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“Invest in Youth by building Partnerships.” Welcome to the fifth issue of The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups’ e-newsletter. Aimed at all those who are interested in young people, their problems and concerns, hopes and aspirations, Invest in Youth, share stories, information and news. We welcome you your suggestions and comments, but ask you also to take the time and see how you might be able to join us building up partnerships. Please show your support by joining our mailing list to receive Invest in Youth every week.

Dr. Rosanna Wong, DBE, JP

Building up Civic Responsibility
On November 23rd, Hong Kong goes to the polls to elect her District representatives. The District Council elections provide the perfect opportunity for the people to demonstrate their civic duty by voting.

Young people in Hong Kong have not shirked away from using these elections as an occasion to get involved. On polling day, Leadership 21 of The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, along with the Federation's Youth S.P.O.Ts, will gather a large number of young people to go to the booths and vote together. This is planned in conjunction with having special coverage of the elections on the Federation’s web site, so that every young person can keep abreast of developments. This simple, yet inclusive, method of encouraging peers to exercise their franchise responsibly is I believe a very commendable effort.

Too often young people complain about the government and officials not being able to gauge their needs and concerns. These can only be empty complaints if one does not make the effort to vote. This is because voting is an act of participation and is extremely important to building up civic responsibility. It is only through the voting process that young people, especially as new voters, become socially aware and learn what it means to be committed to our communities. Voting instils a taste and tradition for involvement in the political process, which in the long term can only help in encouraging young people to become full contributing members of society.

Thus, The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups encourages young people to get out on November 23rd and vote!


 


Informing Youth about the Safety of Health Products
The Federation and the Consumer Council joined together to raise the awareness of young people about the safety of health and slimming products. A youth poll will be conducted to investigate the attitude of youth towards these products. The results will be released at a seminar called “Beauty from Within: Do Health and Slimming Products Really Work?” to be held on November 15. To further spread the message about the safety of health supplements, a new information section will be added on the Federation's youth website, u21.


Getting into the Spirit of Halloween
181 young volunteers of the Federation spent October by participating in the Hong Kong $10 “Trick or Treat” Campaign. The Campaign, which took place every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 3rd to 31st October at Ocean Park, helped to raise funds for The Community Chest of Hong Kong. The volunteers encouraged tourists to make donations into a box shaped like a giant pumpkin.


Showing Support through Donation in Kind
Donations can take different forms. Apart from financial donations, corporations can also demonstrate their support to the community through donations in kind. In early October, J.P. Morgan Chase and Co. donated 13 used computers to the Wang Tau Hom Youth S.P.O.T., illustrating its commitment to the positive development of young people. The Federation hopes that more corporations will follow this example and contribute suitable products, which could be of use and interest to youth.

 

Social Pressure to be Slim
A recent survey conducted by the Hong Kong Eating Disorders Association found that half of the respondents who said that they were trying to slim down were females aged between 16 and 25. The youngest reported case of someone on a diet was an 11-year-old. Eager to lose weight quickly the little girl started by dieting, but ended up with an eating disorder. The father later found that his daughter had kept a 3-inch thick folder full of health food and weight loss advertisements. Four years, at 15, the girl still needs the help of psychiatrists to help her resolve her eating problems. Find out more here.

Children in Hong Kong need More Exercise

Children in Hong Kong are becoming couch potatoes, a survey has found. The Millennium Sports Study, commissioned by the Hong Kong Sports Development Board, revealed that only 19% of children, aged between 5 and17, engaged in enough physical activities to benefit their health. About half of the children preferred to watch television in their leisure time. What was most alarming was that the Study found that the sedentary levels of young people were even higher than that of the adults. A very worrying finding, given that Hong Kong is already at the bottom of the world in terms of the number of adults who participate in sports. Click here for details!

Reduction of Secondary School Classes
Due to a continuing decline among secondary school students, the pressure to reduce classes is on the rise. The five districts in Hong Kong, which are facing the most severe situation, are Tai Po, Tuen Mun, Wong Tai Sin and Hong Kong Island East and South. Tai Po District is the most affected, and will see a 40% drop in the student population over the next 8 years. Click here to find out reactions to this worrying situation.

 
Youth Career Skills Challenge
The U.S. Department of Labor initiated an innovative competition called “Youth Career Skills Challenge” for young people to test their academic and employment skills against one another for national recognition. From July 30 to August 1 2003, over 200 youths from around the United States gathered in Washington, DC to compete in events ranging from enhancing their career vocabulary, to learning how to set out business plans, to public speaking and mastering the skills of employment survival. Besides competitions, the youth challengers were also given an opportunity to attend career workshops and fairs to broaden their horizons. Sound interesting? Click here to learn more.

Disabled Freshers to Share the Ups and Downs

For four weeks, the BBC website that reflects life as a disabled person, “Ouch!”, followed three disabled students who were starting university for the first time. Each week, they posted diary entries of their experiences, including how it was to live away from home, their social lives and the high and low points of accessibility on campus, in their accommodation and for study resources. Read the diaries of Ruth, Ciaran and Sara now! This will certainly help us all to understand the challenges faced by disabled students much better.

Minimum Voting Age
The minimum age of voting varies from nation to nation and often depends on the type of election. The most common age when a person can exercise his or her franchise is 18. This is true also of Hong Kong, which was lowered from 21 ever since the 1995 Legislative Council Elections.

   
 
   
Australia... the minimum voting age is 18. In Australia voting is compulsory
Iran... at 15 for presidential elections, Iran has the lowest voting age
Brazil... has a minimum voting age of 16. Until you are 18 voting is voluntary, then it becomes compulsory
Ireland... the minimum voting age is 18.
Britain… has a minimum voting age of 18.
Japan... you have to be 20 before you can vote
Croatia... everybody gets the vote at 18, but if you are 16 and in full-time employment you can vote
Singapore... has a minimum voting age of 21
Germany... you have to be 18 before you can vote in national elections, but in some local elections anybody who is 16 or over can vote.
USA...has a minimum voting age of 18.
Source: Heads Up, Britain

Getting Young Adults to Vote

Make Political Participation Cool
Many young people around the world think formal politics is dull and boring. Celebrity endorsements have become a common strategy to encourage young people to vote. In Hong Kong, the Government had been encouraging young people to come out and vote in the forthcoming District Board Election, by a series of celebrity television commercials. In the United States, a non-profit organization called Rock the Vote was founded a decade ago to engage youth in the political process by incorporating the entertainment community and youth culture into its activities. Leading musical artists like Madonna and Robbie Williams also worked with Rock the Vote. Visit its website! See how cool political participation really is!



Using Mobile Phones to get the Youth Vote
Considering how popular mobile phones are among young people, would voting by mobile phone be one possible way to boost voter turnout among youth? During the British General Election 2001, a survey was conducted to see whether young people would be more willing to cast their votes if they could do it through their mobile phones. The answer was very positive. Read the findings here.



Encouraging Young People to Vote
With the District Council Election Day coming up on November 23, the Federation's Leadership 21 has initiated a pre-election campaign to encourage young people to vote. Click here to learn more about the campaign.


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