Cultural authorities are looking to draw visitors to the Kun Iam Ecumenical Center with new technologies and commercial attractions in an attempt to boost its appeal to the younger generation.
The proposal was floated yesterday at the fourth plenary meeting of the Cultural Development Consultative Committee. It was among a number of projects explored by the city’s cultural sector that seek to enhance travel experiences for tourists to Macau.
The 32-metre-tall complex, which is connected to Avenida Dr Sun Yat-sen and features a 20-metre-tall statue of a Chinese deity overlooking the commercial NAPE district, is considered to be a part of an area dedicated to maritime tourism, according to a 20-year urban master plan unveiled by the government earlier this year.
However, Xing Rongfa, a local scholar on local history, pointed out that the artificial complex had been quiet for years since it was built in March 1999, Macao Daily News reported.
Some members of the panel suggested that the government commercialise the Center with audiovisual technologies and shops in order to reinvigorate the Center.
“There’d be [shops or stalls] selling snacks as well as cultural and creative goods. In the basement there’d also be workshops. Those were the ideas, but tentative for now,” Cultural Affairs Bureau Director Leong Wai Man told the Committee.
According to the Bureau, the Centre was designed by Portuguese architect and sculptor Cristina Rocha Leiria, with the support of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, to promote mutual respect and friendship among all civilizations.
