Organized by People’s Panel on West Kowloon (“PPWK”) in conjunction with The Professional Commons
12 December 2007 is the deadline for the public to submit their views on the West Kowloon Cultural District project to the Government. In accordance with the government’s usual mode of operation in such consultation, it is likely that views from the public would be received but their impact on any real action to improve the proposed plan would be highly limited. What do we expect from this second round of consultation on WKCD?
Established in November 2004, People’s Panel on West Kowloon (“PPWK”) has held many fora and released many statements on WKCD. In December 2004 we proposed the “Re-defining WKCD” and published a open “Letter to Hong Kong citizens” through the press, requesting the HKSAR government to stop the initial proposal of choosing one from the three options, and urging all the citizens to take an active part in their own planning.
In September 2007, the government put forth the new WKCD project proposal. Despite the hardware plan, there are many outstanding questions on the development of the “cultural software” and the cultural policy of Hong Kong. In what ways has the latest proposal addressed these issues? What are the keys to the urban, cultural and financial issues in the new WKCD plan? PPWK invited various stakeholders from across the arts, culture and urban planning sector to present their views in the first People’s Forum on West Kowloon held on 22 September 2007. Approximately 100 participants took part in the public forum including representatives from Home Affairs Bureau and many civil society groups. After consolidating the views received, PPWK presented its preliminary views at the Legislative Council on 23 October 2007 (See http://www.ppwk.org for details).
During the past three months of the consultation period, the public has more or less reached a consensus after interactive discussions. Government is now preparing the relevant papers for approval by the legislature. And LegCo’s Subcommittee on West Kowloon Cultural District Development will hold a public hearing at 9:00 am on 4 January 2008 (Fri) to discuss the selection criteria and functions of the proposed WKCD Authority. At this critical moment, we have organized the PPWK Forum II in order to collect the views once again from the public on the most crucial issues relating to development of WKCD and of a cultural policy in Hong Kong.
RUNDOWN:
On Culture and the Arts:
1. Chair: Albert Lai (PPWK)
2. Guest speakers: Kan Tai-Keung, Wan Chan
3. Sharing by various representatives from community
4. Public forum & official response
On Planning & Architecture:
1. Chair: Ada Wong (PPWK)
2. Guest speakers: Wing-Chun Kwok, Hoi-Dick Chu
3. Sharing by various representatives from community
4. Public forum & official response
On Finance & Governance:
1. Chair: Wai-Kwan Chan (PPWK)
2. Sharing: various representatives from community
3. Public forum & official response
Wrap-up:
Dr Wai-Kwan Chan
| Date: | 15 DEC2007 (Saturday) |
| Time: | 2:30pm – 5:30pm |
| Venue: | HKICC Lee Shau Kee School of Creativity, 135 Junction Road, Kowloon |
| Organizers: | The Professional Commons |
| Fee : | Free of charge |
| Registration: | [email protected] or Fax 2903-0089 Enquiry: 8200-6332 |