HKU Bulletin January 2011 (Vol. 12 No. 1)

23 Research professors, formed the Hong Kong Literary Museum Initiative, spurred on by the belief that literature in Hong Kong has been badly neglected. A petition gathered hundreds of signatures from renowned writers, professors and critics around the world in its favour. “We need a literary museum that provides a public space for the discussion and dissemination of Hong Kong literature and culture. We looked at whether it would work in West Kowloon and also looked at an alternative.” Plans for the Museum include interactive exhibitions, performances and activities that interact with the other arts, as well as research, translation and global cultural outreach. “There’s definitely a growing interest in literature in Hong Kong, just look at how successful, the annual Hong Kong International Literary Festival has become,” says Dr Szeto. Entries in creative writing competitions are also rising. As Hong Kong continues to redevelop at break neck speed this new, research-based advocacy is finally giving voice to the communities that have gone unheeded for so long. In recent year Hong Kong has seen a flourishing of grass roots campaigns set up to save cultural landmarks or overturn policy on redevelopment. As the city reinvents the clashes between old and new, between grass roots and government have grown more We don’t just want to write academic papers, we want our research to have a real impact. Dr Mirana May Szeto Research-led advocacy is empowering local communities and garnering some surprising results. Giving Voice to the People Dr Mirana May Szeto (fourth from right) joined the Blue House Community Participatory Planning Workshop Screening and Discussion in December 2009. The Blue House, courtesy of Laurence Lam. “Nobody agreed with the original government plan, it was a top down process and educators and cultural leaders and the young people who would be using the facilities did not agree, so the government shelved the plans and restarted the entire process with more consultation.“ “We co-operated and did a lot of participatory research on what people actually wanted. Of course we write research papers, but at the same time we generate news, and we talk to the government, we talk to the people.“ “We are impartial. Our research work is on three levels: with the government, with the professional class and the developers, then with the local people.” Dr Szeto says their position as researchers is to ensure that the best ideas are adopted. “We keep the community constantly informed, this is very, very important as public intellectuals. We don’t just want to write academic papers, we want our research to have a real impact.” Out of the various consultations on the West Kowloon Cultural District sprang the idea of a literary museum, as literature was the only art not represented in the new development. To remedy the oversight Dr Szeto and a group of local writers, literary critics and The Tsoi Yuen Tsuen Community Planning Studio meeting in November 2010. Dr Szeto and writers proposed a Hong Kong Literary Museum at West Kowloon Cultural District at the Hong Kong Book Fair Forum 2009. vocal, and out of this has emerged a new branch of research-led advocacy. In the Department of Comparative Literature, Dr Mirana May Szeto, has been involved in several projects, including the recent Blue House revitalization in Wan Chai, the express rail link and relocation of Tsoi Yuen villagers, and the controversial West Kowloon Cultural District project. Working as part of an interdisciplinary team that includes local planners, architects and social scientists Dr Szeto conducts research, consults the parties concerned, and makes policy suggestions to government. As a core member of the People’s Panel for West Kowloon, an NGO, she helped organize focus groups, and participatory sessions, and advised concerned community members. “We put our research into a brochure and after lots of focus groups from different constituencies we came up with the design principles that Hong Kong people actually wanted and then we submitted it to the government,” she explains. The University of Hong Kong Bulletin January 2011