​The Home & Youth Affairs Bureau today announced the launch of a pilot scheme that provides further support to grassroots youth to participate in exchange activities outside Hong Kong under the Funding Scheme for Youth Exchange in the Mainland (FSYEM) and the Funding Scheme for International Youth Exchange (FSIYE) in 2024-25.

The bureau and the Youth Development Commission earlier launched both exchange schemes targeting young people aged between 12 and 35.

The FSYEM provides funding for eligible non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to organise youth exchange projects to the Mainland, with a view to promoting Hong Kong youth's awareness and understanding of the home country, strengthening exchanges with Mainland people and enhancing their sense of national identity.

The FSIYE provides funding for eligible NGOs to organise international exchange projects enabling Hong Kong youth to widen their global exposure and understand the history, culture and development situations of different places in the world.

Depending on the location, duration, content and other different factors of the exchange projects, some of the funded NGOs may still need to charge participation fees.

The bureau launched the pilot scheme to provide additional subsidies to grassroots youth with financial needs.

The beneficiaries include eligible youths receiving Comprehensive Social Security Assistance; and those youths receiving a full grant under the School Textbook Assistance Scheme or a full grant of tuition fees under one of the means-tested schemes by the Working Family & Student Financial Assistance Agency.

Under the pilot scheme, the fees to be borne by eligible participants will be capped at $500 for Mainland exchange projects and $3,000 for international exchange projects, while the remainder of the fees will be fully subsidised by the Government.

The organisers will be required to bear in advance the fees exceeding the caps for eligible participants. The Government will reimburse the subsidies to the organisers after receiving the complete exchange project report.

Young people can contact the organisers directly for the application and detailed information about the pilot scheme when they apply for the exchange projects.