HKU Bulletin September 2007 (Vol. 9 No. 1)

3 PEOPLE Projecting a Good Image K atherine Ma, the new Director of Communications, is the kind of person who reads opportunity when a challenge is put before her. At the University she has one: to promote an institution that is undergoing unprecedented and rapid change, both physically and in terms of its identity. “HKU is now 96, it will soon turn 100, and this is a time for people to rethink what the University is. Is it an established institution that mainly sticks to its traditions, or is it getting older but staying young with the vigour and momentum to step forward into the second century of its development? I think it’s the latter and that’s why I’m excited about this job,” she said. “There’s very little complacency here. A lot of academics have been asking me what they can do. I also have a huge list of things they would like us to do and I find it most inspiring that there are these high expectations for this office and my team.” Even more encouraging, their aims match Ma’s own priorities for the University’s communications programme. Strategic planning, stakeholder management and brand building are all on her ‘to-do’ list. “In the past, people tended to think that communications offices only worked on fanfare, speeches, wining and dining. I can tell you it’s very little wining and dining but a lot of deep thinking, brainstorming and discussion,” she said. The focus of these efforts is the issues that arise from growing public expectations and the University’s large number of stakeholders, who range from staff, students and alumni to donors and other interested parties. Ma pointed out that most universities in Hong Kong had to deal with crises in recent years under pressure from stakeholders and these situations had brought forth the need for greater transparency, fairness and social awareness. “People have huge expectations and if a university is not seen to be delivering, it generates issues. We need to monitor the situation and be able to anticipate emerging issues,” she said. “Readiness is a part of communications and it’s always better if colleagues can share with the communications office at a very early stage when they see the likelihood of an issue brewing into a crisis. I’d rather get a false alarm than a surprise attack!” Another key area of focus for Ma is the University’s international image. ‘Internationalism’, in terms of recruitment, outlook and reputation, is a necessity if universities want to stay competitive in the 21st century. Ma, who has a Master’s degree in International and Public Affairs from HKU and previously worked in the media, agencies and other public organisations, appreciates this is an area requiring special effort. “HKU, like other universities in Hong Kong, has to walk the extra mile to reach out to the international community and tell them who we are. It’s something we can do, but it needs strategy, university-wide co-ordination and resources,” she said. The ‘opinion market’, in which scholars are available to the international media to comment on developments in their field, is important here, she said. So is making sure that the University presents a singular image to the world and promotes its research and other strengths. “There’s no point just doing something without saying that you’ve done it and you can do it well. Don’t forget, everybody is going in this direction. Reputation management is a highly competitive task. It’s a challenge that keeps us vibrant,” she said, neatly summarising her new role at the University. 2 Booker Prize Winner Explores the Nature of Identity M an Booker Prize winner and author of The Inheritance of Loss , Kiran Desai, told audiences at HKU that moving to the US, from her native India, had made her “cruel and ruthless” about what she had left behind. Speaking during the Man Distinguished Lecture, she gave an account of her journey from her first book to her second and she mirrored many of the themes in her award-winning novel, reflecting on the inequalities of immigration in a globalised world. “We all know who gets on a ship that is leaving a war zone, what passport will save you,” she said, adding that her own move across the globe had “made her desperate to stay on the right side of the class divide.” Kiran, daughter of the renowned Indian author, Anita Desai, explored the construct of identity saying that, despite living in a small village in India, she and her family spoke English. “There was a reason why we spoke in English, why we loved our dogs in the way English people stereotypically love their dogs…and why we listened to opera. What on earth could be wrong about that? Nothing inherently, but…something in our past caused us to locate the centre far away…and it had the enormous resul t of making us feel l ike foreigners in our own country.” NEWS ROUND-UP World-renowned Zen Master Visits HKU N early ten thousand people benefited from the wisdom of one of the world’s leading peace advocates, in May. Zen Master the Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh, led a ten-day mindfulness programme, co-organized by the University’s Centre for Buddhist Studies that emphasized ways of dealing with stress. The programme opened with a lecture at the University on True Power and closed with a talk for 5000 people at the Convention and Exhibition Centre, on Love and Understanding: the Path to True Well- being . In this, the Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh’s third visit to Hong Kong, he said he had been prompted to come by reports of the stress levels endured by Hong Kong people. “Hong Kong is a city that lives under constant pressure,” he said, “and its people often experience loneliness and interpersonal alienations. The overwhelming response from the various professionals in participating in the programme is ample proof that there is a great demand for guidance in handling stress and dealing with changes in Hong Kong society.” His public talks provided opportunities for people to learn more about mindful breathing and awareness. Born and brought up in Vietnam, the Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh is probably the West’s best known Zen Master and is the author of more than 100 books of poetry, fiction and philosophy.