Sponsored by the Lam Kin Chung Morning Sun Charity Fund, the opening ceremony of “Grand Bazaar, Istanbul” under the HKBU Consul-General-in-Residence (CGiR) Programme was held on 23 November 2021. Officiating at the ceremony were Mr. Peyami Kalyoncu, Consul General of Turkey in Hong Kong; Dr. Lam Kin Chung, Chairman of the Lam Kin Chung Morning Sun Charity Fund; Professor Alexander Wai, President and Vice-Chancellor of HKBU; and Dr. Albert Chau, Vice-President (Teaching and Learning) of HKBU. Other guests included Mr. Emrah Öcalan, Vice Consul, Consulate General of Turkey in Hong Kong; Mr. Turgay Turkucak, representative of the Hong Kong Turkish Association; Mrs. Lily Chan, Director of University Advancement and Secretary-General of the HKBU Foundation, and Ms. Yvonne Lee, Director of International Office.

The theme of this year’s CGiR is “Grand Bazaar, Istanbul”, featuring Turkish culture and its traditional Mesir Macunu Festival. The event was well attended by over 1,000 students and staff who were interested to explore the rich Turkish culture through participating in various fun-filled activities such as Turkish folk dance, brew Turkish coffee, hand-painted ceramics and Ebru art painting.    

Launched in 2004 by International Office, CGiR is one of the University’s pioneering international programmes which aims to foster campus internationalisation, enabling a fruitful exchange of world cultures and bringing the world to campus.