EdUHK Professor Leung Bo-wah chairs the World Conference of International Society for Music Education
The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) Department of Cultural and Creative Arts Professor Leung Bo-wah chaired the 36th World Conference 2024 of International Society for Music Education (ISME), between 28 July and 2 August 2024, in Helsinki, Finland. He is the first president from China in the 71-year history of the Society.
Professor Leung has been actively promoting music education in various fields. In addition to his role as Executive Director of the Xiqu and Intangible Cultural Heritage Centre (XICH) of EdUHK, he is also a visiting professor at several universities in mainland China. Being the first ISME president from China demonstrates Professor Leung’s significant position in and contribution to the field of music education. “Celebrating ISME’s 71 years highlights the importance of global music education transformation. Through strengthened cooperation and knowledge sharing, we will collectively address the challenges faced by music education in the 21st century,” he said.
ISME was founded by UNESCO in 1953. This year’s conference celebrated the 71st anniversary of the Society and promoted sustainability in music education. With the theme ‘Promoting the Sustainability of Music Education’, the conference attracted over 1,500 people from 63 countries and regions. It included a main conference, and eight pre-conference seminars held in the Nordic countries, featuring over 1,200 roundtable discussions.
During the conference, nine youth performing arts groups were selected from more than 50 teams from around the world to perform in evening concerts. Among them was Lacov, the EdUHK’s vocal jazz ensemble conducted by Dr Steve Ho Sung-chi, former Assistant Professor of the Department of Cultural and Creative Arts.
This year’s conference also introduced the “Parsons Music Advocacy Award”. This award focuses on music education practices and advocacy activities, providing funding to individuals or groups to develop and implement local music education advocacy work. A special task force from five global regions selected 10 winners. They included Mr Gordon Lee Chun-lok from Hong Kong, China, an EdUHK alumnus and winner of the 8th World Harmonica Festival. His project aims to help elderly people affected by Covid-19 improve their cardiopulmonary function through learning the harmonica.
The ISME World Conference has long been an important event for global music educators. It provides a platform for academic exchange among music educators, researchers and practitioners, fostering in-depth dialogue on sustainable music education practices. Music educators from China represented the second largest contingent at this year’s conference, reflecting the increasingly significant involvement of China in international arts and cultural education.
