HMCS REGINA HOSTS STUDENT AMBASSADORS

HONG KONG - Winners of the first-ever Student Ambassadors Program (SAP) took part in an awards presentation on board HMCS Regina on Wednesday, May 21, in Hong Kong. Regina was visiting China while on Westploy 2008, a 12-week deployment designed to promote Canadian interests in the Asia-Pacific region while enabling navy-to-navy liaison and relationship building with nations in this area.

Twelve local Grade 10 students from Hong Kong and three from Guangzhou were chosen through an open essay competition to spend three weeks all-expenses-paid in Canada as guests of the Coquitlam School District in British Columbia. "Above all, this program will showcase Canada as an education destination of choice to fifteen promising young leaders," said Consul General Gerry Campbell. "This initiative will also deepen Canada's long-standing educational ties to southern China by allowing local students who might not otherwise have the opportunity to travel to Canada to experience our country's diversity first-hand-all while developing the language and inter-cultural skills needed to succeed in today's global economy."

During their stay, students will take English language classes, cultural familiarization, local tours, and they will perform volunteer work. The program is supported by the Consulate General of Canada and the Hong Kong government's Education Bureau and is funded by a financial services and wealth-management firm based in Hong Kong.

Both HMC Ships Regina and Ottawa deployed for Westploy'08 on April 13. In addition to China, the two ships will make port visits to six other Northeast Asian ports including Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, and Vietnam.

Westploy is an ongoing program that allows Canada to participate in confidence-building exercises between like-minded navies operating in the region. Additionally, the deployment is a conduit to support the Canadian diplomatic effort overseas as well as the active promotion of Canadian values through regular contacts and exchanges with foreign militaries, and development work. During port visits, Canadian service personnel are proud ambassadors of their country, representing Canada's sincere commitment to the Asia-Pacific region.

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