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The Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Lau Kong-wah, joined by the Under Secretary for Home Affairs, Ms Florence Hui, today (August 27) met with 36 young people from 18 districts to exchange views and share experiences.
Mr Lau said, "The Government attaches great importance to youth work and hopes to build a solid relationship with young people in the long run. The progress of district youth networking is encouraging. The District Offices (DOs) will continue to allocate resources for reaching out to the community to promote and enrich youth work."
The Chief Executive announced in the 2014 Policy Address the initiative to strengthen the Government's networking and communication with young people at the district level. To take forward the initiative, the 18 DOs under the Home Affairs Department have been given additional resources to establish and strengthen their youth development networks.
The DOs have been maintaining regular contact with the network members. They also develop and organise a wide variety of programmes to cope with district characteristics and the needs and interests of their members. The activities aim to give youths more opportunities to develop their talents, cultivate their interests and improve their self-confidence. They also aim to strengthen their sense of belonging to society by providing more opportunities for youths to actively participate in community affairs.
Members of the youth networks unleash their potential in innovation to plan and implement their own activities and projects. Alumni of the networks are also invited to lead and share their experience with new members. Other activities include youth forums, voluntary work benefiting the underprivileged and the needy, leadership training, interest classes, visits to government departments and public utility companies, and visits to Mainland and overseas cities.
Ends/Thursday, August 27, 2015
Issued at HKT 18:50
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