Hong Kong: An Innovative Society?
Last month, when M called to update me on the funding situation for the upcoming Hong Kong Shenzhen Bi-city Biennale of Urbanism \ Architecture, I was stupefied. M and her team of curators had laboured tirelessly for months to put together a world-class event, bringing together international icons such as Shigeru Ban and Diller+Scofidio Renfro with the leading lights of Hong Kong's creative scene to engage the public on issues of architecture and urban development at the West Kowloon Waterfront Promenade. With a rich program of interactive, immersive exhibitions, M found that the original government grant was insufficient to fund everything. So she knocked on many a charitable doors for sponsorship, among them was one of Hong Kong's most well-endowed charities. Excitement was high when weeks ago, the charity was about to sign a cheque. And all of us volunteering to help out on various bits of the biennale were elated. But then came M's call -- the government was not going to give her the approval to accept the additional funding. The biennale had to be scaled down. "WTF??!!" was my reaction. I was at a loss to believe that this absurd situation was happening here in Hong Kong, a city that aims to be a breeding ground for innovation and creativity.
I had been reading John W. Gardner's Self Renewal: The Individual and the Innovative Society. Jacqueline Novogratz's article in the Stanford Social Innovation Review had inspired me to order the book from amazon. And at only 127 pages, I was motivated to read it as soon as it arrived. Like Novogratz, I found Gardner's words of wisdom resonating with me. At every opportunity, I have touted Gardner's book as though it were gospel. When in fact, it is simple common sense. His words resonate because they accurately describe the reality of our human condition, and not just at a moment in time but over the course of our development.
I had told M and E, both curators for the Biennale, about the book and they invited me to write a brief essay on my reflections for the Biennale catalogue. I still had the bitter aftertaste of M's funding news on my mind when I started to write the essay. I wanted to explain why so many Hong Kong people lament its rigid, almost anti-innovation atmosphere, and how it is no fault of those who settle on conformity and convention. Afterall, I would have understood if none of the four curators wanted to organize another government-funded Biennale. Thankfully, I was saved from my pessimism by my students.
I was reminded that renewal is not the result of one heroic creative act or innovative invention, it is the sum of many seemingly inconsequential decisions and actions (and on a societal level, by many people over lifetimes) that have probably, on balance, lead to more failures than successes. But I do believe that, on balance, the trend line points towards evolution and progress, rather than the demise of our species (that is, until the next gigantic meteor hits and we go the way of the dinosaurs). As a teacher, I have come to realize that the most important thing teachers can give students is not our knowledge but our faith in them. In fact, we all need someone to believe in us in our moments of doubt as we navigate our place in an increasingly complex world.
This is the essay I submitted:
What Teaching Has Taught Me About Creativity and Innovation
Creativity and innovation cannot be imported, transplanted nor taught; there is no masterplan or formula, right or wrong way, to being creative and innovative. These fruits are borne only when nurtured by certain values in a warm and open environment. As John W. Gardner explains in his incredibly insightful book, Self Renewal: The Individual and the Innovative Society, the difference between a vibrant, thriving society and a rigid and decaying one is simply whether it “provides for its own continuous renewal.”
And how does a society continually innovate and renew itself? The answer lies in its individuals, whether they themselves are self-renewing. Self-renewing people share certain characteristics – a sustained curiosity about themselves and the world around them (they understand that their knowledge of both is limited and continually strive to expand and break limiting patterns of their understanding), courage to fail and be wrong, capacity for compassion and an internally-derived motivation to persevere at an endeavour out of a belief that it is worthwhile or meaningful.
These past few months, I have had the pleasure of teaching a class at Hong Kong Polytechnic University’s School of Hospitality and Tourism Management. It has been an enlightening and inspiring experience, where the teacher has been the student. My class of 36, final year Higher Diploma Tourism Management students have taught me to consider what we need to provide younger generations if we are to expect them to inherit the task of renewing our society.
The first day of class, by way of introductions, I asked the students to share their dreams. For most, it was to one day become rich. To understand why they wanted to be rich, I asked them to draw a picture of their image of “rich”. Most drew a free-standing house. In this class about creating and marketing innovative travel products, I also learned that most preferred to travel to new destinations with tour groups rather than explore on their own, because they feared the unknown.
Hong Kong has come a long way in its economic development since Gardner’s book was first published nearly half a century ago. In class, I introduced Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs – at the bottom of the pyramid are survival and safety, at the top, self-actualization. For people to feel free and daring enough to experiment, they must first feel safe and secure. Can an individual feel safe and secure when the notion of a home of one’s own seems but a fantasy for most young graduates today?
When asked to share what their aspirations were, three students replied: “none”. Why have they lost the hope to aspire? Why are they fearful? And how can I, as a teacher, and we, as a society, create a safe and nurturing environment for the younger generation to freely explore, take risks, fail, discover, gain confidence and learn? While the students have raised these questions in my mind, the most important lesson I have learned from them is faith. Renewal is a process, not an event. This Biennale bears testament to that. BYOB -- Bring Your Own Biennale.
I had been reading John W. Gardner's Self Renewal: The Individual and the Innovative Society. Jacqueline Novogratz's article in the Stanford Social Innovation Review had inspired me to order the book from amazon. And at only 127 pages, I was motivated to read it as soon as it arrived. Like Novogratz, I found Gardner's words of wisdom resonating with me. At every opportunity, I have touted Gardner's book as though it were gospel. When in fact, it is simple common sense. His words resonate because they accurately describe the reality of our human condition, and not just at a moment in time but over the course of our development.
I had told M and E, both curators for the Biennale, about the book and they invited me to write a brief essay on my reflections for the Biennale catalogue. I still had the bitter aftertaste of M's funding news on my mind when I started to write the essay. I wanted to explain why so many Hong Kong people lament its rigid, almost anti-innovation atmosphere, and how it is no fault of those who settle on conformity and convention. Afterall, I would have understood if none of the four curators wanted to organize another government-funded Biennale. Thankfully, I was saved from my pessimism by my students.
I was reminded that renewal is not the result of one heroic creative act or innovative invention, it is the sum of many seemingly inconsequential decisions and actions (and on a societal level, by many people over lifetimes) that have probably, on balance, lead to more failures than successes. But I do believe that, on balance, the trend line points towards evolution and progress, rather than the demise of our species (that is, until the next gigantic meteor hits and we go the way of the dinosaurs). As a teacher, I have come to realize that the most important thing teachers can give students is not our knowledge but our faith in them. In fact, we all need someone to believe in us in our moments of doubt as we navigate our place in an increasingly complex world.
This is the essay I submitted:
What Teaching Has Taught Me About Creativity and Innovation
Creativity and innovation cannot be imported, transplanted nor taught; there is no masterplan or formula, right or wrong way, to being creative and innovative. These fruits are borne only when nurtured by certain values in a warm and open environment. As John W. Gardner explains in his incredibly insightful book, Self Renewal: The Individual and the Innovative Society, the difference between a vibrant, thriving society and a rigid and decaying one is simply whether it “provides for its own continuous renewal.”
And how does a society continually innovate and renew itself? The answer lies in its individuals, whether they themselves are self-renewing. Self-renewing people share certain characteristics – a sustained curiosity about themselves and the world around them (they understand that their knowledge of both is limited and continually strive to expand and break limiting patterns of their understanding), courage to fail and be wrong, capacity for compassion and an internally-derived motivation to persevere at an endeavour out of a belief that it is worthwhile or meaningful.
These past few months, I have had the pleasure of teaching a class at Hong Kong Polytechnic University’s School of Hospitality and Tourism Management. It has been an enlightening and inspiring experience, where the teacher has been the student. My class of 36, final year Higher Diploma Tourism Management students have taught me to consider what we need to provide younger generations if we are to expect them to inherit the task of renewing our society.
The first day of class, by way of introductions, I asked the students to share their dreams. For most, it was to one day become rich. To understand why they wanted to be rich, I asked them to draw a picture of their image of “rich”. Most drew a free-standing house. In this class about creating and marketing innovative travel products, I also learned that most preferred to travel to new destinations with tour groups rather than explore on their own, because they feared the unknown.
Hong Kong has come a long way in its economic development since Gardner’s book was first published nearly half a century ago. In class, I introduced Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs – at the bottom of the pyramid are survival and safety, at the top, self-actualization. For people to feel free and daring enough to experiment, they must first feel safe and secure. Can an individual feel safe and secure when the notion of a home of one’s own seems but a fantasy for most young graduates today?
When asked to share what their aspirations were, three students replied: “none”. Why have they lost the hope to aspire? Why are they fearful? And how can I, as a teacher, and we, as a society, create a safe and nurturing environment for the younger generation to freely explore, take risks, fail, discover, gain confidence and learn? While the students have raised these questions in my mind, the most important lesson I have learned from them is faith. Renewal is a process, not an event. This Biennale bears testament to that. BYOB -- Bring Your Own Biennale.
Labels: architecture, creativity, events, Hongkong, innovation, teaching
posted by 10000miles at 01:35
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