change to the fragile communities through early planning of personal assets. A seminar was co-hosted with “ForeverGift.hk” on 3 Instruments of Peace on World Vision Day, where a practicing lawyer explained the importance of making a will and enduring power of attorney, as well as making advance medical directives. Over 100 people attended the seminar.
Moreover, World Vision reaffirmed its commitment to serving the world’s most vulnerable children and communities and contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) via five priority areas: Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Education, Health and nutrition, Livelihoods, and Child Protection. Workshops at the event introduced educators to these work towards SDGs, and interactive game booths engaged the public on issues such as disaster relief and water resources.
While on a trip to China in 1947, a young American reporter and American Baptist minister, Dr Bob Pierce, met a poor girl named Baiyu (meaning white jade) during a visit in Xiamen, who was expelled by her family as she wanted to go to school. Pierce wanted to help this precious soul, so he gave Ms Tena Hoelkedoer, a female missionary in Xiamen, all that he had, which was just five dollars. Ms Tena used it to buy food and clothes for Baiyu and send her to school. Afterwards, Pierce sent the same amount each month after returning home so that she could continue to look after Baiyu.
This encounter marked the turning point in Pierce’s life. In 1950, he founded World Vision, with the aim of helping poverty-stricken children around the world. That five dollars set the prototype of the Child Sponsorship Programme. The first Child Sponsorship Programme began a few years later in response to the needs of hundreds of thousands of orphans at the end of the Korean War in 1953. It was later extended to other Asian countries, and places such as Latin America, Africa, Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
In 1962, Typhoon Wanda hit Hong Kong severely. World Vision distributed relief supplies in Hong Kong, and later set up its first field office in the territory. With the economic recovery in Hong Kong, World Vision Hong Kong turned itself into a fundraising office in 1982, supporting the relief and development work of World Vision offices worldwide. World Vision Hong Kong also promotes public education, raising public awareness about global issues such as poverty, hunger, health and child rights.
Hashtag: #WorldVision
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
Media OutReach
IP Merchandise Emerges as the New Ace in the Young Consumer Market; GiftOne Decodes Industry Trends and Offers Custom Custom IP Gift Solutions
Consumption Paradigm Shift: From “Good Value” to “One-of-a-Kind,” IP Merchandise Meets Young Demands
“Yat Jai,” a senior practitioner in GiftOne’s Marketing Department, stated in the report that a decade of industry dedication has given the team a clear view of the changing consumer landscape. Today’s Gen Z consumers hold significantly different views; “good value, good quality, and good appearance” (平靚正) is no longer the top priority, with personalisation and uniqueness becoming core pursuits. They wish to avoid “clashing styles,” aspiring to express their identity and taste through their possessions. Furthermore, in this era of information overload, their consumption is more rational, demanding higher quality and exclusivity from corporate gift items.
IP merchandise precisely matches this demand. IP gift items featuring popular anime characters, movie protagonists, or trendy IP that resonate with young consumers have transcended mere object status to become “status symbols.” “When customers receive a company gift printed with an IP they actively follow, it feels like a signal saying, ‘I understand you.’ The influence of this emotional connection should not be underestimated,” Yat Jai stressed.
Consumption Trend Transformation: From “Material” to “Spiritual,” IP Merchandise Creates Emotional Resonance
The report further indicates that the current consumer market is undergoing a deep transformation from “material consumption” to “spiritual consumption.” Consumers no longer purchase items solely to satisfy functional needs but also seek emotional experiences and spiritual fulfilment. Taking trendy IP toys as an example, the core reason products like blind boxes and figures attract consumers to queue is the “sense of belonging to a trend” they carry—consumers are buying not just a toy but an “entry ticket” to a subculture.
IP merchandise as a corporate gift functions as a cultural symbol that can quickly spark emotional resonance within the target demographic. “Just like buying a watch: in the past, it was to tell the time; now, it’s to showcase taste and identity. The ‘you-understand-me’ feeling brought by an IP gift can instantly establish a priceless sense of identity and belonging, something traditional company gift items struggle to achieve,” added a relevant GiftOne representative.
Core Traits of Successful IP: Malleability and Scalability Are Essential
Not all IP can succeed in the market. The report specifies that successful IP must possess two key traits: Malleability and Scalability. Malleability means the IP can break through the limitations of a single medium, moving across different scenarios such as film, comics, and games, to consistently maintain freshness. Scalability refers to the IP’s potential for cross-industry development, extending from cultural and creative products to everyday items like stationery, electronics, and apparel, achieving “all-around penetration.”
“These two traits are critically important for corporate gift customisation. Only IP with the capacity to ‘transform’ and ‘replicate’ can provide us with more creative space to design IP gift items that align with market changes and exceed consumer expectations, helping businesses stand out in the competition,” the GiftOne team explained.
Industry Cases: McDonald’s and Sushiro Attract Young Audiences with IP Marketing
In the report, GiftOne cites two major examples of successful IP marketing. Global chain McDonald’s, known for deeply familiar in-house IP such as Ronald McDonald and Grimace, has recently launched co-branded toys with Pokémon, which broke age boundaries. These collaborations not only attract children but have also become collectors’ items for adult Pokémon enthusiasts; the co-branded products in Japan even triggered a buying frenzy.
In the Gift HK market, Sushiro has successfully attracted Generation Z (Post-00s) consumers through collaborations with popular IP like Oshi no Ko and Haikyu!! Social media platforms, including Instagram and Threads, are frequently filled with young users sharing their Sushiro IP gift “hauls” or documenting content like “eating Sushiro for multiple consecutive days just to collect IP merchandise,” fully confirming the powerful appeal of licensed company gift items to the younger demographic.
GiftOne: Over a Decade of Experience to Help Businesses Capitalise on the IP Merchandise Boom
To help businesses seize the IP merchandise trend, GiftOne relies on over ten years of corporate gift customisation experience to provide clients with a full-process service, from IP selection and solution design to production execution. Whether it involves developing IP gift items based on popular licensed IP or creating exclusive IP products for a corporation, the team combines market research with user needs to ensure the merchandise possesses both trendy attributes and brand value, thereby assisting businesses in precisely reaching the young consumer group.
Hashtag: #GiftOne
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
“Digital transformation continues to be the main driver of data growth,” said Thachawan Chinchanakarn, Head of Southeast Asia at Synology. “This strong momentum is fueling greater demand for advanced solutions.”
According to Synology’s 2025 Digital Transformation Trend Survey, nearly 90% of businesses in Southeast Asia have already invested in digital transformation — not just as a plan, but as a strategic commitment. However, challenges remain as 85% of organizations are still in the early stages. While more than 55% have experienced cyberattacks, only one in five expressed confidence in their ability to recover.
As businesses accelerate digital transformation, the rise of AI has further amplified both opportunities and challenges. While businesses embrace the benefits of AI, this evolution also introduces growing challenges in data privacy, regulatory compliance and operational resilience.
In this new era, cyber resilience is emerging as the foundation of sustainable growth and operational continuity.
Singapore’s digital drive fuels demand
Singapore plays a critical role as the regional hub with multinational corporations as well as small and medium-sized enterprises alike investing heavily in digital infrastructure and emerging technologies. From government initiatives to private sector investments, the nation’s strong focus on digitalization and emerging technologies highlights the growing demand for modern data infrastructure and the need for solutions that ensure cyber resilience.
“Over the past five years, Synology has continuously earned the trust of enterprises and organizations in Singapore, nearly doubling revenue growth,” said Jason Sin, Account Manager of Synology. “With our expanded portfolio, business customers in Singapore now have more tailored solutions to meet their diverse and specific needs.”
Earlier this year, Synology launched ActiveProtect, a purpose-built backup appliance for enterprises protecting diverse workloads across multiple sites. With various models ranging from 8TB to 140TB capacity, it meets the needs of diverse enterprise scenarios while delivering immutable backups, air-gap capabilities, and regulatory compliance support to provide a robust defense against evolving cyber threats.
In addition, Synology has expanded its video surveillance ecosystem, offering a complete suite of cameras, storage and management software for both on-premises and cloud deployment.
The latest lineup introduces AI-powered video analytics that can detect people, vehicles and intrusions in real time, while C2 Surveillance, Synology’s cloud-based management platform, enables secure and flexible deployment across sites. All components integrate seamlessly with Synology Systems to enable centralized monitoring and efficient management across multiple sites.
Aside from data protection and video surveillance solutions, Synology has premiered PAS7700, its first all-NVMe enterprise storage that delivers ultra-performance with end-to-end NVMe architecture, achieving up to two million IOPS and 30 GB/s throughput with less than one millisecond latency. Its active-active architecture ensures continuous availability, while robust encryption and enterprise-grade performance make it ideal for mission-critical workloads.
Safeguarding the digital future
Looking ahead, Synology will bring AI-powered capabilities into Synology Office Suite, including OCR (Optical Character Recognition), semantic search, summarization, and real-time translation. These features will be powered by on-premises servers to ensure sensitive data remains private while giving organizations smarter and safer ways to collaborate.
“Cyber resilience is now the top priority for IT leaders worldwide, essential for business continuity and enterprise competitiveness,” said Thachawan. “Our portfolio demonstrates Synology’s commitment to delivering simple, scalable and secure solutions that empower businesses to safeguard their most critical assets and thrive in the digital future.”
Hashtag: #Synology
https://www.synology.com/en-sg
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
About Synology
Staying at the forefront of data management, Synology innovates and adapts to ever-evolving technologies, and continues bringing new possibilities to the table, including but not limited to solutions for data storage and backup, file collaboration, video management, and network infrastructure – all designed with one goal in mind – presenting a centralized platform to simplify IT administration while driving digital transformation for businesses worldwide.
The product launch is highlighted by a unique collaboration featuring artwork from the upcoming animated short Ted’s World (2026). This project, uniting Xencelabs, Pixar’s RenderMan team, DAMN! Visdev, and Dell, brought the 2D character Ted Paul to life as a 3D animated creation.
“As Ted Paul was created in Jesper’s unique style, maintaining visual integrity was our top priority,” said Fabio Sciedlarczyk. Nicolas De Aquino from DAMN! Visdev added that the pen displays enabled precise brush strokes true to the original art. Dylan Sisson of Pixar Renderman Team noted the collaboration embodies “art challenging tech, and tech inspiring art.”
Check Video via Xencelabs YouTube Channel or here
Key features of the Pen Display 16 Lite include a 4K OLED display (3840×2160) with 1.07 billion colors, 100,000:1 contrast ratio, and wide color gamut support (Adobe RGB, Rec 709, sRGB). It offers a natural drawing experience with an anti-glare screen, a finely tuned pressure curve, and includes two v2 pens. Weighing just 1.2 kg (2.67 lbs) and only 12mm thick, it features single-cable USB-C connectivity for ultimate portability.
The Pen Display 16 Lite is available now through Xencelabs’ official stores. Visit www.xencelabs.com for more information.
Hashtag: #Xencelabs
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
-
Feature/OPED6 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism9 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz3 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking7 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy2 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking3 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Sports3 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn
-
Banking3 years agoSort Codes of UBA Branches in Nigeria