Hong Kong's Being Human Festival will let members of the public try steering a drone through concentrated thought as part of a city-wide programme exploring the relationship between technology, art and human experience.
The mostly free festival runs from November 5 to 15 and is the first Hong Kong edition of the UK's national festival of the humanities, founded in 2014. Organised by the University of Hong Kong's Faculty of Arts under the theme “Crossroads”, it will feature talks, performances and workshops at multiple venues.
Its programme challenges the idea that the arts and sciences belong to separate worlds. It also argues that humanities research remains important as public policy increasingly focuses on artificial intelligence and other technological responses to global problems.
From neuro-feedback to drone control
The drone activity, titled Mindful Connections, is being organised by the HKU Centre of Buddhist Studies. Participants will use neuro-feedback headsets to explore how meditative concentration can direct an external device.
The exercise connects empirical technology with meditation. George Lee Kin-cheung, a senior lecturer at the centre and a licensed psychologist practising Buddhist counselling, describes its mindfulness element as “fully inhabiting our humanity”.
He says meditation can help people recognise not only that they think, but also that they are aware of their thinking in the present moment.
Another project, Resonant Reveries, will turn neural activity into physical performance. New media artist Chris Cheung Hon-him will use the activity to create a performance involving pendulum swings moving in accordance with neural pathways.
Festival director Professor Yeewan Koon, HKU's associate dean (global) and chair of the department of art history, says the events are designed to involve the public in research rather than simply present research to them.
The programme, she says, creates space to explore innovative technologies while also celebrating “the slow, the felt and the human”.
A festival built around slowing down
The organisers have placed the technology and meditation workshops alongside activities that require patience and physical participation. These include cyanotype printing, a slow-reacting graphic process, and kombucha-making sessions run by students.
Koon says the pairing reflects a central idea of the festival: meaningful reflection can be difficult in a city shaped by speed, efficiency and constant attention to the next major development.
She argues that slowing down allows people to notice experiences that are often compressed or overlooked when life is organised around deadlines and milestones.
The festival therefore presents mindfulness not simply as a technique for concentration, but as a way of considering how people relate to the world around them. Koon describes it as returning to the present moment and recognising that people are never entirely separate from their surroundings.
Literature, food and public discussion
The programme extends beyond science and meditation. At the newly opened Villa Haw Par, young women will share personal stories through live performance during a literary event.
A day trip on November 14 to Guangzhou's Mirrored Gardens will bring together art and local food. These events sit alongside the festival's workshops, performances and discussions across Hong Kong.
The organisers' wider aim is to turn academic inquiry into a community-wide conversation. Rather than positioning academics as the only people who determine which questions matter, the festival invites participants to help shape those discussions.
Details of the full programme and registration are available at beinghumanfestival.hku.hk.
Conclusion
The Being Human Festival will use mind-controlled drone-flying, meditation, performance, craft and food to examine how technology and the humanities can meet. Its central message is that slowing down and participating directly can deepen public reflection about what it means to be human.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. When will the Being Human Festival take place?
The festival will run from November 5 to 15.
Q. Where will the festival be held?
Events will take place at multiple venues across Hong Kong.
Q. Is the festival free?
The programme is mostly free of charge.
Q. What is Mindful Connections?
Mindful Connections is a drone workshop in which participants use neuro-feedback headsets to explore how meditative concentration can direct an external device.
Q. Who is organising the festival?
The University of Hong Kong's Faculty of Arts is organising the Hong Kong edition under the theme “Crossroads”.
Q. What is Resonant Reveries?
Resonant Reveries is a project in which new media artist Chris Cheung Hon-him transforms neural activity into a physical performance involving pendulum swings.
Q. What other activities are included?
The programme includes talks, performances, meditation and technology workshops, cyanotype printing, student-run kombucha activities, a literary event and a day trip to Guangzhou's Mirrored Gardens.
Q. Where can visitors find registration details?
The full programme schedule and registration information are available at beinghumanfestival.hku.hk.
