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Youth Summit 2015 provides young people with platform to express their views (with photos)
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     The Chief Executive, Mr C Y Leung, and government Principal Officials attended the Youth Summit 2015 today (March 7) to listen to the views of young people on youth development policy and various social policies.

     The Youth Summit 2015, jointly organised by the Home Affairs Bureau and the Commission on Youth (CoY), aims to provide young people with a platform to express views on social policies. The theme of this year's summit was "Opportunities and Future in the Eyes of Youth", under which were three sub-themes selected through online voting, namely "Opportunities and Future in the Eyes of Youth with the Wide Accessibility of Higher Education", "Opportunities and Future in the Eyes of Youth with the Disparity between Rich and Poor in our Community" and "Opportunities and Future in the Eyes of Youth in a Community with Growing Civic Awareness".

     The Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Tsang Tak-sing, said that the summit provides a platform for young people to express their views and the Chief Executive and government officials of the HKSAR to listen. It is hoped that there will be a chance for direct interaction and discussion.

     Mr Tsang also said, "The Home Affairs Bureau and the CoY will continue to communicate, interact as well as hold conversation with youngsters via different channels. The entire HKSAR government and different sectors in the community are highly concerned about the growth of the youth. They are pleased to listen to the views of the youth."

     The Chairman of the CoY, Dr Bunny Chan, thanked the young people for their participation, serious discussion and enthusiasm in expressing their views, as well as their efforts in working together for a better Hong Kong.

     The Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung; the Secretary for Education, Mr Eddie Ng Hak-kim; and members of the CoY also attended the summit. They listened to the youth representatives' presentations and participants' discussions on the sub-themes, and also had a discussion session with the young people and answered questions posed by members of the audience and online.

     The Chief Executive attended the summit this afternoon to listen to participants' concerns and suggestions on topics they are interested in. The young people were eager to express their views and aspirations. The Chief Executive also responded to questions raised by the participants and others submitted online.

     Young participants aged 15 to 24 were recruited through the CoY website and the 18 District Offices of the Home Affairs Department to attend the summit. It is hoped that the views of young people from different backgrounds and organisations, including those in school and at work, were represented at the summit. A number of Youth Ambassadors were also recruited to assist in preparatory work and facilitating discussion among the young participants on different sub-themes. The participants have been preparing for the summit in the past few months. In early February, they attended a pre-summit workshop to exchange views with government officials, academics and guests and conducted group discussions on each sub-theme.

     Views collected at the summit will be submitted to the relevant government bureaus for reference and follow-up. The Government will also continue to gauge the views of young people on social policies via different channels, and organise activities such as Youth Exchange Sessions to enable young people to have direct exchange with government representatives on issues of concern to young people.

Ends/Saturday, March 7, 2015
Issued at HKT 18:10

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