URA and TWGHs’ Young Leaders Programme nurtures secondary students to become future leaders

The "Touching Lives; Reaching Out: Young Leaders Programme", co-organised for the first time by the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) and the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals (TWGHs), concluded today (Saturday) with a finale event held at Citywalk in Tsuen Wan where participating students set up exhibition booths to showcase their leadership skills and achievements attained from the six-month leadership programme.

The finale event was officiated by Chief Executive of TWGHs, Mr Albert Su Yau-on, and Managing Director of the URA, Ir Wai Chi-sing, who were joined by 60 participating students from TWGHs Mrs Wu York Yu Memorial College, TWGHs Lee Ching Dea Memorial College, TWGHs Chang Ming Thien College and TWGHs Wong Fut Nam College.

The Young Leaders (YL) Programme, launched in March this year, aimed to develop young people's leadership while encouraging them to care and serve the community.  The URA organised training workshops to equip students with skills in leadership, communication, interpersonal, problem solving and programme management.  A series of exploration docent visits for better understanding of the local characters and issues of old districts were also organised for the students. 

Under the YL Programme, the students initiated and carried out a wide range of voluntary activities to serve residents of old districts, covering preparation of meal and sending them to the needy, visits to elderly home, and helping the ex-mentally ill persons to re-integrate into the community.  The students also demonstrated their creativity to promote the local characters and neighbourhood of the districts through the use of social media.

Speaking at the finale event, Managing Director of the URA, Ir Wai Chi-sing said: "The YL Programme aims at cultivating the talents of young people to become young leaders of our future.  I hope the participating students will make good use of the fruitful experiences and skills from the programme, and continue to explore, care, serve and promote the community where they live, for building a caring and harmonious society together."

Also speaking at the finale event, Chief Executive of TWGHs, Mr Albert Su Yau-on remarked: "The new training direction and model adopted in the YL Programme inspired the thinking of young people, which not only helped develop their leadership talents, but also enhanced their sense of belonging to the community."

Special awards were also given at the finale event to four Best Young Leaders, which were nominated by each school, the Most Popular Facebook Fan Page and Best Booth Design.  Please refer to Annex I for details.

One of the Best Young Leaders, Chan Wing-sze of TWGHs Mrs Wu York Yu Memorial College said, "I've learned from the Young Leaders Programme that a good leader should listen and be open-minded to others' opinions. Through the volunteer outreach activities, I also realised that many people in the community are in need of care and we should pay more attention to the people and issues around us."

Photos of the "Touching Lives; Reaching Out: Young Leaders Programme" are available at the Facebook Page of the Urban Renewal Exploration (www.facebook.com/UrbanRenewalExplorationCentre).

Touching Lives; Reaching Out: Young Leaders Programme