Happenings

After a virtual edition last year, Village Fest is back for 2022, running from January to April with a showcase of village life through tours, placemaking installations, market and activities across Lai Chi Wo, Mui Tsz Lam and Kop Tong. Hosted by the HSBC Rural Sustainability Programme, Village Fest comes to its third annual celebration of sustainable rural regeneration in Hong Kong. Themed “Tomorrow Village Today”, this year’s Village Fest brings you on a village living journey through exploration, sharing, experiment, co-creation and reflection. Four core events include self-guided “Village Tour”; “Village Market” that is held every first Saturday of each month; experimental “Village life Lab” and urban “Village pop-up Market”. Making reference to the rural living experiences of Lai Chi Wo, Mui Tsz Lam and Kop Tong, Village Fest 2022 invites you and those in the local communities to envision the village of tomorrow today! Please follow our Instagram and stay tuned for more updates：https://www.instagram.com/villagelifezine/ Due to the latest disease prevention measures, all workshops scheduled in January of “Village Fest 2022: Tomorrow Village Today ” will be postponed and public registration will not be accepted temporarily.

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Hong Kong Chapter has conferred an AIA Hong Kong Citation 2021 to Lai Chi Wo Village in recognition of its significant contributions to architecture and built environment in the Chapter’s region. The HKU Centre for Civil Society and Governance, which has initiated and implemented two consecutive programmes – “Sustainable Lai Chi Wo” and “HSBC Rural Sustainability Programme” – since 2013, is honoured to receive this award at the award ceremony on November 16, 2021 together with other organisations which have been making undaunted efforts in revitalising the desolate historic Hakka village of Lai Chi Wo in the north-eastern New Territories. Lai Chi Wo Village and Tsim Sha Tsui Harbourfront Revitalisation were selected to receive AIA Hong Kong Citations this year for their achievement in promoting the value of architecture in society and for raising public awareness of issues related to the built environment. Lai Chi Wo Village is awarded “for the ongoing collaborative efforts of individuals and organizations in heritage conservation of this historic Hakka walled settlement including revitalisation of its traditional farming and cultural landscapes together with a number of the houses, thereby promoting sustainable rural community development and encouraging effective control over rural land use in the New Territories”. Led by the HKU team and Lai Chi Wo Pui Shing Tong Committee (the owner), other awardees include The Hong Kong Countryside Foundation, The Conservancy Association, Produce Green Foundation, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC), The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, and the Countryside Conservation Office of the HKSAR Government. With the support from HSBC, HKU Centre for Civil Society and Governance launched the “Sustainable Lai Chi Wo Programme” in 2013 in collaboration with the local villagers, non-profits, experts in related fields, and volunteers. The programme aims to replenish and revitalise the disappearing social and natural capitals of the desolate traditional farming landscape at Lai Chi Wo. After the “Sustainable Lai Chi Wo Programme” successfully completed in 2017, the Centre has received further support from HSBC and launched a new phase of the programme titled “HSBC Rural Sustainability” which focuses on mobilising actions of the local community by socio-economic models emphasising the role of rural community for the benefit of Hong Kong society. The project proudly received the inaugural Special Recognition for Sustainable Development in the 2020 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation and the award presentation ceremony will be held on November 28, 2021 at Lai Chi Wo. For project details, please visit https://ccsg.hku.hk/ruralsd/ The AIA is based in Washington, D.C., and has been the world’s leading professional membership association for licensed architects, emerging professionals and allied partners since 1857. Photos: Click here to download For media enquiries, please contact: Ms Sianna Yiu, Centre for Civil Society and Governance, HKU (Tel: 9732-0103; email: sianna@hku.hk)

Inclusive employment of people with disabilities (PWD) is an important aspect of social inclusion. As a signature event of Jockey Club Collaborative Project for Inclusive Employment, this seminar will focus on understanding the current situation of inclusive employment and exploring the possibilities of leveraging community resources and collective efforts to facilitate inclusive employment of PWD. At the seminar, the one-stop Platform for Inclusion website will be launched. Also, preliminary key findings from a community-wide survey on Hong Kong people’s views towards inclusive employment of PWD will be released during a panel discussion. Details of the seminar are as follows – Date: 6/11/2021 (Saturday) Time: 14:00 – 17:30 Venue: Rayson Huang Theatre, HKU Language: Cantonese, supplemented with sign language Mode: Approximately 180 onsite participants and Facebook live   Let’s join hands to achieve inclusive employment! Register here NOW – https://ccsg-hku.surveycake.biz/s/wewgO

(Copyright © 2021 Facebook)

The University of Hong Kong (HKU) announced the launch of the “Tech for Good Initiative” today (September 17), at the Memorandum of Understanding signing ceremony with Facebook Hong Kong. In collaboration with Facebook, Tech for Good Initiative” promises to strengthen institutional innovations with the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Big Data in governance and public policy in a manner that is socially embedded, conducive to sustainability, and compatible with inclusive growth. Professor Wai-Fung Lam, Director of the Centre for Civil Society and Governance of HKU, and Mr. George Chen, Director of Public Policy for Greater China, Mongolia, and Central Asia of Facebook represented the two parties in signing the MoU. It was witnessed by Professor Paul Yip, Acting Dean of Social Sciences of HKU, and Ms. Jayne Leung, Vice President and Head of Greater China of Facebook. As part of the“Tech for Good Initiative” framework, HKU and Facebook have co-designed a new course “AI Policy Lab – Opportunities and Challenges in Digital Governance” (POLI8023 / SLGP7104), which will be taught by HKU scholars from the Faculty of Social Sciences and Facebook experts from different fields including Public Policy, Corporate Sustainability, Data Privacy, Automation, Misinformation, Legal and Content Regulations. The course will be open to students of HKU’s Master of Public Administration (MPA), Master of International and Public Affairs (MIPA) and Master of Social Sciences in the field of Sustainability Leadership and Governance (MSocSc SLG) programmes. Besides, HKU will collaborate with Facebook to launch the new “Facebook-HKU Scholarship in Public Policy” to support a number of students and young scholars every year to conduct public policy research projects focussing on AI, AR/VR, ethics, cybersecurity and public policy-related areas. Facebook will also make a donation to HKU as a research grant. “Tech for Good Initative” will be housed at the Centre for Civil Society and Governance, with two co-directors overseeing the initative: Professor Wai-Fung Lam, representing HKU and Mr. George Chen, representing Facebook. Professor Wai-Fung Lam said: “I’m glad to bring HKU and Facebook together to launch this meaningful initiative, which will be an exciting one where a slew of teaching, research and community outreach activities will follow. HKU students will have the opportunity to enroll in a field trip to Facebook’s headquarters in Silicon Valley and the new Facebook Scholarships in Public Policy will be set up soon, which will benefit many young scholars. We expect the research and community outreach programmes to further build up an enabling ecosystem for the ethical use of AI and Big Data in the attainment of a sustainable society.” Mr. George Chen added, “The collaboration with HKU complements Facebook’s existing partnerships with other renowned academic institutions internationally. I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to bring many leading HKU scholars and Facebook experts together to jointly tackle some emerging challenges in the interplay between technology and policy and I also look forward to some high quality research papers to be published annually through the “Tech for Good Initiative” that will certainly bring policy implications to Hong Kong and beyond.” Three series of research papers, namely, Tech for Resilience, Tech for Commoning, and Tech for Public Governance will be published for three consective years under the “Tech for Good Initative” framework. As part of the community outreach programme, an action research with a focus on AI in commoning will be launched in 2022. The project will seek to engage keen stakeholders in the civil society as well as members of the wider community. More details will be announced later this year. To find out more, please visit https://ccsg.hku.hk/tgi-about/. Please find high-res photos here.

On September 10, 2021 (Friday), Facebook and the Centre for Civil Society and Governance (CCSG) of The University of Hong Kong hosted the Ethics in Artificial Intelligence (AI) Research Initiative for the Asia Pacific Roundtable. Over 100 experts, practitioners, and academia in the field of ethical use of AI have registered to attend. The Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (Privacy Commissioner), Hong Kong, Ms Ada CHUNG Lai-ling, delivered the Keynote Address to open the Roundtable. In her speech, the Privacy Commissioner discussed the governance of artificial intelligence (AI) and elaborated on the “Guidance on the Ethical Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence” recently published by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD). Presenters, who are the awardees of the Request for Proposals for AI ethics research in the Asia Pacific region, shared their research progress, initial findings ,and lessons learnt to the international audience. Several rounds of fruitful discussion were conducted after the presentations moderated by members of the Vetting Committee and experts from the field who served as discussants. Session moderators and discussants offered invaluable and constructive feedback to the awardees. Early impact of the research works was highlighted in the discussions. The Roundtable was a success and all participants enjoyed the knowledge-sharing and exchange. New connections and networks were established between those who participated and are committed to contribute to the development of the ethical use of AI-driven technology. It is the shared goal of Facebook and CCSG to promote and support the work on using technology for social good, and these institutions are set to announce future collaborative initiatives soon.

(Copyright © 2021 South China Morning Post)

The incubation and funding scheme (Cohort 2) of the Social Innovations for Sustainable Communities is now open for application till 28 June 2021. Besides interactive excursions to learn about different social innovation projects and community works, our Learning Programme aims to facilitate you to transform into sustainability catalysers. You will also get a chance to win a seed grant for putting your ideas into actions!

A total of 21 Hong Kong’s conservation projects has been awarded the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation since 2000. This Roundtable calls upon the awardees to review how they understand sustainability as the pathway to continue the conservation effort, and to reflect on their contribution to the building of a sustainable community since the receiving of the UNESCO award. Participating projects include: Award of Merit in 2007 – Little Hong Kong Award of Merit in 2013 – Tai O Heritage Hotel Award of Excellence in 2017 – The Blue House Cluster Award for New Design in Heritage Context in 2019 – The Mills Special Recognition for Sustainable Development in 2020 – Lai Chi Wo Rural Cultural Landscape Date｜June 26, 2021 Time｜13:30-17:15 Venue｜Atrium, The Mills Fabrica Format｜Join us at the venue (quota: 50) or via Zoom; Facebook live broadcast available Language｜Mainly Cantonese For registration and details, please visit us at https://ccsg.hku.hk/ruralsd/en/pages/academy/a-roundtable-of-unesco-award-winning-heritage-projects-from-hong-kong/?fbclid=IwAR0ZhxmvdbM0S2axBZSsE_C1IVNoC6Z-kqObFdzwTsWkCrVsoyNp32f5pyQ