Connecting with our young people at an accelerated pace
20 January 2019
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The "Be a Government Official for a Day" programme was successfully conducted during the summer holidays last year. To enhance communication with the 34 senior secondary students who participated in the programme, I invited them to a lunch gathering last month. On that day, everyone had a great time reliving the precious memories of the programme.
Introduced last year under the "Life Buddies" Mentoring Scheme organised by the Commission on Poverty, the new programme attracted 1 163 valid applications from 323 schools, accounting for more than 60% of the secondary schools in Hong Kong. The response is overwhelming. Taking the lead, I joined the other 15 Principal Officials in letting the 34 selected senior secondary students shadow us on the job for one day, so that they could gain hands-on experience of a Principal Official's work and a better understanding of the Government's operation.
Last year's success paved the way for another round of the programme this year, which will enlist more senior officials, including the Chief Executive, Principal Officials, Under Secretaries, Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Departments, benefitting over 100 students. I have personally invited these officials to participate in the programme and received encouraging response. Nearly 70 colleagues, including the heads of all the six disciplined services, will join the programme.
The expanded programme will be held in two phases. The first phaseᅳHeads of Departments Editionᅳwill be conducted during the Easter holidays. Officials participating in this phase will include Under Secretaries, Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Departments. Local secondary 4 or 5 students in the 2018/19 academic year who possess attributes such as motivation, interest in public service, and analytical and communication skills can apply for the programme through recommendation of their schools. Details of the programme will be announced tomorrow (21 January) and applications will be invited from tomorrow until 22 February. I hope that eligible students will seize this golden opportunity and submit their applications.
The second phase of the programmeᅳthe Chief Executive and Principal Officials Editionᅳwill be held during the summer holidays. Interested students should keep an eye out for the details which will be announced in late April.
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Meanwhile, the Youth Development Commission has been making planned visits to schools in phases to have regular exchanges and focus group discussions with young people. It was my pleasure to have participated in a recent visit to a secondary school in Tuen Mun, during which I had a candid dialogue with the students and listened to their views on issues of concern to them.
Young people are our future. It is a priority of the current-term Government to address young people's concerns about education, career pursuit and home ownership, and encourage their participation in politics as well as public policy discussion and debate. In so doing, the younger generation will see hope and opportunities for upward mobility.
To scout for talent more widely and encourage participation of young people in policy discussion and debate, the Government has regularised the pilot Member Self-recommendation Scheme for Youth (MSSY), which was initiated in 2017. Young people aged between 18 and 35 who are passionate about serving the community can self-nominate to become members of the specified government advisory committees.
Under the regularised MSSY, the Government will roll out two rounds of recruitment every year and the number of participating committees, which cover different policy areas, will increase gradually.
Phase I of MSSY started to receive self-nominations in June last year and there were ten participating advisory committees. A total of 1 511 valid applications were received during the application period. The response was indeed overwhelming.
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Phase II of MSSY opened for applications on 28 December 2018 until 28 January 2019. The ten participating committees each offer two seats for application. (These committees include the Commission on Poverty, the Aviation Development and Three-runway System Advisory Committee, the Committee on Home-School Co-operation, the Advisory Committee on Gifted Education, the Committee on the Promotion of Racial Harmony and the Museum Advisory Committee.)
The current-term Government is committed to encouraging young people to participate in its advisory structure. The target is to increase the overall ratio of youth members on government boards and committees to 15% within its term. As at the end of September 2018, among the 5 900 non-official post-holders appointed to the advisory and statutory bodies (ASBs), 9% (or 530) were aged 35 or below on their first appointment, representing a significant increase from 7.8% (or 464) as at the end of 2017.
Besides, the Government has invited all applicants attending MSSY interviews to give their consent for inclusion of their personal particulars in the Central Personality Index (CPI) database. The CPI database serves as the Government's "talent pool", which provides reference for bureaux/departments in identifying suitable candidates for appointment as members to the ASBs under their purview.
The proportion of young people in the CPI database has greatly increased from only 6.5% (around 940) before the launch of the pilot MSSY (i.e. October 2017) to approximately 16.7% (around 2 630), representing an increase of more than 150%. This is indeed encouraging.
The Government is determined to do its best in connecting with young people, addressing their concerns about education, career pursuit and home ownership and providing them with more opportunities to participate in public affairs in order to understand and adopt their views and suggestions more effectively. I encourage the younger generation to serve the community with passion and dedication, contributing their efforts to build a better Hong Kong for all.
