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The Commission on Youth was established in 1990. Its main objectives
are to advise on matters pertaining to youth, initiate studies and research,
promote cooperation and improvement in the provision of youth services
and serve as a focal point of contact with other international youth organisations
regarding exchange programmes. The Government has been working closely
with the commission in achieving these objectives.
Expressing concern about young people who were unemployed
and unable to pursue further studies, the Chief Executive asked the commission
in July 2002 to develop a plan to provide the young people with pluralistic
options in terms of both training and employment opportunities. The commission
submitted its final report to the Chief Executive in March.
During the year, the commission organised the third
Youth Summit with the objective of exploring ways to enhance the social
participation of young people in Hong Kong. Youth delegates from Shanghai,
Singapore, Seoul and Phnom Penh were also invited to attend the event.
The proposals that arose from the Youth Summit were subsequently forwarded
to the commission, the Government, and other concerned parties for consideration.
The commission also published the report Youth
in Hong Kong — A Statistical Profile 2002, with commentary based
on statistical data, which provided broad and useful references on six
youth-related issues: poverty, substance abuse, unemployment, human capital,
cultural capital and social capital.
The commission launched a first-ever benchmarking
survey of civic engagement and social networks of youth in Hong Kong.
This would establish a baseline for future studies and surveys on this
subject, and develop a set of useful indicators for evaluating youth services.
The commission continued to implement youth development
programmes that seek to realise the full potential of young people. These
included the International Youth Exchange Programme that aimed at broadening
the horizon and international perspective of young people. In 2003, four
groups comprising 67 youth delegates visited Japan (twice), Britain and
Ireland under the programme. The commission also received 22 young people
from Britain and Ireland making return visits to Hong Kong.
In addition, the commission continued to implement
three funding schemes to encourage more youth groups and community organisations
to participate in community-based projects. The Youth Leadership Training
Funding Scheme aims to sponsor non-governmental organisations in organising
leadership training programmes for youth. The Community Participation
Scheme for Organising Study Tours to the Mainland enables young people
to cultivate a sense of belonging among themselves and enhances their
understanding of the history and culture of China. The Youth Community
Service Funding Scheme encourages more young people to serve the community
through voluntary work. In 2003, the commission sponsored 162 leadership
training programmes, 205 study tours to the Mainland and 137 projects
for voluntary work.
The Charter for Youth enunciates principles and ideals
in youth development. To encourage more youth organisations and individuals
to subscribe to the Charter, the commission continued to promote it through
broadcasting an API in 2003.
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