Chief Secretary Chan Kwok-ki today chaired the 16th meeting of the Youth Development Commission (YDC) and received a briefing on the latest implementation of the Youth Development Blueprint.

The commission noted that policy bureaus and departments have been taking forward more than 160 measures as stated in the blueprint and nearly 60 new measures put forward last year at full steam to support the development of young people in an all-round manner.

Among such measures, the Home & Youth Affairs Bureau is actively preparing to organise the Youth Development Summit scheduled for August 10 as the highlight of the 2024 Youth Festival.

The bureau and the YDC continue to implement various Mainland and overseas exchange and internship programmes, and have launched, for the first time, the Pilot Scheme on Subsidy to Grassroots Youth for Participating in Exchange Activities Outside Hong Kong.

Additionally, a new round of the Funding Scheme for Youth Entrepreneurship in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the Funding Scheme for Experiential Programmes at Innovation & Entrepreneurial Bases were launched in April under the Youth Development Fund.

Eighty applications by non-governmental organisations were received in the current round of the two funding schemes, an increase of about 40% compared with the previous round.

Apart from subsidising youth uniformed groups to enhance national education promotion efforts, the bureau organised five rounds of a Chinese drill instructors workshop together with the Police College and the Civil Aid Service.

More than 270 instructors have been trained accordingly, enabling youth uniformed groups to have formally trained instructors to teach the Chinese foot drills.

Moreover, the bureau has been continuously organising activities for the Youth Link to link up participants of government youth programmes, provide them with the opportunities to develop diverse talent, and strengthen their interaction and trust with the Government. So far, more than 10,000 youths have joined the Youth Link.

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Noting that the Government is working with the YDC to continuously take forward youth development work through the Youth Development Blueprint, Mr Chan said that various measures in the blueprint have achieved good progress.

“I hope that the YDC will continue to work closely with various bureaus and departments to steadfastly nurture a new generation of young people with an affection for the country and Hong Kong, and, equipped with global perspective, an aspiring mindset and positive thinking."