The highlight of the project is a festival and public forum to discuss our research work and put some of our proposed actions to test.
"Without the past, no more tomorrow?" Webinar
On 30 April 2022, the webinar was hosted by our co-investigator Dr Kenneth Tang. He presented our project vision and the revitalisation proposal. We are honored to be joined by Mui Tsz Lam and So Lo Pun Village Representatives, and 2 Sam A Tsuen villagers. They shared the village stories and historical photos, and discussed the future of village revitalisation with diasporas, villagers from other parts of Hong Kong and interested public. Participants responded enthusiastically after hearing the firsthand stories from villagers.
“Summer of the Spring Alliance” Yan Chau Tong Nine Villages Public Forum, with leaf art workshop
The festival started off on 1 May 2022, with over 50 guests participating in the public forum, including village representatives of Mui Tsz Lam, So Lo Pun, Kop Tong, Kuk Po; AFCD and CCO officials; planner for the Northern Metropolis plan; members from HKCF; and other CCFS project researchers.
After arriving by boat, the guests were greeted at the pavilion in the Lai Chi Wo plaza, with a bag of souvenirs and our draft concept plan. Guests and passers-by left their ideas on the future positioning of the villages and joined the leaf vein art workshop taught by Human Ip, an artist resident working in Lai Chi Wo, Mui Tsz Lam and Kop Tong.
As the main event of the day, our project coordinator Prof. He and co-investigator Dr Tang began the discussion by introducing our concept plan. The guests welcomed the ideas and shared their past experiences and perspectives on key issues to tackle. We understand that it is very important to approach village planning with rural thinking and rural standards, as well as to engage the younger generation in the revitalisation process. It is clear that a modern Yeuk would be useful to unite stakeholders and empower the villages. It was a fruitful exchange of ideas.
“Village Walk - Explore Ecology and Rural Culture” Guided village tour
The festival ends with a village tour guided by So Lo Pun Village Representative. He narrated the village history that contains the wisdom of the Hakka way of living and their deep ties with the environment. He also shared the difficulties of revitalising the village and invited participants to help clear the weed and plant fruit trees on the past terraces. The goal of the tour was to conduct a focus group with them on matters related to local tourism in exchange for an experience and precious stories.
In the afternoon, the visitors arrived at Kuk Po to enjoy local dishes using specially designed cash coupons to encourage their support of the local economy. They later visited Kai Choi School, and ended their journey at Sha Tau Kok Story Room, for a focus group session about future and ongoing tourism directions. The weather that day was rainy, but the participants rised up to the challenge.
We thank all participants, especially the village representatives and villagers who paid great efforts in helping us to make these events possible! If you missed our event, here are 2 short movies to watch!
Check out the event photos on https://www.hktraveler.com/ninevillages/