In order to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China and the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Macao SAR, the “Greater Bay Area Cultural Heritage Forum”, organised by the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao SAR Government and co-organised by the Department of Culture and Tourism of the Guangdong Province and the Development Bureau of the Hong Kong SAR Government, under the patronage of the National Cultural Heritage Administration and the Secretariat for Social Affairs and Culture of the Macao SAR Government, and supported by MGM, was inaugurated today (31 October) at the Macao Cultural Centre Small Auditorium. Focusing on “the integration and sharing of cultural heritage in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area”, the Forum features the participation of representatives from cities of the Greater Bay Area, as well as experts and scholars in the field of cultural heritage from home and abroad, to deliver speeches on such topics and share their research results.
The opening ceremony was held at 9:30am and was officiated by the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of the Macao SAR Government, Ao Ieong U; the Deputy Director of the Department of Publicity and Culture of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Macao SAR, Bai Bing; the Counselor and Director of the Department of Information and Public Diplomacy of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in the Macao SAR, Gao Yuan; the Secretary for Development of the Government of the Hong Kong SAR, Bernadette Linn; the Deputy Head of the Department of Culture and Tourism of Guangdong Province, Long Jiayou; the President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao SAR Government, Leong Wai Man; and the President and Executive Director of MGM China Holdings Limited, Kenneth Feng.
The President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Leong Wai Man, addressed in her speech that the cities of the Greater Bay Area have achieved significant progress in coordinating and cooperating on the cultural heritage front since the promulgation of the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. This Forum discusses important topics regarding the connections, values and adaptive reuse of cultural heritage in the Greater Bay Area, and the use of technology, which is of enormous practical significance for the invigoration and sharing of the Greater Bay Area’s cultural heritage resources, advancing cultural heritage preservation in the Cultured Bay Area to a new level.
The Secretary for Development of the Government of the Hong Kong SAR, Bernadette Linn, addressed in her speech that it is significant to work on the exchange and sharing the abundant cultural heritage. In this Forum, the cooperation between Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao has reached an important milestone. The first “Cultural Relics Trail of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area”, jointly organised by the three regions, was launched, highlighting the close connection between the three regions in history and development through the historical buildings related to education, building a sustainable relationship for all parties.
The Deputy Head of the Department of Culture and Tourism of the Guangdong Province, Long Jiayou, addressed in his speech that the cultural heritage circle in the Greater Bay Area will leverage this Forum as an opportunity to enhance cooperation mechanisms, share resources, and jointly advance cultural heritage preservation and inheritance in the Greater Bay Area, thus adding new vitality to cultural heritage in a new era.
The Forum features speeches by a number of experts and scholars on topics such as “Connections and Value of Cultural Heritage in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area”, “Concepts and Practices of Revitalization of Cultural Heritage Buildings”, “The Use of Technology in Archaeology and Latest Discoveries” and “Preservation and Utilization of Revolutionary Cultural Relics”, including the talk entitled “The Revitalization and Utilization of Cultural Heritage: A Case Study of the Grand Canal” conducted by the Research Fellow of the China Academy of Cultural Heritage, Yan Haiming, who shared the academy’s experience in implementing revitalization and utilization and concluded their thoughts on the concept of cultural heritage revitalization and utilization; the talk entitled “Macao Community Revitalisation Project Development Frontiers” conducted by the Acting Vice President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Choi Kin Long, who discussed how to showcase the cultural value of cultural heritage and extend their social influence, thus providing a new path in the theory and practice of community revitalisation projects; the talk entitled “Sustainable Development of Cultural Heritage: A Hong Kong Story” conducted by the Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Built Heritage Conservation (ACBHC) of Hong Kong, Hui Cheuk Kuen, who elaborated on the evolution of the “Revitalizing Historic Buildings Through Partnership Scheme” in a case-study format and discussed the strengths and weaknesses of the different revitalization projects in achieving the objectives of the scheme. With experts and scholars in different fields sharing their insights on different topics, the Forum seeks to expand the participants’ horizons and promote the innovative development of cultural heritage preservation and inheritance in the Greater Bay Area.
Other participating guests in the Forum included the Adviser of the Office of the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Lo Hou Chi; the Deputy Secretary for Development of the Government of the Hong Kong SAR, Pamela Lam; the representatives of the Development Bureau of the Government of the Hong Kong SAR, the Department of Culture and Tourism of the Guangdong Province, and the cultural departments of the nine cities of the Greater Bay Area; the members of the Antiquities Advisory Board and the Advisory Committee on Built Heritage Conservation of the Government of the Hong Kong SAR; the members of the Cultural Heritage Committee, the Cultural Development Consultative Committee and the Urban Planning Committee of the Macao SAR Government. The Deputy Director of the National Cultural Heritage Administration, Jie Bing, and other representatives of the National Cultural Heritage Administration also participated in the Forum online.
During the Forum, the launch ceremony of the “Platform for the Cultural Relics Trail of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area”, which is the first cross-disciplinary cultural relics trail of the Greater Bay Area, was also held. The website is incorporated in the website “Culture and Tourism Information of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao”. The first trail is themed with historical buildings related to education, including 99 historical buildings related to education in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, crating an online platform for the public to learn about the cultural heritage mechanisms of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, which are closely related to each other. In the future, the three regions will continue to create more cultural relics trails with regional characteristics through the platform, promoting the coordinated development of the cultural heritage of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
The “Greater Bay Area Cultural Heritage Forum” continues tomorrow (1 November) at the Macao Cultural Centre Small Auditorium, with simultaneous interpretation in Cantonese, Mandarin, Portuguese and English. Interested parties are welcome to attend the Forum on-site, and members of the public can also watch the livestream of the Forum online.
For enquiries, please contact IC through tel. no. 6529 0855 during office hours. For more information, please stay tuned to the forum’s website, “IC Art” page on Facebook, or WeChat official account “IC_Art_Macao”.
