Students hone English public speaking skills
There was a record number of applicants for the Hong Kong English Public Speaking Contest this year - over 800 entries as the deadline approached. The competition is organized jointly by the HKFYG and the English Speaking Union in Hong Kong and solely sponsored by Standard Chartered Bank.

We have a common goal with the Federation - improving communication skills and providing opportunities to practice spoken English. In Hong Kong we can do so across cultural and national boundaries and have a chance to build on each other's strengths.

Dr. Verner Bickley, MBE, Chairman, The English Speaking Union, Hong Kong

Proficiency in English is seen by parents as the key to a successful career since the language has undoubted importance in a multicultural city like ours. But one has sympathy for the students who speak English too rarely to gain confidence and fear making mistakes. The education authorities are pragmatic about the issue, recognizing that although the situation is not ideal, Hong Kong needs a bilingual if not tri-lingual workforce. Few would argue about the great demands this places on students and schools.

"As one of last year's judges I am delighted to see how many entries there are this year. It shows that the organizers know how to make this competition relevant and useful to young people. It is an excellent chance for them to hone their skills and boost their confidence in speaking English outside school - they get too few opportunities like this."

Sir TL Yang, Member of the Judges' Panel, Grand Final, 2004-2005

To speak before any audience needs poise and presence as well as powers of persuasion. To do so well in a second language deserves congratulations and encouragement.

Global Youth Service Day - Four Projects including Book Donations 6000 young volunteers and corporate volunteers will be mobilized by the Youth Volunteer Network (VNET) in April for this year's four Global Youth Service projects. The projects include the distribution of about 2,500 free books to 600 families covered by social welfare (CSSA). Mr Paul Tang, Director of Social Welfare will officiate at the Service Recognition Ceremony: Date: 16 April 2005 Time: 12 noon Venue: Hong Kong Park Contact Jacqueline (VNET), tel 2169 0032 for information on Global Youth Service projects

Modernized Youth S.P.O.T. We are proud to announce that modernization and renovation work at Kin Sang is now complete and the Youth S.P.O.T. has been renamed the HKFYG Jockey Club Kin Sang Youth S.P.O.T. to reflect the Jockey Club's generous support. We hope to provide quality youth services with even better equipped facilities here in future. Click here to take a glimpse of the new look Kin Sang Youth S.P.O.T.

Art Exhibition by Day Nurseries There will be a gallery exhibition of drawings done by children from the Federation's two Ching Lok Nurseries in Sai Wan Ho and Yaumatei on 2 April. The exhibition gives the children a chance to show off their creativity and artistic talent as well as raise funds for the "Children's Cancer Foundation" by selling their drawings. Date: 2 April 2005 Time: 10am to 4 pm Venue: Exhibition Gallery of The Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre

Thanksgiving for parents
The core services of the Federation include programmes for 6 year-olds in primary school to parents in their thirties. We know that family relationships across age-groups are crucial and bearing this in mind the Federation's School Social Work Unit decided to launch the Project on Family Relationships (生命再起飛-青年為父母打氣「親親父母、傳傳情」親情速遞) to show young people the joy they can bring to parents by saying an unexpected thank you. This is something that many young people rarely do, yet which parents often long for.

This on-going project consists of several component parts and we talked to some of the participants, including two mothers with teenagers at the rebellious stage - a notoriously difficult time for showing any kind of appreciation. Claudia, said of her daughter Pui-ling, now in Form 2:

"She always takes the opposite view to mine, whatever it is! She also spends far too long with her friends after school. I talked to the social worker about the problems and she told me about this programme. I managed to persuade Pui-ling to take part with me."

First there was a vote at school in which 1036 students chose between the ten best ways to say thank you to their parents, including being physically demonstrative with hugs and kisses or just saying a few words of encouragement to the bread-winners when they come home after a long day at work. Claudia commented:

"The ten ways of thanking parents were all good. Now, when I get home tired after work, I think I may be able to look forward to a hug from Pui-ling…"

Anna, a single parent and one-time member of the Federation, also heard about the programme at school. She told us how she has learnt the importance of making time to be together. She and her daughter enjoy many outdoor activities together and although there are tensions between them they told us separately how valuable the programme was.

"My daughter is vulnerable to bouts of depression but I try not to spoil her. She finds peer pressure hard to resist and spends too much time on the computer. I have to exert my authority sometimes, especially if her school results are suffering…"

Despite the problems at home, or perhaps because of them, Claudia, Anna and their daughters attended a thanksgiving ceremony organized by the Federation just before Chinese New Year. (生命再起飛-青年為父母打氣 「親親父母、傳傳情」 親情速遞). 170 students came along with their parents to say a public thank you. The results of the vote that took place in school were also announced. This event was funded by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust and run under the banner of the Felix Wong Youth Improvement Award Scheme.

Some of the speakers were Felix Wong award winners, one of whom had lost her father. Anna, a single parent herself, found this account very moving. Another of the award winners, Kai-lai, who also spoke at the ceremony, is now studying for her Arts A levels. She talked to us about how she felt when it came to showing appreciation to her parents.

"My parents have been so generous to me. My mother gave up her work as a nurse for a year to look after me. Even then I found it easier to write 'I love you' than to say it but I have now learned how important good communications are."

We also talked to Kai- lai's mother, who was particularly impressed by Priscilla Ku, well known TV presenter and author, who shared with the audience her feelings about her adopted son. He was in the audience and went on to acknowledge publicly all the help his mother had given him. There were several very touching declarations of love and affection for parents. Being in public somehow made it easier.

Kai-lai's mother said:
"I know how difficult it is for Kai-lai to be demonstrative. Even though it is very important to me, I understand her reticence but I think we will eventually build up a warm relationship. Kai-lai is a teenager and I know how important her independence is."

Stressful times make family relationships especially vulnerable. At a crucial moment a thoughtful gesture can prevent a damaging argument. Feeling understood and appreciated, whatever your age, makes all the difference in the world.

Careers in China

There has been much discussion of late about career opportunities on the Mainland. Even with the unemployment rate in Hong Kong now standing at 6.1%, the lowest since November 2001 according to the Census & Statistics Department, recruitment in certain sectors is sluggish. Looking Northward, a youth forum that the Federation organized in collaboration with the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce (HKGCC) on 21st March, raised pertinent questions about relocation, comparative wages and means of motivating Hong Kong youngsters to explore their options in the light of increasingly intimate trading ties with the Mainland. Meanwhile, a Federation poll survey examined the attitudes of over 540 young people to working in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) which accounts for 20% of China's GDP even though its land area is a mere 1%.

The survey found that attitudes to careers in the YRD are negative overall. Although a large proportion of those surveyed recognize that opportunities exist, over half have little confidence in their ability to maximize their potential by moving to the YRD. In fact only 11.7% indicated any real intention of leaving Hong Kong. The majority feel quite content with their lot here and have little desire to disrupt their lives whatever the opportunities might be at present. This may be explained by the distance of the YRD from Hong Kong but is also due to the fact that the economy here is picking up.

A similar study was done in 2003 on attitudes to working in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) when findings showed a more positive attitude although still only 15.2% were willing to relocate. Better dissemination of information about living and working conditions on the Mainland will help make the picture clearer but what is essential is that Hong Kong youngsters go and see for themselves what it is like. This is the purpose behind the series of study tours run by the Federation's Leadership 21 on the Mainland during the past few years. As Mr Eden Woon, CEO of the HKGCC commented of the tour to Guangzhou, Dongguan and Shenzen:

"The journey to a great career in the PRD consists of not one but many paths. Some may be straight and some may be rough. Hong Kong youth have to be confident in themselves, and continuously equip themselves, so as to tread their own paths."

Jennifer Tang, of Human Resources at Emerson Electric China took part in the post tour conference in Shenzen. She makes the trenchant point that:

"Students need to have more courage and determination and to be realistic about their abilities and expectations. But they also need to put aside any arrogance which usually stems from ignorance…"

Last December customs officers made the biggest hauls of cocaine and Ecstasy ever in Hong Kong but even so, supply trends are on the rise and that means that prices are falling. To give one example, 60 kilos of cocaine were seized in 2004, ten times the amount in 2003 and cocaine cost 50% less in December 2004 than it did at the beginning of the year. Therefore, despite the seizures, it was no real surprise when the Security Bureau's narcotics division released statistics recently showing a steep rise in the use of ketamine and Ecstasy by the under 21's. The figures have gone from a total of 1245 in 2003 to 1759 in 2004.

Drugs are more accessible and more tempting than ever, even if the overall number of drug users has dropped 6.5% from 12,838 in the first three quarters of 2003 to 12,003 in the same period of 2004. One particular problem is the rise in the number of girls who take drugs - the figure was up by 3.2% in 2004. Parties and discos are the danger areas, where young men tempt the girls with free drugs. Peer pressure makes it particularly hard for them to resist. As ever, education is the key and clear warnings about after effects. Unknown to most party drug users 79% of ketamine abusers suffer mental disorders according to a recent University of Hong Kong study. The death of a 20-year-old last year after taking two Ecstasy tablets at a club in Nathan Road came as a shock to many but in fact when the drug is used as one of a cocktail the risks rise dramatically.

Leisure reading rare among university students

The Chinese University's School of Journalism & Communication conducted a survey in November 2004 on students' leisure reading habits. It was published in their monthly U-Beat. 332 respondents from 7 tertiary institutions were asked their opinions via questionnaires. The results show that 50% of university students spend less than an hour on leisure reading per week and 20% do none at all. Nearly 74% of them attributed these habits to their heavy academic workload although nearly half of them admitted they had never read much purely for pleasure in their lives. This trend is mirrored by figures in Britain over the last 10 years.

Nonetheless, over 80% of the respondents thought leisure reading could help increase their general knowledge and 65% of them thought it could improve their academic results, even though the most popular light reading among the sample group was fiction. Ms. Tung Yuan Fang, Associate Professor of the Translation Department, Chinese University of Hong Kong commented that students could develop independent thinking as a result of increased leisure reading. The survey also points out that a family's reading habits will affect those of the children in the household given that 83% of the respondents who read more than 14 hours per week were from families who had developed the habit of reading.