Preface Three Activate the Creativity to Enrich our life and Boost Economy

Hsu Hsiu Chu[1]

When recalling the development of cultural and creative industries in Macao in 2017，the concepts and topics relating to the “community” have gradually drawn great attention. It is glad to see that more researchers join in，think and have dialogue to find the best strategies for community's cultural and creative industries and community economy in Macao.

In 2017，the concept of community development has entered a wider field of economy and culture from the perspective of traditional social welfare or civil affairs. The SAR government conducts researches on “community economy” and “community cultural and creative industries” respectively，and the annual “Forum on Cultural Industry （Macao）” highlights the theme—“community economy” in the conference. The Macao Polytechnic Institute leads students into the community，combining education and design practice together，and publish the monograph—“Community Culture and Creativity：Ten Case Studies for the Lai Chi Vun Village，Coloane ”. These actions show that the SAR government and educational institutions attach importance to community development.

“Community” is not a new concept. However，when the government is dedicated to promoting the development of community economy or community culture and creativity，we must first clarify the meaning of the community. More research and dialogue are necessary. The community is a real life field. When thinking about the community，the care for the lives in the community can not be separated and the theme of this conference，“Community Economy and Creativity Creation”，has stressed that such spirit. Community economy is no longer the economy under the industry thinking，but the economic activities of community，which is stimulated by community creativity and involves with residents； and creative ideas come from the community residents. Only by respecting for community life experience and life imagination can we face the real situation of the community，and achieve the goals by practice.

Community is acombination of people and the environment they live in. Each member has his own lifestyle，values and different expectations for the future development. To discuss community issues，we must first understand the complexity of the community； when facing the community，in addition to the theoretical exploration，we need more experience sharing in operational practice，and anthropological observation and analysis. Although policies of community development are top-down sometimes，the policy formation and academic accumulation must be developed from bottom to top，based on the understanding of community and living experience. However，community development strategy is not a set of procedures in the laboratory but arises from the interaction among production，government，academia，research and community； it is a new challenge for both government and academia—how to get out of planning and guiding thinking，understand the pulse of community，listen to the needs of the people and find the corresponding way of community development. That is the point.

The “Forum on Cultural Industry （Macao）2017” gives the important space for dialogue and for the research and development of local communities. We expect more cross-boundary dialogues to form the basis for the formation of policies，inspire the creativity and vitality of the community in Macao，and promote a new atmosphere of Macao with a vibrant culture and a vibrant industry.

[1]Hsu Hsiu Chu，Director of Cultural and Creative Industries Teaching and Research Centre，Macao Polytechnology Institute.