Thanks
to Partners |
Hong
Kong Youth Advertisement Competition 香港青年廣告短片大賽
The
Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts is
our partner for the Hong Kong Youth Advertisement Competition
(香港青年廣告短片大賽).We have the full support of The
Association of Accredited Advertising Agents of Hong
Kong and the
generous sponsorship of Coca-Cola China Ltd,
McDonald's Restaurants (Hong Kong) Ltd, Levi Strauss
(Hong Kong)
Ltd and Yahoo! Holdings (Hong Kong)
Ltd. Groups of secondary
and tertiary students and other young people under 30
are welcome to enter the competition and make
a 30-60 second commercial. Training sessions on the making
of commercials will be provided for applicants. We are
hoping that the competition will cultivate creative thinking
among youth, equipping them with skills in advertisement
production as well as facilitating their understanding
and interest in advertising techniques and culture. Application
deadline: 30 November 2005. Click here for more details
of the event:
www.u21.org.hj/youthnet/ads_film.html
or
call us at 28319183 for enquires.
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Building
a harmonious society
With
sponsorship from the Commission on Youth and The
Board of Management of the Chinese Permanent Cemeteries,
the Federation's Jockey Club Hung Hom Youth S.P.O.T. is
organizing
a series of activities as part of a scheme entitled「融」「義」之旅
— 社會共融計劃 . The scheme will run from now till August 2006 and
is designed to improve understanding and tolerance among
different
ethnic groups. Students in Secondary 3 or above, plus tertiary
students are welcome to join the scheme and participate
in training workshops, meetings with ethnic minority groups,
low-income families and hospital patients. Services and
activities for such disadvantaged groups are in the interests
of all concerned. Click here for more information on the
scheme:
www.u21.org.hk/main/promotion/volunteer6 |
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Mentorship
project for poor students
With
a sum of HK$850,000 from the Community Investment
and Inclusion Fund, the Federation is launching
a 2-year mentorship project, 創富工程-生活豐盛師友計劃,in
three secondary schools in Shamshuipo, Tuen Mun and
Yuen Long districts.
We have recruited mentors as life coaches for students
from low-income families, helping them to strengthen
their life skills and widen their horizons. Activities
will also be organized so that the students and their
families will maximize the potential of the community
resources available to them and build up a supportive
network. Subsequently, they will be encouraged to contribute
to the welfare of their community by offering voluntary
services.
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China's
acclaimed astronauts Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng
will be joining HKFYG next week for a short talk and dialogue session.
Target group: Young Professionals
Date: Tuesday 29 November
Time: 11:00am to 12 noon
Venue: Space Museum
To enroll: Click
here…
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Here
at the Federation we are absolutely convinced that volunteerism
is
excellent for all the community and we are about to celebrate
its positive
effects. "To Serve with Love" Music
Marathon, coming
up on Saturday
3 December in Hong Kong Park, will be an all-day extravaganza
with singers, celebrities and several thousand young volunteers
sharing their music and personal volunteering experience. The
music itself will also reflect the theme of the day and a major
appeal is underway for volunteers of all ages to pledge service
hours.
The Heart
to Heart volunteer project, has already taken off
with over 60 companies and nearly 150 schools signed up. They
will be given awards at the marathon and young Federation volunteers
will receive the recognition they deserve. The figures say
it all: over 90,000 registered members gave almost 600,000
hours of service last year. They are truly Hong Kong's pride.
Chief Secretary,
Rafael Hui Si-yan, GBS JP, will be the Guest of Honour at the
Music Marathon which is supported by the Social
Welfare Department, the Leisure & Cultural Services Department,
RTHK and RoadShow with generous sponsorship from the Hong Kong
Jockey Club Charities Trust.
All who want to sign a pledge for just 10 hours' volunteering please
call VNET's hotline, 2169 0032 any time till 3 December. Call the same
number to register your school or company for Heart to Heart.
Federation
News
Awards
Ceremony for 2nd Oregon Scientific Sports Scholarship
Friday 25 November 2005 at 7:00-7:45p.m. Plaza
Conference Centre, 35/F, Central Plaza
Officiating
Guests: |
Ms.
Olivia Chan, Assistant Director (Leisure Services)
Dr. Raymond Chan, DBA, JP, Oregon Scientific Group Chairman & CEO
Mr. Wong Tak Sum, Advanced Coach, Windsurfing Association of HK
Dr. Rosanna Wong, Executive Director, HKFYG |
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WTO
Ministerial: recruitment of volunteers
253
volunteers aged 16-35, with a Form 6 or higher education
level, have been recruited by the
Federation's Youth Volunteer Network (VNET) for the Hong
Kong WTO Ministerial Conference. The meeting is scheduled
for 13-18
December and a 2-day training session for the volunteers
is being provided by us and the organizer of the event,
this weekend, 26-27 November. |
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Feature
Story
A
design flair for youth: Barrie Ho and the Kin Sang Youth SPOT
Barrie Ho,
the acclaimed Hong Kong interior designer, has a marvellously
creative fusion design style and both his philosophy
and vision are clearly on display at the Federation's Kin Sang
Youth S.P.O.T. in Tuen Mun.
He was at the heart of the redevelopment there and
his work for us has just received public recognition in the form
of the 2005 gold medal APIDA (Asia Pacific Interior Design Award).
Congratulations and thanks to Barrie.
We have been
talking to him about his work and the concept behind the renovated
Youth SPOT. It is in an old-style public
housing estate where youth centres often have the reputation of
being the place where the neighbourhood's less desirable elements
hang out. That was the root of Barrie's first problem because
the
entrance was round the side of the building - well out of sight.
That was an image we did not want.
"Site
constraints are always a problem. Not only was there a hidden
entrance but also the rigidity of heavy
beams and columns that marred the interior. Despite them we were
determined to find a way to attract young people and keep them
coming
back."
The solution
was to blend functional issues with aesthetic requirements.
" I
wanted to create a metaphor for youth, seeking the sort of
flexibility where activity spaces could revolve
freely around central, spinal features. These elements had to meld
the transformable and multi-functional and never be boring"
How did he do it?
What you see
at Kin Sang are curvilinear forms in the walls, ceilings and
moveable panels. These create the effect
of an indefinite vanishing point. The actual finite space seems
to change as a result. There are mobile panels that gradually
retreat
around gentle corners. The eye is drawn up and out by the stretched
canopy effect of ceilings that rise asymmetrically and disappear
along with all the ugly ducting they hide. The whole emphasis is
on continuity, space and visibility, with a clean, clear lines.
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"By
reflecting the best of the modern urban environment in the
overall design concept I was looking for what young people
like and identify with -modernity blended with functionality.
There is both unity and harmony, with concealed lighting,
folding doors and an outdoor cafe look in the meeting areas,
just like those you see at side-walk cafes."
Wood panelling and Barrie's custom-designed furniture
blend natural wood finishes and man-made fabrics. The overall effect
is a wonderfully pleasing mix of ingenious, space-saving features
and an open perspective that gives the illusion of far more room
than there actually is. He has also encapsulated Hong Kong design culture
at Kin Sang. Everything in Hong Kong has to fit into small spaces
and that familiar feature of our everyday lives is reflected in
the way he has used each square centimeter economically.
"Those
fold-away desks for example. I got the idea from the
Ladder Street hawker stalls. By day there's nothing there,
just a tiny blank door. But at night they fold right
out, opening up into a work and display place with protection
from the elements. The rice cooker is another example
of the same sort of thing. It was an ingenious Japanese
invention. Naturally, a German who has grown up on a
diet of potatoes would never have thought of it. All
design and inventions are contextual to your environment,
your everyday life, and this is one element that designers
around the world should embrace." |
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There are other Youth SPOTs where we hope Barrie's
design flair will be on display in due course. We can only be grateful,
admire and encourage young people to make the best of them.
'I am saying
to young people, 'Your future is in your own hands. It's transformable
and flexible just like this place.
In the end, what it turns out to be is entirely up to you." |
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Facts
& Figures
Under-age
binge-drinking in Hong Kong
According to a large scale Department of Health study* conducted
between September 2003 and May 2004, 14.4% of the young people
in Hong Kong aged 15+ qualify as binge drinkers. What makes these
young people abuse alcohol? There are two main reasons. One is
peer-pressure to drink. The other is its wide availability. Bottles
of hard liquor, wine and beer are on sale in hundreds of stores
and there is no legal age restriction on alcohol sales in shops
although many retail outlets have a policy of only selling to over
18s. |
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In the US, binge drinking is the most
serious problem on most campuses and a 1999 Harvard University
study** of 119 colleges revealed that 44% had been binge drinking
in the previous fortnight, with 51% of the men students surveyed
taking more than 5 drinks in a row while 40% of the women had more
than 4 successive drinks in a session. A 1997 study*** of drinking
behaviour on the Mainland found that most students of both genders
drank but surprisingly few resulting problems were discovered.
*http://www.hkmenshealth.com/eng/newsroom/newsroom_01-06-2005.asp?period=2005_2
[accessed 19 November 2005]
**www.cspinet.org/booze/collfact1.htm
***Engs, Ruth C et al (1997) Substance Use and Misuse 32 (4) 495-506
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Pressure
to perform: a survey from the student's perspective
The Yang Memorial Methodist Social Service has released
results of a survey on the psychological state of Hong Kong
secondary school students. Between November 2004 and June
this year, 1,678 secondary school students in 7 schools in
Yau Tsim Mong District were interviewed. They were asked
how they felt about perceived pressures experienced at school
and in general, and how they affected self esteem. |
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The students reported pressure not only to perform well in the
academic sphere but also in extra-curricular activities and interpersonal
relationships. 35% of the students regarded good academic results
as the most important aspect of their lives. More than 20% felt
unhappy or even experienced self-loathing because they did not
get on well with their classmates. 40% said their school provided
neither a tranquil nor a comfortable environment for them. Even
worse, 20% of the students had suicidal thoughts in the past.
Although 70%
of the students saw their teachers as friends, more than half
of them said they would not turn to teachers for help if they
had problems. The survey also showed that the immense pressure
felt by some of them was partly a result of their vulnerability
and emotional over-reaction. The report suggested that schools
should devise an evaluation mechanism to review academic workloads
and the other pressures faced by students. Moreover, it says
that training in inter-personal skills and coping strategies
should be provided for students at school in order to help them
build self-esteem, cope with stress better, think more positively
and improve their problem-solving ability.
*Wen Wei Pao 14 November 2005
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