Press Release

(Hong Kong – 2 Oct 2018) Renowned Professor David Christian, who has brought forth the ground- breaking concept of  'Big History', was invited by the Hong Kong Academy for Gifted Education (HKAGE), Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) to deliver a lecture to about 150 Hong Kong public and students at The Public Lecture on Big History cum Student Conference (Public Lecture) last Saturday (29 Sept).

The concept of 'Big History' has rocked our ingrained perception of 'History' and received wide attention, including that of Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft. While the traditional history books are telling us the stories of mankind pursuant to their man-made frontiers, the emerging discipline, according to Professor Christian, covers the stories of the universe from the Big Bang to our complex modern societies by drawing on insights from disciplines such as astronomy, physics, biology, archaeology, etc. Audience members showed enthusiasm in his presentation and proceeded to an interactive discussion with the speaker after the lecture.

Following Professor Christian's lecture was the Student Conference. Numerous groups of student speakers, by adopting the inspiring discipline, presented their findings and insights on various interests such as humanity, sustainability and AI.

The Public Lecture is one of the key events of HKAGE's Big History and Collective Learning Programme, which was first introduced in 2016/17, aiming to bring forth this emerging discipline to educators, students, parents and the public in Hong Kong with an ambition to further promote and create a Big History learning community in Hong Kong.

Annex

Professor Christian’s public lecture attractsabout 150 audience members, including students, parents, and educators.	Professor Christian presents his emerging concept of 'Big History'.
Professor Christian and Ms Emily Lau, one of the Board Directors of HKAGE, take pictures with participants.	Audience members of different ages are eager to exchange their opinions on 'Big History' with Professor Christian.
Audience members take notes on Professor Christian's speech.	Audience members are enthusiastic in discussing the new concept with Professor Christian.
Student speakers present at the Student Conference.	Student speakers present at the Student Conference.
Student speakers present at the Student Conference.	Student speakers present at the Student Conference.
Professor Christian takes a group photo with student speakers of Student Conference, guests, and staff members.	Ms Emily Lau, one of the Board Directors of HKAGE and 'master' of our Gifted Apprentice Programme (GAP) joins the lecture together with her gifted apprentice of GAP, Karl Lam.