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The award presentation ceremony for the Outstanding Youth Commendation Scheme organised by the Home Affairs Bureau (HAB) and the Commission on Youth (CoY) was held today (April 18). Thirty-six young people were commended for their outstanding achievements in personal development, leadership and social services.
The Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Tsang Tak-sing; the Chairman of the CoY, Mr Lau Ming-wai; and the Convenor of the Youth Programme Co-ordinating Committee, Mr David Yip, attended the ceremony to congratulate the young awardees.
Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Tsang said the CoY advocates a culture of multi-faceted excellence. While encouraging all-round development of young people, it also promotes the concept that every trade has its masters to cope with the needs of the community.
Mr Tsang said that the Outstanding Youth Commendation Scheme encourages young people to find their own direction of life and thus achieve excellence, unleashing potential of the young generation.
Mr Lau said that the ceremony to witness the outstanding youths being recognised and commended for their efforts was the first public event he attended after joining the CoY. He said outstanding youths should not only pursue excellence in academic studies or careers but also have balanced development in various areas such as sports and arts. He also expressed the hope that the awardees would continue to stay positive and inspire and mobilise fellow young people to contribute to society.
Through giving recognition to outstanding young people, the commendation scheme aims to encourage young people to set targets for their personal development and to actively take part in community building and social services, thus setting an example for other young people.
The young awardees were nominated by the 18 districts for the Open Category and the Secondary School Category. Four candidates with outstanding performance in the first-round interview and team activities were awarded the Stellar Accomplishment Award, the Youth Leadership Award, the Social Service Award or the Personal Breakthrough Award respectively.
The final-round entrants then met the judging panels of their respective categories for the panels to decide on the awardees of Top 10 Outstanding Youths and the Star of the Stars awards.
The Outstanding Youth Activity Commendation Scheme was also organised to give recognition to innovative, purposeful and popular district youth programmes. The scheme hopes to encourage the organisation of more quality and effective activities to promote youth development in the districts.
The award recipients of the 2014-15 Outstanding Youth Commendation Scheme and the Outstanding Youth Activity Commendation Scheme are listed in the Annex.
Ends/Saturday, April 18, 2015
Issued at HKT 14:27
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