Nurturing of our future leaders
23 September 2018
Young people are our future. They are the most energetic and creative generation in our society and possess the greatest potential to drive the community forward. The Government strives to nurture our youths and support them in fully realising their potential. Youth uniformed groups offer an important platform for promoting youth development, among which the Civil Aid Service (CAS) Cadet Corps is certainly a good example.
As a youth uniformed group fully subsidised by the Government, the CAS Cadet Corps organises discipline training for young people aged between 12 and 17 for the purpose of unleashing their potential and nurturing them into good citizens and future leaders. Over the past 50 years, the corps has grown from a 200-strong formation to a sizable group with an establishment of over 4 000.
I attended the CAS Cadet Corps 50th Anniversary Parade as the reviewing officer earlier on. When the high-spirited cadets marched past the review stand one by one in measured steps, the esprit de corps displayed to the full was simply commendable.
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In fighting crime, we have the Junior Police Call (JPC) as our partner. Last month (on 15 August), I attended the launch ceremony of the JPC Fight Crime Summer Camp and was shown the activities in the camp. Participated by around 1 200 JPC members, the summer camp featured e-sports demonstrations, acajón workshop and other wide-ranging activities to promote anti-crime messages and instill positive values in young people.
Introduced in 1974, the JPC scheme aims to provide youngsters with leadership training. With a current membership exceeding 190 000, the scheme has an accumulated number of participants of more than one million so far. The group has joined hands with different sectors of the community to fight crime, while incorporating new elements in its activities continuously to enhance youth development. A dedicated activity centre known as JPC@Pat Heung was opened in August last year. Occupying an area of 29 000 square metres, the training camp provides members with discipline, physical fitness and team building training through various activities themed around sports, technology and police work.
In recent years, the JPC has extensively used social media and networking platforms to engage and communicate with youngsters. Moreover, new programmes such as e-sports competitions have been rolled out to strengthen members’ leadership, management capability and communication skills.
I look forward to the continuous efforts of the JPC to encourage its members to develop their potential in pursuit of a fulfilling and positive life, and to nurture them into young leaders to serve the community.
The Chief Executive introduced the governance philosophy of “connecting with young people” in her Policy Address delivered in October last year. The objective is to co-ordinate various policies and resources so as to enable the youth to fully unlock their potential and to develop them into a new generation with commitment to society, a sense of national identity, an affection for Hong Kong and an international outlook.
For years, the Government has been working closely with various uniformed groups. Apart from the CAS Cadet Corps and the Auxiliary Medical Service Cadet Corps, the Home Affairs Bureau (HAB) also provides recurrent subvention to 11 uniformed groups in the community – namely the Scout Association of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Girl Guides Association, the Hong Kong Red Cross Uniformed Group, the Boys’ Brigade Hong Kong, the Hong Kong St. John Ambulance Brigade Youth Command, the Hong Kong Sea Cadet Corps, the Hong Kong Air Cadet Corps, the Hong Kong Adventure Corps, the Hong Kong Road Safety Association, the Girls’ Brigade Hong Kong and the Association of Hong Kong Flag-guards – in support of youth development work. Over 110 000 young members are engaged in total.
To support underprivileged students to participate in uniformed groups, the HAB has set up the “Assistance Scheme for Needy Student Members” to provide funding to assist these students in acquiring accoutrements such as uniforms and joining various activities.
However, following the decline of our birth rate in recent years, student recruits to uniformed groups are decreasing in number. Youth membership has dropped from 131 870 in 2013/14 to 119 797 at the end of last year.
In this regard, I encourage the uniformed groups to strengthen their co-operation with schools so as to attract more youth participants.
I would like to see our young people taking part in more extra-curricular activities, which are certainly good for their physical and mental well-being. Step outside the classroom to broaden your vision and knowledge by joining leadership training and outdoor expeditions or the like. They are all good for enhancing self-confidence, leadership skills and sense of responsibility, hence the development of positive values and abilities to contribute to society.
