Hong Kong is often considered to be a cosmopolitan city, where people from all around the world diverge and come together. Tourism for HK often advertises its acceptance towards ethnic minorities, as a cultural hub of acceptance and integration. But is being in Hong Kong from another country really all that easy?

Saya Kyzylbayeva unveils the facade of multiculturalism in Hong Kong in her speech “Raise your cultural identity to showcase the diversity of Hong Kong” - detailing the difficulties she faced upon moving here 4 years ago. Sharing her inspirations to eventually becoming the co-founder of Central Asia Centre, she hopes to, in raising awareness about Central Asian culture in HK, do her part in making HK a truly multicultural place. Saya Kyzylbayeva is from Kazakhstan, having moved to Hong Kong several years ago. She co-founded the Central Asia Centre, a social enterprise that increase awareness about Central Asian culture through various activities, events and travel programmes based in Hong Kong. Trying to disclose the truth behind the mirage of HK as a culturally-diverse city, her talk addresses the difficulties in adapting to life in Hong Kong, asking “Is Hong Kong really an international place?” This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx