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HKFYG : Partner at Innovation
Festival 2006
The Innovation and
Technology Commission (ITC) has
invited the Federation as a partner at this year's
second Innovation Festival. Its theme
is "Youth inspires---City of Innovation" and it aims
to stimulate interest and aspirations of young people
in innovation and technology. The Festival runs from
14
October to 2 December, featuring a range of exciting
activities
including the competition, My Favourite Inventions
for Quality Living 2006, a series of roadshows,
interactive DIY workshops, and seminars for the public
in various
locations. There will also be a Youth Innovation Exhibition
at the Hong Kong Science Museum.
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"A Million for the Dragon" Christmas
Charity Sale
Thanks to Lisa's
Collection,
The Dragon Foundation is organizing the second "A Million
for the Dragon" Charity Sale on 9 December from 12 noon
to 5pm in the Tianshan and Lushan Rooms at the Island
Shangri-La Hotel. Fine antiques and superbly crafted
replicas and carvings will be available. Proceeds from
the sale will support Dragon Foundation leadership training
programmes, including the Global Citizenship Programme,
the Lecture Series for Youth Leaders and Dragon
100.
Indulge your festive generosity by supporting The Dragon
Foundation and its Young Dragons.
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Culture+
Creative Music Show: Thanks to sponsors
The Home Affairs
Bureau, the Leisure and Culture Services Department,
Gear Workshop,
i.s.o., Image Culture, Greenery Music, A-Look Eyewear,
Show:Room Apparel Ltd, 逸意廣告, Pop Star & Music,
See Music Ltd, English Town, Telford International Co.
Ltd and DKSH are all owed a big thank you for
their generous sponsorship. About 100 students put their
creative and
artistic talents on display with classical, pop and rave
music on 8 October at Kwai Tsing Theatre Plaza. Special
thanks also go to our guest performers, namely 赤子 and
Dear Jane. This event was part of the Culture+
programme,
which runs once a month from January till December 2006.
It provides a platform for Hong Kong youth to develop
latent
talent and gain confidence in public performances of
music, singing, dance, conjuring and modelling.
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Federation co-hosts Youth Business
International Global Conference
The Federation's Youth
Business Hong Kong (YBHK) has been invited by Youth
Business International (YBI) to host the conference
in association with Youth Business China (YBC) from
31 October to 3 November. The theme is "Impact and
Innovation" and The Hon Henry Tang, GBS, JP, Financial
Secretary, will be Guest of Honour at the opening ceremony
in the Hong Kong Exhibition and Convention Centre.
There will be exhibition booths for YBI, YBHK, YBC
and 10 young entrepreneurs supported by YBHK & YBC.
The conference offers a platform for managers of Youth
Business Programmes all over the world to share their
experiences and make a joint effort to improve and
develop the concept further in their home countries.
World-wide support for the programme is being solicited.
300 participants are expected, including 100 overseas
delegates and their partners. On 2 November, the Entrepreneur
of the Year Dinner 2006, sponsored by KPMG,
will be held at Island Shangri-La Hotel. The Entrepreneur
of
the Year will be announced and prizes will be presented.
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| Federation
News |
Youth
Dialogue with Chief Executive on Policy Address
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Date: Monday
16 October
Time: 5pm
Venue: Hong Kong Academy of Medicine
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| "Lecture
Series for Youth Leaders" – Professor Kan
Yuet-wai |
Date: Thursday
19 October
Time: 6pm
Venue: YMCA International House
Speaker, Professor Kan, was the first winner of the Shaw Prize in Life Science
and
Medicine
in 2004. |
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Stop
Press
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The Federation is very pleased
that the Chief Executive made strengthening family-based support
networks a top priority in this week’s policy address.* The needs
of parents is the focus of this issue of Youth Matters and we
are much encouraged to find that the policy address reflects
our concerns. Parents here have special problems caused by high-density
living within a competitive society. As Mr Tsang said, a concerted,
positive response by the entire community is needed to create:
"… family harmony … the foundation of social harmony."
http://www.policyaddress.gov.hk/06-07/eng/p66.html
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Parent
– child conflict:
communication and mediation |
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There was a 31% rise in
cases of family violence in the first half of 2006,* putting
the spotlight on the importance of a caring, home environment.
Murder, runaways, and child abuse will always draw media
attention but what we want to highlight is how many good
parents have difficulty creating a happy home, despite their
very best intentions. Reasons may be domestic, financial
or external but as soon as children are under pressure they
can over-react and the situation can snowball without good
communication.
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Good communication
skills prevent and solve problems. Without them, the feeling
of being misunderstood and unappreciated rapidly leads to
arguments during the turbulent adolescent years. These arguments
escalate when stress at school seems unbearable or when young
love becomes too distracting. When communication is at risk,
mediators can step in to prevent or try to cure a complete
break-down. The Federation offers such help on a small scale.
Please help us expand the support network. Solving family
conflict can prevent tragic consequences.
Contact parenting@hkfyg.org.hk,
or tel 2402 9230 for more information.
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| Feature
Story |
| Parents and children:
the rifts that grow Arguments
between parents and children start for many reasons but
many bear the same hallmark – poor communication. We
talked to parents who have turned to the Federation.
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Mr Wong used to be a chef
before an accident left him disabled. He has a Filipina
wife and three daughters. The middle one, Mandy, is a clinical
depressive: |
Wong She was very aggressive at school
and even got into fights with the boys. When the school
complained I needed to talk to someone. I wondered if it
was because she felt rejected by her mother who had post-natal
depression. Or because she was ashamed of me being off
work.
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| When Mandy went on to secondary school her
problem seemed worse than ever. She became very unstable
a few years ago and tried to kill herself. That's when she
and her father went to talk to Hong-man, the social worker
at the Youth SPOT in Hung Hom: |
| Wong I was so worried but now I realize
there were many misunderstandings. The most important things
for families are talking and listening to each other but
we had stopped
communicating. Now I go to parenting classes with my wife,
Mandy has recovered enough to do translation studies at City
U and we are a much more cohesive family. |
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| Reginia and her 18 year-old son Gary had a
similar communication block: |
| Reginia There was a rift between me and Gary. I used to
want a divorce and got very upset and angry when he and his
father took sides against me. I felt excluded and I think
he lost respect for me then. First I turned to my friends
for comfort. Then I found Ivy, the social worker at the Heng
Fa Chuen Youth SPOT. |
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| Ivy suggested that Reginia took the Federation's
parenting classes where she met parents with similar problems.
Gradually she realized she needed to put less pressure on
Gary. Eventually it worked. He started listening to her: |
| Reginia When Gary's had poor exam results I
found out what his options were but tried not to pester him
while he repeated the year at school. He wanted to do an
IVE course but I thought he should try for business studies.
We had a last minute decision-making session. It lasted an
hour - the longest time he had talked to me for ages. And
in the end he changed his mind. Family tragedies seem more
and more common and I think we have had a lucky escape. Too
much pressure can create terrible problems. |
| Iris was the next parent we talked to. Her
13-year-old son Brian was making the difficult transition
to adolescence. His father was away a lot and Iris wanted
a close relationship but she smothered him. Brian wanted
independence: |
| Iris First he stopped
talking to me. Then he refused to have swimming lessons.
I thought he would love
that but none of his friends were learning to swim either.
In the end I realized why. Esther, from the Federation's
parenting services, helped me see. He was self-conscious
about the changes to his body, just like the others of
the same
age. |
| Esther also helped Iris realize that she had
to think of herself sometimes, instead of always trying to
please of Brian, especially when he was unresponsive and
she felt like a failure. That gave her a new perspective. |
| Mrs Chang, at a loss
with her Form 2 son, Hugo also talked to Esther: |
| Mrs Chang Hugo was always
so unhappy at school but wouldn't tell me why. The truth
was he had no friends
because he was in the wrong stream and his classmates
were naughty. He was working extra hard to switch streams
which was very stressful. |
| Gradually, as a result of two-way and then
three-way mediation, Mrs Chang and Hugo each talked about
how they felt to Esther. Then all three of them talked it
over. That's the ultimate goal of this kind of counselling:
bringing parents and their children back in touch with one
another, helping them find goals to share and a life to lead
together. |
| For more information about parent-child conflict
mediation contact Esther Yeung, Parenting Services, parenting@hkfyg.org.hk,
tel 2402 9230 |
| Facts & Figures |
Hard
times for single parents
The number of single parent families in Hong
Kong has come under scrutiny in recent months. According
to one set of figures there was a surge of 70%, from 58,460
to 100,000 between 2001 and the end of 2005.* A later report
puts the increase at 50% from 1996 to 2005, up from 41,200
to 76,900, with one in every 13 children coming from a
single parent home.** |
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Whichever set of figures
is used, the significance for family life is clear. 25%
of single families are the result of divorce and the divorce
rate is up from 1.82 divorces for every 1,000 people in
1996 to 2.51 last year. There are many contributive factors.
There is a generational and communication mismatch between
Hong Kong fathers who marry much younger women from the
Mainland. Marital problems between parents increase if
they have jobs which take them away from home frequently.
The situation is mirrored in the number of reported cases
of battered spouses. These have more than tripled from
1,009 to 3,589 in the last 10 years.**
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Policy
Address 2006: youth poll
The Federation conducted an opinion poll*
from 26 September to 3 October before the Chief Executive’s
2006 policy address. 500 young people aged
15-39 were interviewed. They were supportive of the CE’s
performance in general, giving him 64 points (where 100
was the maximum possible) for overall performance and 63
points to indicate their confidence in his ability to maintain
harmony in Hong Kong. |
On current social and economic issues, 89.9%
thought that there should be more economic cooperation
between Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta region and
86.4% supported legislation requiring motorists to switch
off idling engines. 85.9% wanted to see Hong Kong develop
into a regional education hub, 75.9% supported the concept
of a minimum wage and 65.3% thought there should be a centralised
poultry slaughterhouse in Hong Kong. 72.5% did not welcome
the implementation of a Goods and Services Tax (GST).*http://www.hkfyg.org.hk/yrc/chinese/yr-p155c.html
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Recent
surveys on parent-child communication
A survey* of 933 students conducted in
September revealed that over a fifth spoke to their parents
for less than 15 minutes each day. 25% said their relationship
with parents was distant and 30% said they would turn
to their friends for help if in need. Only 20% said they
would talk to their mothers if they were in trouble.
63% said they did not like to hear negative comments
about themselves from their parents and 25% said they
had never heard any words of parental encouragement.
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In May and June this year, a survey** of
4,151 parents of Primary Three and Primary Six children
reflected the same kind of attitude to communication in
the home. The parents were asked what they most wanted
from their children and ranked ten activities such as homework,
sport, chores and looking after siblings in priority order.
The majority (77.3%) wanted their children to spend their
time doing something related to their studies and over
60% said the most important activity was revision. Only
11% wanted a daily chat with the kids.
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