- Over 120 primary and secondary school students celebrated the completion of the course at the graduation ceremony.
- Program aims to empower artistically minded students to grow into a “Future Arts & Culture Ambassador.”
MGM is championing the arts and emboldening the youth to embark on their own artistic journeys, celebrating the first graduation of its “MGM Arts & Culture Docent Training Program.”
This year was the debut of the program, which leverages the POLY MGM MUSEUM as a dedicated platform for talent development, using it as its primary learning anchor. The dynamic venue complements MGM’s vibrant public art landscape, creating an immersive and inspiring educational experience for participants, as they explore the richness and historical depth of Chinese and Western culture, using the arts as a form to broaden perspectives and discover new horizons.
The inaugural docent training program offers upper primary and junior secondary students a structured curriculum to ignite or further their artistic appreciation.
After completing an initial training program, students quickly progress into guided tours and museum-related activities, with the goal of empowering young artistically minded students to grow into a “Future Arts & Culture Ambassador.”
Even in its first year, the initiative saw enthusiastic uptake, with over 120 primary and secondary school students participating and successfully completing the program. In celebration of their achievements, nearly 300 guests, students, school representatives and parents attended the graduation ceremony at the MGM Grand Ballroom to celebrate the important milestone.
“The POLY MGM MUSEUM has served as both a cultural landmark promoting Chinese culture and cross-cultural exchange, and a platform for nurturing.” -Kenneth Feng
Speaking at the event, Kenneth Feng, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of MGM China Holdings Limited praised the youth’s achievements and highlighted the group’s ongoing dedication to artistic and cultural education, noting “Since its opening, the POLY MGM MUSEUM has served as both a cultural landmark promoting Chinese culture and cross-cultural exchange, and a platform for nurturing. This program reflects MGM’s commitment to advancing arts and cultural popularization, offering students a base and diverse learning experience at the museum that enhances their cultural awareness, communication and presentation skills, and global perspective.”
Building a beautiful future
This is by far not MGM’s first foray into artistic development and appreciation. Since 2013, the group has been providing structured training opportunities for university students in Macau to pursue artistic passion, with a program welcoming about 1,400 docents and providing over 60,000 cumulative hours of professional training and internship opportunities for the local youth to explore career prospects in arts and culture.
To build upon this success, the “MGM Arts & Culture Docent Training Program” provides a tiered development framework. The first stage – the “MGM Arts & Culture Junior Docent Summer Camp” – is a five-day program created for Primary 4 to Primary 6 students, aimed at sparking an early interest in arts and culture.
The second stage is the “MGM Arts & Culture Youth Docent Training Course”, which offers a 54-hour structure curriculum for Secondary 2 and Secondary 3 students to enhance their cultural literacy. The key part of the program is its engagement and interest-based approach to learning, with an interactive curriculum that covers arts and cultural knowledge, docent and interpretation skills, public speaking and emceeing, stage presence and hospitality services. Practical application of skills happens through museum internship sessions, which further inspire participants to build their confidence and strengthen their interpersonal communication skills, with the added benefit of gaining inspiration for their future career development.
This is extended further via the “MGM Arts & Culture Docent Ambassador” initiative, which allows for participants who have completed the program to continue serving as museum docents in their spare time, enjoying priority access to MGM arts and cultural activities and being given opportunities to support event operations. Aside from broadening their arts and cultural knowledge through continuous learning and hands-on experience, participants can also accumulate training hours to redeem rewards and recognition.
One junior docent who completed the program praised the opportunity and confidence that it inspired; discovering a possible future in the cultural arena. Leong Wa Teng noted, “The “MGM Arts & Culture Docent Training Program” has opened up a new world for me. For the first time, I confidently introduced museum exhibits to visitors as a docent, which strengthened my self-confidence and communication skills. The experience inspired me to pursue a future career in cultural tourism and share Macau’s unique cultural legacy and tourism charm with more people.”
Graduating students displayed their new skills to friends, educators, family and key members of society.
The docent was one of many graduates to provide guided tours for guests and participants, showcasing their learning gained through the program and celebrating their achievement.
The graduating students were able to display their new skills not only to friends, family and educators but their graduation was also attended by key figures from the government, associations and business community.
Guests attending the event included Wong Ka Ki, Deputy Director of the DSEDJ; Cheng Yanxi, Representative of the Department of Publicity, Cultural and Sports Affairs of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macao SAR; Lou Ho Ian, ICM’s representative and Director of the Macao Museum; Chow Pak Fai, President of Macao Catholic Schools Association; Ma Io Fong, Deputy Secretary-general of Macau Chinese Education Association; Tam Ho Chan, Vice-President of Supervisory Committee of Macao Civil Service Educational Association; Lam Lon Wai, Chairman of the Macao Federation of Trade Unions; Lau Kam Ling, the Chairwoman of the Women’s General Association of Macau; Chan Choi Kun, Vice Chairman of General Union of Neighborhood Associations of Macau; and Kenneth Feng, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of MGM China Holdings Limited.MGM Arts & Culture
