The largest celebration of Southeast Asian cultures (written arts, cinema, dance, music, and cuisine) ever held at a Hong Kong university kicks off this coming weekend at City University of Hong Kong (CityU).

 

CityU’s Southeast Asia Cultural Festival spotlights cultural activities from the diverse and fascinating societies in this region, emphasising that the economic impact of this region is only one part of the story.  

 

The festival, which takes place from 18–21 April, is being organised by CityU’s Southeast Asia Research Centre (SEARC) in collaboration with consulates from the region in Hong Kong. The consul-generals of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, The Philippines and Thailand in Hong Kong will officiate at the opening ceremony on 19 April. The event is funded by the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS) at CityU with sponsorship from Cebu-Pacific Air.

 

After traditional Indonesian Angklung music performed by the Hong Kong-Indonesian Student Association during the opening ceremony there will be a talk titled “Interrogating Vietnamese-Chinese relations and identity politics through ricesheet rolls” by Dr Chan Yuk-wah, Assistant Professor in the Department of Asian and International Studies. Other features include two writers’ forums featuring rising literary stars in the region:

 

?  Christine Lim, a multi-award winning Singaporean writer

?  Zakariya Amataya, winner of Thailand’s prestigious 2010 Southeast Asian Writers Award

?  Nelly Fung, author of the well-received book Beneath the Banyan Tree about four generations of her family within the context of Philippine history

?  Christine Bellen, a young Filipino writer of children’s books that emphasise the country’s rich cultural heritage

?  Ambeth Ocampo, a Filipino historian and writer best known for his bi-weekly column “Looking Back” that has been running in the Philippine Daily Inquirer since 1993

 

There will also be a cinema series, culinary delicacies, information booths and cultural performances such as street theatre, traditional dances and various musical forms from the region.

 

In addition, a series of three talks under the topic “Designing Heritage: Emerging Challenges for Cultural Preservation and Urban Sustainability” will be held in the evening of 18 April beginning at 6 pm at the Asia Society.

 

All activities at the Southeast Asia Cultural Festival are open to public for free. No registration is required and seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Please visit http://www6.cityu.edu.hk/searc/SEACF-Brochure.pdf for the programme details.

 

Media enquiries: Michelle Leung, Communications and Public Relations Office (Tel: 3442 6827 or 9050 7507)