Chief Executive Carrie Lam chaired the Commission on Poverty Summit 2019 today.

Four-hundred guests attended the summit, comprising members of the commission as well as representatives from the political, business and academic sectors, think tanks, non-governmental organisations and concern groups.

Mrs Lam said broad participation is needed to effectively address social issues, noting sustainable solutions could be identified through collaboration in the community in using new ideas and new service models.

The Government will actively promote cross-sector collaboration to pool adequate resources to address various livelihood issues to build a harmonious society, she added.

Secretary for Labour & Welfare Dr Law Chi-kwong took part in the ensuing panel discussion on ways to implement and promote innovative poverty alleviation initiatives.

Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung, Dr Law and Social Innovation & Entrepreneurship Development Fund Task Force Chairperson Jane Lee then gave an account of the commission and its task forces’ achievements in the past year.

These included the implementation of youth engagement programmes such as Be a Government Official for a Day and Future Stars, and filling the gaps of existing assistance programmes through the Community Care Fund.

The Commission on Poverty Progress Report 2019 and publications on the Future Stars Programme, the Life Buddies Mentoring Scheme, the Social Innovation & Entrepreneurship Development Fund and the Community Care Fund distributed at the summit have been uploaded to the Internet.