November 24, 2021
Markham, ON - The World Hakka Conference (WHC), an event attended by the Hakkas from around the world, will be held in Markham in June next year. To commemorate the event, the organizer of the 31st World Hakka Conference, the Hakka Canadian Association, is offering a $25,000 scholarship to award 5 outstanding students of Hakka heritage.
Hakka is a group of Chinese with its own language and unique culture. In Canada, there are 1.8 million Chinese, of which over 200,000 are of Hakka heritage. It is believed that there are at least 40 million Hakkas in different parts of the world. They have developed a closely-knit society and are very supportive to the biennial World Hakka Conference. Attendance to the previous WHCs is easily over 3,000.
“This year sees the 50th anniversary since the first WHC being held in 1971. It is our great honour to host the 31st World Hakka Conference during the milestone year,” says Markham Regional Councillor Joe Li, who is the chair of the WHC Organizing Committee. “However, the event is postponed to June, 2022 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.”
Markham Regional Councillor Joe Li (2nd from right) announced the scholarship initiative at a press conference.
Being a Hakka born in India, RC Li understands that the importance of promoting Hakka culture to the non-Chinese born young Hakka generations. He is excited to announce the WHC scholarship to the Canadian students. He encourages the students of Hakka heritage to take the opportunity to participate this important Hakka event and to learn more about their ethnic background.
The scholarship has 5 awards with $5,000 each. Students from any Canadian high schools, colleges and universities are eligible to apply. They must be students of Hakka heritage recommended by a Hakka organization. Details of the scholarship and application form can be found here.
The 31st World Hakka Conference will be held from June 24 to 26, 2022 in Markham, Ontario. It is the first-ever WHC being held in Canada and is also the first in North America since late 1980’s. The event is supported by the City of Markham. Mayor Frank Scarpitti is not a stranger to the Hakka people.
“We have a solid record of working with the global Hakka community,” says Mayor Frank Scarpitti. “We hosted the first-ever International Hakka Economic & Cultural Summit in 2013, and we’re joined by the cities of Meizhou, Ganzhou, and Hsinchu.”
Mayor Scarpitti praised the Hakka people as courageous and entrepreneurial. He was proud to attend the previous WHC in Malaysia in 2019 and would look forward to welcoming delegates from around the world to see the most diverse and vibrant multi-cultural faces of Markham.
