Media

HKU weekly notice (from February 19 to February 25)

18 Feb 2011

 

Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights brings "Speak Truth To Power" to Hong Kong
Kerry Kennedy, daughter of the late Robert F. Kennedy, will join local human rights activists, academics, and dignitaries to introduce Speak Truth To Power (STTP) - a book, play, photo exhibit, and human rights curriculum - to students, teachers, and the public, at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) on February 21 (Monday). Ms Kennedy is president of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights. She is visiting Hong Kong to launch a series of events to promote global human rights and human rights education.

Date: 21 February 2011 (Monday)

Panel Discussion
Kerry Kennedy, together with representatives from Amnesty International HK, the Education Bureau and Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor will discuss global human rights and the role of human rights education in Hong Kong
Moderator: Claudia Mo, veteran broadcaster

Time: 2:30pm to 4pm
Venue: Council Chamber, 8/F Meng Wah Complex, HKU

Photography Exhibit
Time: opening reception at 6:30 to 7:30pm
Venue: Foyer of Rayson Huang Theatre, HKU

Performance
Time: 7:30pm to 8:15pm
Venue: Rayson Huang Theatre, HKU

For more information and arrangement of interviews, please contact:
(Hong Kong)  Violet Law, at email: Violetlaw@hotmail.com, tel: 6570 3367
(United States) Josh Karlen, Director of Communications, RFK Center for Justice and Human Rights, at email: karlen@rfkcenter.org, tel: 917 671 6803

For enquiries, please contact Melissa Wong, Centre of Development and Resources for Students, HKU, at email: mklwong@hku.hk, tel: 2857 8383

New Voices on Hong Kong Political Reform
Hong Kong Political Reform Series
How do learned outsiders see political developments in Hong Kong? This is the theme of the next event in the Hong Kong Political Reform Series. A diversity of speakers who are all well informed on Hong Kong events will come together to provide some new voices on current issues concerning the reform of Hong Kong's executive and legislative systems under the Basic Law. The forum is jointly organized by HKU's Centre for Comparative and Public Law (CCPL) and the Hong Kong Journal.

Date: 22 February 2011 (Tuesday)
Time: 2pm to 4pm
Venue: Council Chamber, 8/F Meng Wah Complex, HKU
Language: English
Chair: Christine Loh, CEO, Civic Exchange
Panelists:
Lorenz Langer, Institute of International Law, University of Zurich
Sonny Lo, Department of Social Sciences, Hong Kong Institute of Education
Michael Martin, Congressional Research Service
Wang Zhenmin, School of Law, Tsinghua University

Please email Flora Leung at fkleung@hku.hk to reserve a place, or contact Ms Leung by phone at 2859 2941 for enquiries.

First-in-the-Family Education Fund Presentation Ceremony and Experience Sharing
At the Ceremony, fund recipients will be sharing what they have learnt in the past year. Supporters of the scheme and alumni will be sharing their personal experiences and words of encouragement with the students. HKU holds the belief that no students should be deprived of good education due to financial difficulties.  "First-in-the-Family Education Fund" was established in 2008 with the aim of creating equal learning opportunities for students, who are the first generation in their families to attend university and encourages them to take part in experiential learning activities, such as fieldwork, internships, study trips, service learning and overseas exchange programme. Website: http://www.fife.hku.hk/

Date:       February 24, 2011 (Thursday)
Time:      4 to 5 pm
Venue:    Wang Gungwu Lecture Hall, Graduate House, HKU
Language: English and Cantonese

For media enquiries, please contact: Ms Trinni Choy (Assistant Director (Media), Communications and Public Affairs Office) tel: 2859 2606 email: pychoy@hku.hk or Ms Melanie Wan (Manager (Media), Communications and Public Affairs Office) tel: 2859 2600 email: melwkwan@hku.hk.

Public lecture: What Now After the Great Recession? Perspectives on Global Trade and the Relevance of International Cooperation
World trade contracted dramatically in the Great Recession, far faster than output. In 2010 trade growth returned flows to their pre-crisis levels. To what degree do sustained trade growth and the benefits that flow from it depend on international trade policy co-operation in the years ahead? Regional trade co-operation has intensified, multilateral trade negotiations have been going for almost a decade. These developments will be assessed, along with other challenges facing the multilateral trading system, such as commodity price trends, the interface between trade and climate change, and trade in natural resources. The speaker Mr Patrick Low is Chief Economist of World Trade Organization and Adjunct Professor of International Economics, Graduate Institute, Geneva.

Date: 24 February 2011 (Thursday)
Time: 6:30pm to 7:30 pm
Venue: Convocation Room, Room 218, 2/F Main Building, HKU
Language: English

For enquiries, please contact Flora Leung by email at fkleung@hku.hk or by phone at 2859 2941.

HKU Libraries Book talk: Is the Writer Her Character(s)?
How much is a writer the character(s) of her novels? Authorial distance can often be hard to gauge in books that are supposedly "fiction." Come and join this provocative conversation between author Xu Xi and journalist Richard Lord as they discuss Xu's new novel Habit of a Foreign Sky. Xu will also give a brief, introductory reading from the book.

Theme Book : Habit of a Foreign Sky
Speaker : Ms Xu Xi
Moderator : Richard Lord (Hong Kong-based freelance journalist)

Date : 24 February 2011 (Thursday)
Time : 7:15pm - 9:00pm
Venue : Special Collections, 1/F, Main Library, HKU
Language : English

About the Book
For Gail Szeto, a mixed-race, single mother who loses her only child and mother in the span of two years, all she has left is a hard won career at a global investment bank. Torn between New York, Hong Kong and Shanghai, life rapidly goes into free fall for this woman with a complicated past, who was once so sure of her direction in life, and who now sees no clear path for herself. Habit of a Foreign Sky was a finalist for the inaugural Man Asian Literary Prize. Hyphen Magazine calls the novel "sexy" and The Straits Times says that the book has "no happy endings, only honest ones."

For registration, please visit: http://lib.hku.hk/friends/reading_club/bt2011_03.html

For further information, please visit:
http://lib.hku.hk/friends/reading_club/bt2011_03.html

For enquiries, please feel free to contact Marina Yeung by email at mstyeung@HKUCC-COM.hku.hk

Book Launch: From Testing to Productive Student Learning: Implementing Formative Assessment in Confucian-Heritage Settings
 The book, From Testing to Productive Student Learning: Implementing Formative Assessment in Confucian-Heritage Settings, written by Dr David Carless, Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education, HKU, scrutinizes the relationship between testing and learning from alternative perspectives to the dominant literature from the major Anglophone countries. It develops the notion of contextually grounded formative assessment practices, by analyzing data from schools in the Confucian-heritage setting of Hong Kong. Dr David Carless will analyze the relationships between testing and student learning in his presentation. He will address a number of interlinked questions including:
1. ‘Under what circumstances do tests and examinations support or hinder student learning?'
2. How can teachers effectively prepare students for tests and appropriately follow up after them?
3. What are the key socio-cultural influences impacting on testing and student learning in classrooms in Confucian-heritage settings and what are their implications?

Date: 25 February 2011 (Friday)
Time: 5pm to- 6:30 pm
Venue: Room LG06, Hui Oi Chow Science Building, HKU

For media enquiries, please contact Ms Queenie Wong, Development and Communications Manager, Faculty of Education, HKU (Tel: 2219 4270 / Mobile: 9220 5840 / Fax: 2540 6360 / E-mail: qlpwong@hku.hk)

HKU weekly notice is sent to its subscribers every Friday afternoon. To subscribe, please contact Ms Helen Ho by email at hmsho@hku.hk .