Yhk 10 2 taking the lead

a quarterly journal from the hongkong federation of youth groups

June 2018

Volume 10 Number 2

Youth HONG KONG

Taking the Lead

Contents

OVERVIEW 4 Training for leaders INTERVIEW 6 Leaders for the future

Peter Wong, Deputy Chairman

and Chief Executive,

HSBC Asia-Pacific

JUNE 2018 | Youth Hong Kong

Volume 10 Number 2

SPECIAL 9 Introducing

The HKFYG Leadership Institute YOUTH SPEAK 16 Driving social change

Lina Khalifeh 18 Learning about millennial leadership

George Chan 20 Vision in action

Sin Wai-man PERSPECTIVES 22 The art of followership

Diana Martin 24 The leadership conundrum

Gary Heilbronn SOCIETY & CULTURE 26 Video games in education

Simon John 28 Gaming controversies

Elaine Morgan SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 30 Brain-computer boundaries

Laura Leung 32 Where next for the smart home?

Chan Tsz-chung CITY SPACE 35 Act now for future health

Catherine Kan HKFYG 37 China Week with Cantonese cuisine 38 Summer’s here at the Organic Farm 40 Summer Youth Programme 43 Startup Explorer & Maker House 45 Dragon 100 46 Youth IDEAS: online government

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INTERVIEW

16-21 YOUTH SPEAK

22-29 PERSPECTIVES SOCIETY & CULTURE

30-34 SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

35-36

37-46

CITY SPACE

HKFYG

EDITORIAL BOARD Andy Ho (Chair) Elaine Morgan (Editor) Ada Chau (Assistant Editor) Amy Fung Angela Ngai Gary Tang Lakshmi Jacotă William Chung

INTERVIEWS Elaine Morgan & Ada Chau

VIEWS EXPRESSED are the authors’ and interviewees’, may come from official sources, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial board or publisher

OVERVIEW

SPECIAL

REPRODUCTION OF CONTENTS without written permission from the publisher is prohibited

CIRCULATION (unaudited) 11,000-12,000 in Hong Kong, throughout the region and overseas

6-8 9-15

YOUTH HONG KONG published quarterly

by The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups

Hon Adviser Veronica Pearson

4-5

OTHER CONTRIBUTORS George Chan Sin Wai-man Diana Martin Gary Heilbronn Simon John Laura Leung Chan Tsz-chung Catherine Kan TRANSLATION Ada Chau & Angela Ngai PHOTOGRAPHS By editorial team, acknowledged as captioned, stock images, or in public domain

TRADEMARKS All brand names and product names are registered trademarks.

Youth Hong Kong is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in articles.

ARTWORK, DESIGN, LAYOUT & PRINTING DG3 ISSN 2071-3193 (Print) ISSN 2519-1098 (Online) WEB youthhongkong.hkfyg.org.hk CORRESPONDENCE to The Editor, Youth Hong Kong, 21/F, The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups Building, 21 Pak Fuk Road, North Point, Hong Kong TEL 3755 7084, 3755 7108 FAX 3755 7155 EMAIL youthhongkong@hkfyg.org.hk

ADVERTISING enquiries to Ada Chau 3755 7108 The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups was founded in 1960 and is the city’s largest youth service organization. More than 25,000 activities are organized by over 70 units annually with attendance of nearly 6 million.

Youth SPOTs, M21 Multimedia Services, Counselling Services, Youth at Risk Services, Employment Services, Leadership Training, Volunteer Services, Parenting Services, Education Services, Creativity Education and Youth Exchange, Leisure, Cultural and Sports Services, Research and Publications WEB hkfyg.org.hk m21.hk Online donation platform giving.hkfyg.org.hk

Editorial June 2018 | Youth Hong Kong

Hong Kong needs home-grown leaders and the Federation is committed to training young people for this purpose. As torchbearers for the rule of law, economic and social stability, civic mindedness and service to the community, they need numerous skills and attributes.

The mission of the HKFYG Leadership Institute, introduced in this issue, is to equip young people to take up leadership roles, nurturing them in a global perspective, training them in effective communication and successful teamwork as well as inculcating a sense of responsibility and dedication to the society they will represent.

Please write to us with your insight on leadership training − what you think needs to be done to prepare young leaders and what they need to succeed. In our turn, we will be delighted to share your views with our readers.

Andy Ho Wing-cheong Executive Director, HKFYG June 2018

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Overview June 2018 | Youth Hong Kong

Training for leaders There will always be a debate about whether the ability to lead is an inherent trait or whether it is a skill that can be acquired. Those who adhere to the so-called “trait theory” argue that leadership is intuitive and encompasses maturity, ability, good judgment, integrity and dependability: attributes with which one is born or which emerge as one grows up.

Behavioural theorists, on the other hand, believe that leadership can be learned and that anyone can be a leader.

They argue that good leadership comes about as a result of mastering a set of skills and learning through experience, continuous development and practice. It involves the enhancement of practical and intellectual capacities in essentially three key areas: communication, judgement and management.

Good leadership training differentiates between being confident and being egotistical.

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The importance of good communication is clear, both when talking face-to-face and when connecting through media technology. The ability to get one’s message across with clarity and precision in both written and spoken communication is crucial if one’s meaning is to be easily understood.

To complement good communication skills, leaders must also be good listeners. Only then will they have a fully rounded picture of the mood and opinions of those they wish to influence. Furthermore, one skill will not work without the other if effective teamwork is to be achieved.

Good judgement leads to firm decision-making which in turn is grounded in self-confident, action-oriented achievements. A set of sub-skills that can be learnt and which include critical and analytical thinking about complex issues is useful.

pp This artist’s impression is of the revitalized former magistracy in Fanling, known officially hitherto as the New Territories Magistracy, Fanling District Court and now as the HKFYG Leadership Institute.

While there is an ongoing debate about whether all managers need leadership skills, most would agree that leaders do need to be skilful managers of teams. This ensures not only the smooth coordination of tasks but also the camaraderie of working towards a common goal. Good leader-managers can devise strategic, tactical plans and give clear direction that motivates and inspires others to follow.

While communication, judgement and management are key leadership skills, there is a plethora of other attributes that some scholars, experts and practitioners say can be taught to those who want to become leaders. Although this is seen by some as arguable, what needs to be remembered is that leadership training can be applied to all levels and strata of organizations and is not limited to any specific professional field, business or industry. As such, there is no single universal training scheme. In serious leadership training, the curriculum has to be adapted and modified to fit every context precisely to have the maximum benefit.

Being trained for outstanding leadership involves learning how to articulate a powerful, positive and compelling vision for organizational and individual growth while generating the trust and support needed to execute this vision.

However, while training can develop maturity and readiness to accept responsibility for both mistakes and successes, it

should also enable differentiation between self-confidence and egotism. The vanity that comes from thinking one is exceptional is at best detrimental to other qualities necessary for good leadership. Yet, at the same time, leaders-in-training need to be aware that being humble is not the same as being timid.

Leadership is about mastering a set of skills and learning through experience, continuous development and practice.

Many people aspire to positions of leadership and the process of training and learning provides opportunities to gain experience and practice in the necessary skills.

Whatever type of curriculum or organizational training programme is followed, continuous emphasis on good character and integrity remain fundamental. In the end, what counts most of all is who one is as a person, not where one stands on the ladder of prestige and power. 領袖素質究竟是與生俱來，還是可以經後天培養；各界對此一直 有不同論述。其中認為領袖屬天生的一方，主要相信個人的直覺、 成熟度、誠信等素質均是天賦，又或是在成長過程中發展出來， 因此難以在長大後再培養。而不少行為學家則認為，一些重要的 領袖素質如溝通技巧、判斷力及管理智慧等，可以憑藉學習和經 驗累積而來。無論如何，優秀的領袖人才都應該充滿自信，且不 會過分自我中心，同時能夠具備各種領袖才華，透過歷練，可持 續地發展。

Turn to page 9 for details

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Interview June 2018 | Youth Hong Kong

Leaders for the future

think global, dynamic and caring

T

omorrow’s leaders need to have global vision above all, says Mr Peter Wong, Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive, HSBC Asia-Pacific. They must embrace competitiveness while acquiring the knowledge and experience to take calculated risks. A good leader will also care deeply about those he or she leads and never be arrogant.

Dynamism, global vision and competitiveness are essential elements for future leaders, says Mr Peter Wong, whose long experience in leadership roles speaks volumes about his insight. “Young leaders should also be good communicators who are always considerate of their team,” he continues. And then they need an extra ingredient: knowledge of new technology, how it can affect the future and how its power can add value rather than disrupt.

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Among these, what is the top priority for Hong Kong’s youth who want to be leaders? Mr Wong has no doubts. “They need to look outside Hong Kong.

This is a very small place and it will get more and more competitive.” Look at the US, Europe and mainland China, he says. “People there don’t just stay in their home cities. Like them, young people here need to get out and look at different options.”

Mr Wong has no illusions about how this can be achieved. He doesn’t expect Hong Kong’s youth to understand their options or to leave their comfort zone without help and encouragement. “Young people will not go out to look for opportunities unless we guide them.” In this respect, he suggests that the education system could be more proactive.

Having leadership potential also means being inquisitive.

“Every individual is wired in a different way. Some people are born to be more proactive and more curious than others and young people may need stimulus to open their eyes.

They need to see new ideas being put into practice.” It is for the government and the universities to facilitate this, Mr Wong says. “We need programmes and opportunities that take young people out of Hong Kong to meet with other students who share common interests.” These could be in areas ranging from music to sport, technology to maths, whatever it is that sparks interest and passion.

The next step would be to develop overseas business opportunities in areas that match these interests, but to make this work involves an understanding of how the world is interconnected. “If there is inflation in the US, what does that mean for Hong Kong? What does it mean for the US if the oil price drops? What about currency fluctuations?”

Speaking of his upbringing and how he discovered his own competitive nature, Mr Wong recalls representing his school at sports. “That brought out the determination to get right back up when I fell down.” The roots of this strength of character came from his family background too, and a lack of financial security. “We were not welloff and I had to be street-smart for the sake of selfprotection, but I was also hungry for success.”

Success takes different forms at different stages of life, Mr Wong explains. While one form of success is represented by financial gain, success also comes from the ways in which you represent your organization, the way in which you are perceived within it, and how you live up to your own values. “For myself, success has also meant getting to the stage where you want to give something back to society.”

This depends in part on values. “Values are something you learn early. They mean you know what is right or wrong. Then, the key is having the determination to follow what you believe in.” Such integrity means that one is motivated never to deliberately affect others adversely.

“Your attitude to others, wanting to have a positive effect on those around you, that’s fundamental. The more I think about it as I get older, the more I know in my heart what is right and wrong. Such values transcend time.”

To grasp the implications of these global phenomena means reading daily news feeds from international sources and then synthesizing and understanding the information. This requires motivation but that comes from the right work attitude and a desire to get ahead. Is everyone naturally competitive? “No,” replies Mr Wong. “I think it comes from a combination of upbringing and character.

But I also think that everyone wants to win, even if they are not instinctively competitive. If anyone is offered two options, one better than the other, naturally they will always choose the better one. To my mind that is a form of innate competitiveness.”

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Interview June 2018 | Youth Hong Kong

Being a team member has also been transformative for Mr Wong. “As a leader you have to rely on others. However, before I make decisions I want to make sure there will be minimal adverse impact on the people around me. In a job like mine, with quite a lot of responsibility, you really want to make sure that your decisions will not affect others badly.

That carries a lot of weight. It involves being methodical, knowing what you care about most, and taking calculated risks. I care that the people in my company have a better life.

It’s a team approach. You win as a team, not by yourself.”

In order to build such leadership through training, Mr Wong says communication and thinking skills are very important. “In a training course, I would be looking at how people think and communicate and the methods of exploring your own thinking. I once asked a group of about twenty young people I was mentoring to spend an hour thinking about something difficult, something they really didn’t want to think about. Afterwards, I shared my own thoughts and that broke the ice. Then they all opened up. That helped them express themselves and understand the importance of communication.”

Asked about the most difficult part of being a leader today, Mr Wong’s instant reply was, “Making the wrong decision.

It can have a lot of implications. I constantly think about

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the future and what I really want to do is make sure my company stays successful and stays ahead. Now we are doing well, but when you’re succeeding you must remember never to be arrogant. That’s the first sign of a downfall.”

In Hong Kong today, where horizons may be limited by the size of the economy, he concludes that it is vital to guide young people along the right path by showing them their options, but who will do this, he asks. “I am passionate about education and youth but the environment here is too restrictive. I want to help the younger generation succeed by giving them the tools and the attitudes to be curious and explore, to look at options and see opportunities. The more they do this, the more they will look outwards and absorb what is going on in the world. Only then will they be able to fulfil their own potential as leaders of the future.”

香港上海滙豐銀行副主席兼滙控亞太區行政總裁王冬勝先生分享 了他對新一代領袖素質和挑戰的意見。他認為明日領袖必須建立 全球視野、多元共融的涵養，並培養充分競爭能力。此外，領袖 人才在充實的學問與經驗基礎上，亦需管理風險和發揮適切的冒 險、進取精神。王氏相信，出色的領袖均全情投入個人信念，且 虛懷謙遜、關顧團隊成員所需。而良好的溝通技巧與能力，也不 容或缺。

Introducing

The HKFYG Leadership Institute

W

e are celebrating the start of a new chapter at the Federation with the move of a core service to the new HKFYG Leadership Institute.

The home of The HKFYG Leadership Institute is the historic former Fanling Magistracy. It comprises the School of Leadership Skills, School of Communication, School of China Studies, School of Global Leadership and School of Public Engagement. Together, they will nurture Hong Kong youth as morally principled, responsible, civic-minded leaders who contribute positively and innovatively to the building of an inclusive community.

Encouraged to see Hong Kong society in holistic terms, they will be committed to serve in all its sectors, including the social, political and economic.

Training will also focus on the importance of sharp global vision and the ability to promote Hong Kong locally, nationally and globally. Intellectual, social and cultural exchange will teach participants to be open to other perspectives while building the fruitful networks that are so valuable in today’s competitive world.

Underlying these objectives is a deep commitment to the community. Awareness of social and demographic change is crucial for aspiring young leaders. It embraces difficult issues such as the widening poverty gap, unemployment and Hong Kong’s housing challenges. Sensitivity to vulnerable people on the margins of society, as well as understanding of different political positions, is essential.

Modes of teaching and learning feature hands-on new technology and digital devices come to the fore in a custom-made mixed reality game. The Institute has a debating chamber for role play and a platform for integrated training in public speaking. An online leadership portal will network current students with alumni and enable monitoring by teachers. The portal will be interfaced with the debating chamber and has tailor-made software for recording and assessing live presentations.

Programmes also include digital adventure-based training that assesses and feeds back on progress while building strategic thinking and teamwork. Face-to-face dialogue with prominent leaders, one-to-one mentorships and the combined energies of past participants will be harnessed to inspire successive cohorts of leadership trainees.

It is an exciting time for the HKFYG Leadership Institute. The goal is to create a new generation of leaders for Hong Kong. The programmes and flagship events of the five Schools which support them are explored in more depth in the next few pages.

cont’d/…

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Special June 2018 | Youth Hong Kong

School of Leadership Skills Innovative, comprehensive Programmes leadership training gives students • Hong Kong 200 who range from upper primary Leadership Project schoolchildren to young executives Empowering 200 the experience of taking up outstanding senior leadership roles and applying secondary school students leadership skills. The School also as change makers who connect for social benefit actively engages key stakeholders such as parents and teachers who • Leaders Foundation care deeply about youth leadership Programme* Certificate development. Its aims are: courses equipping • To build excellence, intelligence and commitment • To increase competencies in communication and public speaking; analysis and problem-solving; team-building and conflict management; investigation and research • To reinforce a vision for the future based on sustainability and development; technology and innovation; governance and ethics

secondary school students with leadership skill-sets

• Skills Labs for Young Leaders Enhancing core competencies for workplace or community • Digital Adventurebased Training Providing a digitally-measured quantitative indicator of leadership potential

• To strengthen the sense of duty to serve and contribute to community for positive change

Hong Kong 200 Leadership Project

Courses designed for the youngest students begin at the School of Leadership Skills with a foundation programme*, taster workshops and adventure-training with a leadership element. Specific aspects of leadership include communication skills and platforms, public engagement within the community and building global perspective among leadership students.

Core beliefs • Leadership skills can be learnt • A leader is not defined by position but by contribution • Everyone has the potential to be a leader

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Since 2006, Hong Kong 200 has been building a sense of social responsibility in its 200 annual participants. They have demonstrated great leadership potential at a young age and express the wish to give back in kind for benefits received.

Outstanding academic performance and commitment to serve the community are notable among successful applicants, all of whom are at senior secondary school.

They complete Core Leadership Training Modules during the summer and then become members of the Hong Kong 200 Association which entitles them to further participation and public engagement. Advanced options include programmes with mentorship and social innovator shadowing as well as connecting with leading figures in various fields.

More details Hong Kong 200: https://leadership21.hkfyg.org.hk/en/course-activities/hk200/ Leaders Foundation Programme: https://leadership21.hkfyg.org.hk/en/course-activities/sl/

School of Communication The School enables young people to Events and features understand and experience the full impact The HKFYG Standard of communication skills for personal Chartered Hong Kong development and serving society. It takes English Public Speaking young people from the point where they Contest Hong Kong’s largest are learning to communicate to the stage English public speaking where they can lead by communicating contest for secondary schools (see text box) well. Programmes are multimedia and focus on various communication Speaking and Debate elements, such as public speaking and Chamber Renovated mock social media applications. Its aims are: courthouse equipped with • To nurture and enable young people

as effective communicators in various channels and mediums

• To broaden their horizons via the use of

a range of communication platforms

• To deliver training with state-of-

the-art facilities and technologies

• To bring together those with

potential talent for greater impact

advanced technology for communication skills training and large-scale role play such as meetings of the Legislative Council, the National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the United Nations.

Speaking Studio Promoting various speaking styles and competencies among all Hong Kong secondary students

The HKFYG Standard Chartered Hong Kong English Public Speaking Contest Sole sponsor Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited Co-organizer The English-Speaking Union (ESU, Hong Kong) The Federation has organized the English Public Speaking Contest (EPS) since 2004 because English is an international language and fluency is one of the keys to success. Senior Division Champions have the chance to represent Hong Kong in ESU’s International Competition in London in May each year. 1st and 2nd Runners-up may represent Hong Kong in the annual HKFYG co-sponsored China Daily “21st Century New Oriental Cup” National High School English Speaking Competition in mainland China. The Sir Ti Liang Yang English Language Ambassadors Outreach Programme, formed in 2009 aims, to promote English public speaking among youth in Hong Kong. Winners of EPS have reached out to over 10,000 students as ambassadors.

More details https://leadership21.hkfyg.org.hk/en/category/eps2018-en/

cont’d/…

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Special June 2018 | Youth Hong Kong

The HKFYG Jockey Club School of Global Leadership The School strives to instill a Programmes sense of global citizenship and to • Summer School for nurture outstanding youth leaders Global Leadership for the development of Hong With students from 27 regions and countries Kong and the world beyond. It to date; an intensive hopes to enable them to see Hong training programme Kong and mainland China within with mentorship and the wider context of international international connectivity issues by organizing collaboration between them and global leaders. • Leaders to Leaders With prominent local The School is part of sustainable guest leaders since 2004; leadership development for local now featuring upcoming young leaders who can overcome young Hong Kong and overseas leaders who bring regional and global challenges inspiration with co-creation by initiating projects for the good of society. Its aims are: • Salzburg Global Seminar • To develop in youth the vision, leadership skills and determination needed to make positive change • To build global connectivity between youth • To encourage well-informed citizenship of the world in outstanding youth leaders

Bringing world experts and leaders to Hong Kong to share their experience and insights on issues of global concern

• Overseas Scholarships Sponsorship to attend overseas leadership

conferences or programmes

More details Leaders to Leaders http://www.leadership21leaderstoleaders.com/ Summer School for Global Leadership https://leadership21.hkfyg.org.hk/en/course-activities/ssgl/

School of China Studies The fledgling School will offer young people a window on development and opportunities in mainland China while placing the role of leadership for development within a global context. Its aims are: • To awaken interest in trends of development • To encourage innovative thinking and positive interaction • To strengthen the role of Hong Kong youth in mainland China’s future development

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Planned programmes • Young Diplomat Programme Enhancing

young people’s knowledge and understanding of foreign affairs and offering experiential learning relevant to the relationship between mainland China and other world powers

• Scholars of China Studies Nurturing talented

young people who are interested in developing careers in both mainland China and Hong Kong

School of Public Engagement Young leaders should be seen and heard, out on the streets, engaged and active. The HKFYG School of Public Engagement gathers pioneers who make positive social impact and serve as role models, inspiring others’ efforts and improving the society in which we live. The School’s aims are: • To foster public recognition for young leaders through award and outreach campaigns • To collaborate across sectors, institutions and individuals, transforming ideas into action • To build community engagement through strategic crosssector partnerships • To reinforce civic mindedness

and willingness to meet community needs

• To equip young people as

future leaders at all levels of community affairs

Programmes • The Hong Kong Youth Service Award (HKYSA) Honouring and recognising outstanding young leaders with strong commitment to improve Hong Kong • Cultural Ambassadors Enhancing understanding of heritage conservation in the community and including use of advanced technology such as a mixed reality game • Community Outreach Informing the general public and becoming engaged in initiatives and projects originating in the Hong Kong 200 Association and HKYSA winners • Youth I.D.E.A.S. think tanks A platform for exchanging ideas and policy advocacy with young professionals, entrepreneurs, postsecondary students, academics and professional advisers

The Hong Kong Youth Service Award The annual Hong Kong Youth Service Award honours outstanding young people aged 18-35 who have served the community, exemplified the core values of service and have a track record of community service.

The goal of the award is to publicly encourage such individuals to become role models, particularly to their peers, inspiring others to follow in the footsteps they have taken in service to others. Each winner receives HK$20,000 in cash, a trophy and a certificate. The award winners’ accounts of their experience and commitment to Hong Kong is broadcast on various media.

More details http://ysa.hkfyg.org.hk

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Special June 2018 | Youth Hong Kong

Learning about leadership with T

he HKFYG Leadership Institute combines the heritage of a graceful colonial building with immersive and interactive technology. Images here show the interior and exterior of the original building pictured below and some new high-tech features.

Adaptive re-use of the former Fanling Magistracy The Fanling Magistracy was built in 1961 when the government extended the civil jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and the District Court to the New Territories. It was a landmark design by leading architectural firm Palmer and Turner (P & T Group). Known as the New Territories Magistracy [ 新界裁判署 ] Fanling District Court [ 粉嶺地方法院 ], it followed other famous P & T buildings such as the second Hongkong & Shanghai Bank building (1886) and the Bank of China buildings in Shanghai (1937) and Hong Kong (1952). Designed in “stripped” neo-classical style, it was selected for revitalisation in 2012, a project taken up by HKFYG.

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pp Lobby and grand staircase of former Magistracy after revitalization

heritage and technology A strike for justice

The Magistracy Tour

A mixed reality game called Justice Strike will be used as a handson learning tool. Based on an interactive, digitally re-enactable court case from the 1960s, it blends features of both physical and virtual worlds. Team members use smart phones with augmented reality apps while team leaders wear Hololens mixed reality headsets. Made possible by advancements in computer vision, graphical processing power, and input systems, the technology goes beyond displays and includes spatial sound and virtual objects overlaid on top of a person's direct view of a real physical environment.

A customized mobile app highlights the heritage features being conserved at the former magistracy.

It will be an expert walking-tour guide, highlighting eight areas where special attention has been given to conservation. By scanning QR codes with mobile phones, visitors view information and a short video about the architectural, cultural and social importance of the building.

Fanling Law Courts Building

The HKFYG Leadership institute

Fanling Law Courts Building

pp Former courtroom, now debate chamber

The HKFYG Leadership Institute

pp Location of the new HKFYG Leadership Institute

pp Former jail cell, now multifunction room

香港青年協會領袖學院設有五大院校，重點培訓領袖技巧、提升 傳意溝通能力、加深認識國家發展、開拓全球視野，以及推動社 會參與；持續為香港培育優秀的青年人才。學院座落於前新界粉 嶺裁判法院；青年可在此學習成為具遠見、盡責及富有公民意識 的領導人才，並回饋社會。

More details about The HKFYG Leadership Institute, No. 302 Jockey Club Road, Fanling at www.LeadershipInstitute.hk 15

Youth speak June 2018　|　Youth Hong Kong

Driving social change SheFighter going global T

raining in martial arts started for Jordanian Lina Khalifeh at the age of 5. By the time she was in her 20s she was teaching self-defence to Arab women. It was a first for the Middle East. Now, with several awards under her belt, Lina is going on to do great things.

You pioneered self-defence training for women in the Middle East.

What gave you the idea?

YHK

I saw that in a traditional society like mine, girls were meant to be weak but I grew up teaching myself to be strong, learning kick-boxing, kung fu and taekwondo, fighting boys − being a troublemaker, according to my father. I want to empower women and stop violence against them. I want to build their selfesteem and give them confidence to be independent.

YHK

What makes empowerment of women so important for you?

Jordan is a very male-dominated society, and although there are many martial arts schools for boys, no such classes for women used to exist. While I was at university, I saw a friend of mine whose face was covered in bruises.

She told me her brother and father had beaten her up and taken her wages. They did it every night when she got back home from her part-time job. She said there was nothing she could do about it. I got so frustrated about that because 70% of women under 20 in Jordan suffer from domestic violence. I wanted to show my friend that she was wrong, that women can stand up for themselves.

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YHK

What were the main hurdles?

Nobody believed in me when I set up my first self-defence studio for women in the basement of my parents’ house. Then I decided to set up a business. I was in my 20s. That was six years ago and I hesitated. There was little support for startups like mine and I knew my clients could get into trouble with their husbands or fathers. But I realized that if I left it till later I would have less energy, mental and physical energy, and never get started.

YHK

Wasn’t it rather risky?

I don’t think about risks. Instead I think about the next step forward. I have always been willing to fail but actually I don’t call it failure. I call it becoming more experienced. If you believe in what you do, you can create miracles. If you have an amazing idea you should put it into action.

YHK

You were named “a leader of social change” by former US president Barack Obama. Did that change you?

Winning that praise was a turning point. Now even my father admits that he is proud of me! It’s all part of my learning journey. But what matters most is that I now know who I am and have grown the business around the world. Now, men come too. They ask me about training for their wives and daughters. I tell them age doesn’t matter.

I have women who are in their 70s and girls in primary school. I train trainers and I want them to be leaders of social change too.

YHK

What plans do you have for the future for expanding your business globally?

My goal is to train one million women in self-defence and to open 80 studios around the world. I want to help create a generation of female leaders, change-makers and influencers.

Lina Khalifeh is leading change aimed at helping women to help themselves. She came to Hong Kong in 2017 as a guest of the HKFYG Leaders to Leaders programme and inspired young people with her vision and determination.

Facts & figures The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals include gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls. However, 19% of women aged 15-49 in 87 countries between 2005 and 2016 said they had experienced physical and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner in the previous 12 months. The recent #MeToo phenomenon has also revealed the extent of sexual harassment worldwide.

• 35% (approximately) of women worldwide have experienced some form of abuse

• 37% of Arab women have experienced violence

• 70% of women have experienced physical and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner • 99% of Egyptian women have experienced sexual abuse

• 54% of American women have experienced sexual harassment

• 40-50% of women in European Union countries experience forms of sexual harassment at work

• 30 to 40% of women suffer workplace sexual harassment across Asia • 25%+ of women in Washington DC have experienced sexual harassment on public transport

Some sources 1. http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=E/2017/66 2. http://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/ending-violence-against-women/ facts-and-figures#notes 3. https://edition.cnn.com/2017/11/25/health/sexual-harassment-violence-abuseglobal-levels/index.html

Discover more Website: www.Shefighter.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/SheFighter YouTube: www.youtube.com/Shefighterofficial 17

Youth speak June 2018 | Youth Hong Kong

Millennials: committed to the S

hared commitment and teamwork were essential parts of George Chan’s experience of leadership training at HKFYG. He also gained the confidence to listen to conflicting views and formulate his own opinion.

Back in 2005, when I did my first HKFYG leadership training for head prefects, the programme included workshops, group projects, role play and adventure-based training. These taught me the importance of teamwork and gave me a grounding in management skills. At school, with my team of about 50 other students, I put what I learned into practice. However, I did not realize at the time how much it would shape the person I am today.

Shared team projects inevitably meant listening to everyone’s views and considering the issues from various perspectives.

There was in-depth discussion and we had to do thorough research which provided a great opportunity to improve analytical skills. More importantly perhaps, we were all trying to reach consensus and always had to work together.

The process of amicably reaching a mutually acceptable outcome was a valuable lesson in interpersonal skills.

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Shared commitment When HKFYG launched a brand new prestige programme, the Hong Kong 200 Leadership Project, my school nominated me. Only high school students with leadership roles were considered and selection was by a panel of Hong Kong opinion leaders. 200 hours of training in Hong Kong and Beijing took in important topics such as foreign and domestic policy, finance, politics. It was not easy. Numerous lectures, interviews with prominent people and instructive visits were followed by team projects and presentations that took many long hours of preparation, but the result was encouraging and highly rewarding.

Apart from all that I learned, the friendships were significant too. They were built on a shared vision and dedicated commitment to the community. I learned early on that successful leaders only become busier as time goes by and the strength of their commitment is important.

Training at HK200, as we call it, strengthened my resolve.

It meant putting other people first and very often sacrificing my own personal time. After graduating, I became a trainee solicitor and despite the usually long office hours, I joined various committees and provided pro bono services for people in need. For me, nothing is more rewarding than seeing the happy faces of the people that you have served.

community Balanced perspective During my term of office as founding chair of the “Hong Kong 200 Association” I endeavoured with my committee to put in place a solid cornerstone for the future. I witnessed the consolidation of a bond among the first batch of HK200 alumni and we reached out to the community together, teaching English and mathematics to under-resourced junior primary school students. We also conducted youth forums to learn about expectations of government.

Fundamentally, we had to listen and challenge ourselves to grasp conflicting views, whether or not we agreed with them. As members of the younger generation, we spend a lot of time on social media which uses algorithms that feed self-confirming messages. Being aware of this encourages critical thinking in order to maintain a balanced perspective.

Empathy with confidence In my view, as well as balance, empathy is of paramount importance if one is to understand the needs of the people one wishes to serve. Indeed, for me the most important quality of a good community leader is

empathy. Once the people’s voices have been heard and their needs are known, a good leader should put himself or herself into the shoes of those people.

The final message that I would like to share with young people who will be the leaders of the next generation is that they should not be afraid to speak up on subjects where their opinions run contrary to accepted beliefs. However, they need to have clear reasons for disagreeing and be able to express themselves articulately. Even better, they should offer constructive suggestions for change. After all, it is not uncommon to have a minority judgement delivered in court by a respectable judge, so why should a young leader not have the confidence to do likewise.

George Chan, founding chair of the HK200 Association, is a solicitor and Senior Associate at Eversheds Sutherland.

As a member of The Law Society of Hong Kong’s Young Solicitors Group, Cross Strait Four Regions Young Lawyers Forum Organising Committee and Law Week Organising Committee, he received the Individual Gold Award for pro bono and community service.

He is also a member of HKFYG’s think tank, Youth IDEAS.

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Youth speak June 2018 | Youth Hong Kong

Vision in action P

ast participant of HKFYG’s Hong Kong 200 Leadership Project, Sin Wai-man, now works for J.P. Morgan. She explains what leadership training did for her and how it helped her in the process of becoming one of Hong Kong’s rare female football referees.

Leadership is not simply about management of people. To me, it is more about translating vision into action. The HK200 Leadership Project gave me the chance to see examples of this by meeting leaders in various industries and understand their vision.

These opportunities also inspired me to become a motivator and initiator, putting my own vision into action in order to make a contribution to society.

Originally, I wanted to do leadership training in order to become part of a network of young leaders whose goal was giving back to society. I wanted to meet and learn from leaders as well. Through participating in leadership training and volunteering at HKFYG, I also learnt to be a servant leader and always to put other people before myself.

Empowerment and equal opportunities

Sin Wai-man is doing a part-time master’s degree in cybersecurity at the University of Oxford. She joined HKFYG’s Hong Kong 200 project in 2010.

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I learnt about the importance of empowering others.

My first social service project during the training at HKFYG concerned raising awareness of the importance mental health in the community. I worked with a team of seven to engage formerly of mentally ill people in social activities and voluntary service. For me, this was an example of translating a vision into action and I believe that when American author John C. Maxwell wrote, “Leaders become great, not because of their power, but because of their ability to empower others”, he was expressing the same belief.

Where my own potential is concerned, I have always been convinced that males and females should have equal learning and development opportunities. While studying and working in largely male-dominated

communities, I realized that we should never build boundaries that prevent us from exploring our potential.

For example, I have had a personal interest in football since I was young. I enjoy the excitement, passion and teamwork of sport, especially football, and my favourite team is Manchester United. When I decided that I wanted to become a referee, I realized that it is an area of sport that is traditionally very maledominated. It is not uncommon to see football players, coaches and supporters challenging referees’ decisions. I do so myself, if I feel justified, even though I am female! I like taking on the challenge.

Never give up I always see opportunities in challenges and I like getting out of my comfort zone. It may seem tough sometimes, but I look for ways to solve problems constructively. I remember, back in 2015, when I took a fitness test. I failed at the first attempt.

Physical fitness training takes time and my next chance was just a few weeks later. It seemed too little time but I never considered giving up. Instead, I sought advice from some senior referees and joined their running groups. After a few weeks, I passed the fitness test. The experience reminds me to always be prepared for future challenges, including work, play and study. Even if the challenge is tough, a leader should never forget there are people who can help you through, as the senior referees did in my case.

A good leader should be able to empower, motivate and influence. I have met many inspiring leaders and of those who are well-known I would choose Sir

Alexander Chapman Ferguson, a former manager of Manchester United football team. His vision for the team’s development was impressive. Through his actions young football players were motivated and empowered to grow in a famous, highly successful team.

Women fulfilling potential To me, taking on leadership roles involves various challenges but can achieve two goals: influencing people and empowering others. As a woman working in the technology sector, I would like to encourage more female graduates to consider careers in this field. It offers empowerment and there are more roles than just sitting in front of the computers and typing lines of code! At the same time, I would also like to help female technologists explore and develop to their full potential.

To return to HK200, it has benefited me by helping me to build a huge network over the past 10 years. As a result, I have broadened my exposure to young and prominent leaders. This has inspired me to organize many other social projects through teamwork with HK200 alumni. For example, I was the alumni association’s Director of External Affairs one year and helped to organize activities for chronically ill children, hoping to bring some happiness into their lives.

I would like to conclude with a quote about humility.

As Confucius said, “To know what you know and what you do not know, that is true knowledge.”

I think a great leader should have this kind of humbleness. After all, great leaders may not know best, but perhaps great teams can know better.

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Perspectives June 2018 | Youth Hong Kong

The art of followership L

eaders tend to get most of the attention and the role of follower is much less glamorous.

Diana Martin says that in reality, most of us are more often followers than leaders. She asks how followers and their attributes are defined.

So many books and articles have been written about leadership and what makes a leader, and so many ideas have been tossed around, that we all think we know the characteristics that make a leader. But leaders are part of a hierarchy. Given that a leader cannot be a solitary figure, and that for every leader there has to be a body of followers, who are the people a leader leads?

The art of followership has become the focus of analysis only recently compared to leadership. Nevertheless, 50 years ago Chester Barnard wrote that “…the decision whether an order has authority or not lies with the person to whom it is addressed and does not reside in persons of authority or those who issue orders.” 20 years later, Robert E Kelley, in an article emphatically entitled “In praise of followers”, says “… the key to being a good follower is the ability to think for oneself… Good followers are people to whom a leader can safely delegate responsibility.

At the same time, they can see that the people they follow are, in turn, following the lead of others.” 1

Nevertheless, “Followers are just like sheep!” is a common cry. This does not apply to good followership. According to John S McCallum, writing much more recently, “Followership is the ability to take direction well, to get in line behind a programme, to be part of a team and to deliver on what is expected of you. It gets a bit of a bad rap!”

He goes on to argue that this belittling of followership is far from just and outlines eight characteristics of good followership: judgement, work ethic, competence, honesty, courage, discretion, loyalty and ego management.

An interesting analysis of teachers as followers in a hierarchy was recently done by Dr Clara Cheng Mung-lai. Findings of her doctoral study at a Hong Kong school were published last year.3 Dr Cheng, a senior lecturer at the Hang Seng Management College, suggests that values rather than skills or knowledge are the key teacher competencies found in six successful teachers and their school leader/head.

Eight qualities of a good follower • Judgement The capacity to discriminate between an instruction or direction that you do not particularly agree with and one that you know is simply wrong. Failure to act on good judgement is an abrogation of civil responsibility.

• Work ethic A good follower is hard working, well-motivated, committed to the project and pays attention to detail.

• Competence The ability and skill to perform the tasks assigned by the leader is essential.

• Honesty Always, but especially crucial when aware of serious flaws in the project or its leader. A good leader should be comfortable with constructive criticism delivered with integrity and respect.

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• Courage When the follower is unaccustomed to questioning superiors, it takes courage to deliver an honest appraisal, especially when he/ she belongs to a medical team, a school, or any hierarchical organization, because of a fear of the repercussions of speaking his or her mind.

• Discretion Knowing when to stay silent about matters discussed at work and decisions taken is vital.

• Loyalty Regardless of any interpersonal problems, loyalty and commitment are owed to the enterprise as a whole, rather than to any particular leader.

• Ego-management Followers are part of a team and need good interpersonal skills. Performance and the achievement of goals is what good followership is about, not self-promotion.

follower, follower, leader”, indicate the meaning. It relies on your interpretation of the ambiguous images.

Despite such ambiguity, if you aspire to be a leader the practice of good followership is a positive beginning. It is essential to good leadership and plays an important role in group dynamics and team performance.

Image courtesy of Your Point of View. HSBC. The Inspiration Room. http://theinspirationroom.com/daily/print/2007/12/hsbcfollower-leader.jpg

Followership and leadership are not fixed categories.

Leaders in one situation can be followers in another and vice versa. An HSBC advertisement in international airport walkways, illustrated below, emphasizes this interchangeability in visual terms. A series of four pictures shows a man in a city, then a pair of legs, then the same two images are repeated. The labels, reading “leader,

Seven types of follower Seven types of follower are identified by Brigitte Hyacinth, author of “The Future of Leadership: Rise of Automation, Robotics and Artificial Intelligence.” However, only two of these types would be a real asset on a project. The remaining five would be a dead-weight at best but a hindrance at worst.

Flatterers Always defer to the leader: ‘yes people' or sycophants Critics Somewhat dissatisfied individuals who make a point of going against the leader.

Which are you?

There are many online interactive tests and quizzes. Here are a couple.

Test your own leadership inclinations:

http://brainfall.com/quizzes/are-you-a-follower-or-aleader/#BkHGqDbaM

Identify your followership style:

http://www.gfwcflorida.org/juniors/progsjrs/Handout%20A. pdf

Realists Make constructive criticisms if they disagree and wholeheartedly back the leader if they agree.

Loyalists The leader’s reliable, genuine supporters.

Traitors Keep their reservations to themselves, appearing to agree with the leader till the last moment, but then undermining him/her.

Spectators Never really engage with the project, which for them is just a job, the salary being the most important aspect.

Diana Martin is a former employee of HKFYG and is the author of the multi-volume Youth & Leadership Series.

Opportunists Follow whoever is most successful and powerful.

Enquiries https://hkfyg.org.hk/en/publications

Source https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20141116040445-150905450-leaders-beware-of-followers/ Sources 1. Kelley, RE. In praise of followers. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/1988/11/in-praise-of-followers 2. https://iveybusinessjournal.com/publication/followership-the-other-side-of-leadership/ 3. Proceedings, 10th Multidisciplinary Academic Conference. Prague, 2017, pages 90-98. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.685009 Proceedings, 10th Multidisciplinary Academic Conference.

Prague, 2017, pages 90-98.

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Perspectives June 2018 | Youth Hong Kong

The leadership

conundrum L

eaders lead. Others follow. Dr Gary Heilbronn asks whether anyone can be a leader and what gives them their authority.

Ralph Waldo Emerson, a 19th century American philosopher, suggested that leaders are somehow very special individuals. He wrote, “There are men, who, by their sympathetic attractions, carry nations with them, and lead the activity of the human race.” This “great man” theory of leadership sees some people as “born to lead.”

It proposes that they possess specific, often inherited traits such as divine inspiration, extraordinary vision and unusual power to influence and convince. This theory has evoked controversy yet may still be true, at least for those few great leaders whose names stand out in the history books and whose exploits changed the path of humanity.

Hard and soft power People who are spoken of as “born leaders” emerge from the crowd, often at a critical time, when an urgent need or special circumstances arise. However, an emerging leader in times of crisis may be quite different from a leader in peacetime. Winston Churchill is considered to have been a great wartime leader of Britain, but after the Second World War, many of his supporters saw his leadership as unnecessary. Instead, what they needed was a leader who could bring about social change.

Some argue that a leader as such may not be needed except at times of crisis. Rather, it is enough to have a person in authority – that is, someone capable and respected who derives their legitimacy for the role from some sort of consensus but has no special talent. Underlying this argument is the idea that an alternative to leadership is the exercise of authority based on agreement between the person in authority and the followers. An example is when a boss appoints an employee or when a local councillor 24

is elected. Such arrangements involve limits. The boss does not decide everything in the employee’s working life and the councillor has functions prescribed by law.

Other forms of leadership achieve their ends through the power of persuasion. The leaders in such cases have far greater freedom to decide how and where to lead their followers. In this sense, leadership is inconsistent with authority. A leader may also exercise power through fear and the imposition of force. However, some argue that this is exercising authority, which is a form of hard power, whereas true leadership exercises soft power. The boundaries between authority and leadership then become vaguer and just how far followers will allow themselves to be led by force rather than persuasion is less clear.

And what about less grandiose contexts? What if the task in hand is merely leading a small group of ordinary people towards hoped-for success in a business, an organization, a project or a family? Much has been written about such forms of leadership but perhaps this is more about efficient management practice, careful supervision or good parenting rather than leadership.

Good and bad leadership What if leaders fail to achieve their intended ends? This doesn’t necessarily make them less of a leader, especially if an improvement is achieved, but what if the outcome is a worse situation, involving defeat, bankruptcy, dissolution or despair? Such leaders have often been dictators: the Hitlers, Mugabes, Mussolinis and Ceausescus of the world. Aren’t they nonetheless leaders? As Shakespeare said of Julius Ceasar, “The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones.”

Of course, the concept of leadership itself implies no value judgement. Leaders have the capacity to lead and do so.

Where they lead to is another matter. This may be seen in the differences between Adolf Hitler and Mahatma Gandhi, between Attila the Hun and Jesus Christ. All were effective leaders, followed willingly. If they had been followed grudgingly, with a heavy heart and fearing reprisal for disobedience, would that have made them lesser leaders?

The picture seems clearer with what we might call “great leaders”, Napoleon Bonaparte or Genghis Khan or Mahatma Gandhi, but what about minor leaders such as army generals in peacetime, successful business leaders, leading cancer researchers? Do they just have to be effective in their field to be called leaders? To rise to the top of one’s field usually requires more than just competence. It also requires some vision, self-belief and ability to convince others of your outstanding worth and the value of your ideas.

For the world’s lesser leaders, how much of the talent or quality known as “leadership” is actually an attribute of character and personality and how much of this innate quality has to be demonstrated in order for a person to be called a leader? If different people possess different quantities of this “talent”, can such innate leadership talents lie hidden or dormant until they are fostered or developed by training or experience? Can any ordinary person really become a leader by being taught how to develop the necessary insight or vision, and acquire the necessary experience?

Capacity to lead This leads on to the question, are there skills which can be learnt and which lend authority? It would seem that certain leadership abilities or talents such as skills of persuasion can survive and prosper without real competence or when the social contract underpinning the exercise

of authority has been breached. A true leader need not necessarily have agreed or enforced authority, nor any learned skills, nor any special competence. However, what they must have – the capacity to lead – must be innate.

Do leaders even need to have followers? For example, a great poet, writer or thinker may have an enormous impact but should they be described as great leaders?

Is there, on the one hand, “real leadership” and on the other, some sort of “qualified leadership”: being a leading thinker, a leading mathematician, a leading barrister, a leading cancer researcher, a leading scientist or industrialist? And could these “qualified” leaders lead because of their competence alone? While they may be able to exercise authority because of competence alone, other innate qualities will count more in the long run.

There does seem to be a special something that distinguishes leaders from other people, even those who we might call “qualified” leaders. But it doesn’t mean they are right. Fundamentally, leaders need power, the power to influence, convince and enable other people.

This is not the same as having authority or rank.

Some great leaders even relinquished such status.

However, as the British historian Lord Acton said, “All power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely.” New research has brought fresh subtlety to the understanding of how power leads some people to take moral shortcuts. Indeed, power seems to bring out the best in some, but that is not true for everyone. The study found that power doesn’t corrupt; it heightens preexisting ethical tendencies, reminding us of Abraham Lincoln, who said: “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.”

Gary Heilbronn, an author, advocate and consultant, is a former professor in the Faculty of Law at HKU and a regular contributor.

Read more https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/why-power-corrupts-37165345/#ZTxzXgDjO2hG55xf.99

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Society & culture June 2018 | Youth Hong Kong

Video games in education M

ost young people love video games but many adults have been sceptical.

Simon John says attitudes are changing and it’s none too soon.

For some time now, while today’s youth has turned ever more to the detailed, immersive environments of video games, adults have tended to observe from a distance. They hover in the doorway, perplexed by the apparent pleasure children get from a vicarious experience in a virtual world.

This inability to appreciate how enjoyable video games can be has led many to view them as unnecessary distractions that facilitate procrastination and steal precious time away from other, more “valuable” and enriching pursuits.

However, the times they are a-changing and it seems that educators and academics alike have started to get the message. Rather than turning their backs or rolling their eyes, they are now beginning to examine more seriously the elements of video games that might contribute to a child’s learning. The question on their lips has changed. Instead of pondering ways to limit playing video games, they say “Could video games be useful?”

As a 30-year-old English teacher who has worked with students from Hong Kong international schools for nearly a decade, I am very familiar with the types of literature

studied for international qualifications in English and I feel that storytelling is at the core of a video game’s usefulness.

Proficiency in storytelling is a crossover skill, overflowing with both academic and social value. It is also something built upon words and the vocabulary that we need in order to give our thoughts life is expanded through stories.

Let’s take the video game called “The Last of Us” as a case study. I would describe it as a zombie-horror video game that is painfully human and uncannily authentic in its story of survivors in a post-apocalyptic world trying to keep their morality intact. Ellie and Joel are the main characters and their unlikely co-dependency gives the game its soul. However, it is the vulnerability and determination of the young Ellie, a brave teenage girl who is wise beyond her years, that get players hooked.

The game’s authenticity and success derives from its close attention to traditional storytelling. One reviewer said of Ellie, whose vulnerability, insecurity and uncertainty resonate with players, “From feisty warmth to beleaguered exhaustion, her many moods are always tinged with a grounded levity.

Her uplifting nature stands in sharp contrast to the people and events surrounding her, compelling you to protect her, shepherd her, and cherish her.”1 Like any other good role-playing game (RPG), the success of “The Last of Us” hinges on its immersive qualities. Games like this require more than impressive visuals. Without a solid story built on events, characters and the relationships they build, they can collapse under the weight of their own clichés. Instead, it is the strength of traditional story elements that give credibility and in which players become immersed.

While video games are obviously not the same as books, the overlaps in storytelling approaches are

26

undeniable. With improved sophistication of content, video games are being examined by reviewers with a literary eye. Much column space is devoted to them in sources like the South China Morning Post, the Huffington Post, The Guardian and the BBC.

with rich material in the main and subsidiary plotlines.

Teachers can use them to reinforce discussions about novels, prose and plays and, perhaps one day, will hold them up alongside conventional literature as an equivalent.

Unfortunately, numerous other articles denouncing games receive widespread attention. Many parents and educators rely on such pieces to disparage them, focusing on their addictive qualities and how they can lead to dysfunction at school and at home, as well as harm to a child’s health.2 Most such adults are unlikely to have tried the games themselves for a variety of reasons, dismissing them before seriously evaluating their educational potential.

Hong Kong has already made forays into its own videogame world. In English, “Sleeping Dogs” is an example. It makes an honest attempt to tell the stories of our city streets. This honesty, specifically about the triad incidents of the late 90s/early 00s, makes it unsuitable for the classroom, but a similar approach that cast a wider net could reap great educational rewards.

by gwaar /commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Light_gun_survival_ horror_arcade_game.jpg

Perhaps those who once played video games themselves remember the arcades, the hand-held first-person shooters (see photo below), or pixelated pictoramas that made it impossible to become fully immersed in the game being played. Yet these are no longer the norm. Today’s creations are developed by intelligent, highly creative teams. To ignore the genius buried in them would be more than just regrettable; it would be a failure in our responsibilities as teachers and a demonstration of wilful ignorance, considering the trajectory of the medium.

pp Old arcade shooter game

The games industry is already enormous, but by 2020 it is estimated that the global market will be worth over US$140 billion. We have to concede that this once niche industry will become increasingly omnipresent and today’s educators, particularly in core subjects like English and maths, can play a key role in finding ways to use video games for educational purposes. Titles such as “The Last of Us”, the remastered version of which has Chinese and English subtitles, are filled

pp JUMANJI

Parents and teachers who are less enthusiastic about video games don’t need to be alarmed. The games will be there to support, not to replace more conventional material. Placing games alongside the traditional study of literature may do something that no amount of literary analysis could achieve: it could get students excited about studying literature.

Simon John is a British educator who has specialized in IGCSE and IB English teaching in Hong Kong for eight years. He and Alexander Beard are co-founders of the Hertford Academy.

Sources 1. http://www.ign.com/articles/2017/12/20/women-in-video-game-development-in-2017-a-snapshot 2.

https://www.timeout.com/hong-kong/blog/how-video-game-addiction-is-affecting-hong-kongs-youth-061316

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Society & culture June 2018 | Youth Hong Kong

Gaming controversies and cautious conclusions F

rom military training to dyslexia therapy, from selective attention enhancement to an anti-ageing panacea: action video gaming has been touted as the answer to a host of needs but it has also been blamed for behavioural problems. Elaine Morgan asks how much caution is warranted.

Controversies about the positive and negative aspects of video games have raged for decades. Advocates emphasize their use as a creative, expressive medium. Detractors argue that they are harmful and should be subject to official restrictions. There have been investigations into links between video games and addiction, aggression, violence, social development, and a variety of stereotyping and sexual morality issues. Other studies indicate that video gaming has social benefits, can improve handeye coordination and problem-solving skills as well as strategic thinking, communication and teamwork.

A 2018 study at the University of York, reported in Science Daily, found no evidence to link violent games with violent behaviour but researchers only tested their theories on adults and say more work is needed to understand whether a different effect is evident in children.

Views are fairly evenly split but there is a great deal of complexity, conflict of interest and uncertainty. In some areas, the evidence of links between violent video games and violent crime look very tenuous despite increasing sales of violent video games, given decreases in the incidence of violent crime in the developed world. Indeed, there have been suggestions that violent video game playing is associated with reduction in aggression, bullying for example. Studies of mass shootings have, likewise, provided no evidence for links with violent video games.

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Nonetheless, playing some video games mimics the kinds of hardwired response in people’s brains that is associated with danger. When the brain senses danger, primitive survival mechanisms swiftly provide protection from harm. This fight-or-flight instinct is very useful in emergencies. It helps us cope with day-to-day stress and getting things done on time, but it also acts as an adrenaline stimulus and wakes us up, possibly at the wrong time of day, especially if we play for too long.

Researchers at Oxford University found that the length of time spent playing video games is important and has a more significant link with problem behaviour than the types of games played. They could find no link between playing violent games and real-life aggression or a child’s academic performance. They also found that low levels of play – under an hour a day – might actually benefit behaviour.

A 2010 meta-analysis of 130 international studies with over 130,000 participants found that exposure to violent video games caused both short-term and long-term aggression in players and decreased empathy and pro-social behaviour. However, a 2015 meta-analysis of video game effects suggested the opposite: that video games, including violent games, had minimal impact on children’s behaviour including violence, pro-social behaviour and mental health.

What does this all mean? When it comes to video games, things are not black and white. No definitive, balanced conclusions have been reached. Findings are ambiguous and there are no proven causal links between violence in reality and violent virtual words.

Thoughtful parents and teachers consider their approach to electronic media in the same way as they approach any other media. A moralistic approach might feel comfortable, but it doesn’t fit with the kinds of critical thinking skills that we consider to be in the best interest of young people.

American gamers

97%

of 12-17 year-olds play video games

85%

or more video games on the market contain some form of violence

71%

of parents say video games are a positive part of their child’s life

67%

of parents play video games with their children at least once weekly

33%

of males aged 1829 say the term “gamer” describes them well

9%

of women aged 18-29 think of themselves as “gamers”

Sources 1. http://www.theesa.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/ EF2017_FinalDigital.pdf 2. http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/12/15/ gaming-and-gamers/

p Cosplay for Chun Li 春麗,

the first female fighter in the Japanese video game series

All in all, as with much of any technology, many video games are intrinsically neither good nor bad. It depends on the player, and common sense. With video games, as with everything else, moderation is sound advice.

Responses, restrictions and ratings In mainland China, console games were banned in 2000, but the ban was lifted in 2015. Some video games have been banned completely. Others have had their content edited to remove certain imagery. Plans to introduce an overnight gaming ban for under-18s, similar to that in force in South Korea, were proposed last year.

In the US, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that parents stay directly involved with their child’s use of media and ensure they have ample mediafree time and non-screen-based play. The American Psychological Association offers an online tool called the Family Media Plan to manage screen time at home.

In Europe, Pan European Game Information (PEGI) ratings are a useful buying guide and are similar to the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) ratings in the US. At the WHO in June 2018, “gaming disorder” was classified for the first time as a mental health disorder.

Read more https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_controversies https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/mental-wealth/201609/is-your-childs-brain-video-games https://div46amplifier.com/2017/06/12/news-media-public-education-and-public-policy-committee/ http://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2015-04-01-poor-behaviour-linked-time-spent-gaming-not-types-games http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-09/china-proposes-video-game-restrictions/8255420 https://www.timeout.com/hong-kong/blog/how-video-gameaddiction-is-affecting-hong-kongs-youth-061316 http://www.who.int/classifications/icd/en/

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HKFYG

Science & technology

June 2018 | Youth Hong Kong

Breaking boundaries

between brains and computers E

ntrepreneur Elon Musk is said to have founded all his current companies with the intention of improving the chances of a good future. Laura Leung asks how the Neuralink, launched by Musk last year, might manage this.

Does the name Elon Musk ring a bell? Remember the Tesla electric cars that took over the automobile world (or shall I say the streets of Central) by storm? Or SpaceX, the ambitious yet inspiring venture that aims to build reusable rockets and blanket the globe with WiFi? Well don’t be surprised by what I am about to reveal to you, because Elon Musk has now decided to co-found yet another crazy startup, one named Neuralink.

Does this man ever get any sleep?

He has spoken boldly about his reservations concerning developing super-intelligent artificial intelligence (AI), especially when it has the potential to outsmart humankind. The difference where Neuralink is concerned 30

is that it has been created with the aim of linking human brains to computers. Indeed, Musk envisions Neuralink ultimately as our chance of outsmarting AI, or as a platform on which we can communicate at the same bandwidth with superintelligent AI. Essentially, Musk is trying to create a “wizard’s hat”, an additional layer of brain in digital form that allows for people to communicate directly with machines without using a physical interface. This means that you would be able to import and export thoughts to the cloud, to computers and exchange them with anyone else who has a similar interface in their head. The flow of information entering and leaving your head would be so seamless that you wouldn’t even know it was happening.

How might this work in context? For example, you would be able to learn about Neuralink by simply thinking about it. You would no longer have to type a query into Google, or ask Siri to read you the answer.

That answer would just pop up in your head. But many of you might ask, “How can that be possible?”

brain signals and are often constrained by the bandwidth in which information is transferred to and from the brain. If Neuralink is to create a BMI that is of any sort of use, the major issue of improving bandwidth will have to be tackled in order to transmit the vast amount of electrical activity that is normally involved with encoding and decoding thought.

Let’s start by exploring the brain

Taking retinal implants as an example, these BMIs have been recently introduced to help the visually impaired regain some of their sight. However, due to low resolution and pixelation, they have only been able to provide low quality images. These just help patients gain a sensation of light and identify light and dark areas.

The brain is one of the most fascinating structures in the human body. Input is received through networks of neurons sent to the brain via electrical impulses known as action potentials and processed by higher cognitive functions. Output is generated as electrical signals relayed via billions of neurons and neural networks.

The process by which this works is fascinatingly complicated and remains vastly unknown to date. You might ask, if we are still in the dark about how the brain codes and decodes information, how can we expect computers to understand the complexity of electrical signals that are generated every second? Well that is going to be a piece of the puzzle that Neuralink needs to actively solve.

Where do computers fit in?

Young people who have grown up in the 21st century are all well aware of the capabilities of technology, in particular the computer. This machine has given us the ability to compute, organize and store information outside our brains, and the worldwide web has provided us with the chance to communicate and share information with one another through computers. We can now search for information on a web browser in an instant and communicate with family members halfway across the world in real time.

In turn, this convenience has made the younger generation heavily dependent on electronic devices.

Yet, ironically, the speed at which we are able to communicate information is comparatively slow. In order to translate it into a comprehensible format, we have to first translate our thoughts from electrical signals into words then input them into the computer.

Wouldn’t it be insanely quicker if the computer could just understand what our electrical signals are trying to say?

Sounds easy right? Not quite! Current brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) have a very limited ability to understand

Two years ago, when the company that developed Neuralink was set up, Musk was discussing a related concept called “neural lace” that appeared in science fiction

by Iain M Banks. Today, specifics of the Neuralink are still a mystery but it is believed that there is a connection with such “lace.” It involves micro-electromechanical systems comprised of tiny biocompatible robots which proliferate through the human body an idea paralleled by science fiction writer Alastair Reynolds.

It is sometimes hard to grasp the concept behind such serious next-level stuff. Just imagine: I would no longer need to verbalize my thoughts on paper like this and you would be able to understand my views through direct brain-tobrain communication. No hard copy or website needed.

The articles on pages 30-36 are written by awardees of the Innovation and Technology Scholarship Award Scheme, set up in 2011, organized by HKFYG and jointly sponsored and supported by the Innovation and Technology Commission and HSBC. More details https://innotechscholarship.hkfyg.org.hk/en/2018/

Laura Leung is a University College of London graduate who is now in her third year of a degree in medicine at CUHK. She was awarded an Innovation and Technology Scholarship in 2018.

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Science & technology June 2018 | Youth Hong Kong

Where next for the smart home?

T

he first general purpose smart home technology, X10, was developed in Scotland in 1975. It remains widely available today. Since then, second and third generation smart homes have arrived. George Chan Tsz-chung looks at the benefits are and where we headed next.

Leaning over the railing of The Peak Tower rooftop at night, I indulge myself: Mother Nature, night birds and insects tweeting and buzzing; a delicate fragrance of blossom with a hint of aromatic oak wafting by on a breeze that caresses my cheek … … and then laser beams slash ruthlessly through the tranquillity and I realize that the Symphony of Light across Victoria Harbour has begun. Looking down on glittering skyscrapers and the hustle and bustle of lives, streets and vehicles, it is clear that the energy of Hong Kong offers zero down time.

For decades, the metropolis of Hong Kong has been praised worldwide for its vibrancy and its continued stability and prosperity. However, to sustain such momentum requires not only diligent, dedicated citizens but a tremendous amount of power. With everincreasing awareness of the need for sustainability in a 32

digital society, the “smart home” concept has become widely accepted because it allows wiser use of energy through an energy management system (EMS).

A good EMS manages the complexities of energy consumption and systems in a building so that it uses less energy, is more comfortable and easier to operate. It does this by logging and analysing key data from electricity, gas and water systems in real time and integrating archived internal data with monitored external data such as weather information. Analytical tools allow users to optimize its operation and make sensible decisions about energy consumption from anywhere with an internet connection.

Take air conditioning, for example. A quarter of Hong Kong’s residential energy consumption is by air conditioners. With the aid of the automatic control enabled by an EMS, smart homes will adjust air conditioner settings, such as changing the temperature set-point

or switching on dehumidifying mode automatically, through psychrometric analysis. This creates a thermally comfortable living environment with data input from a room’s temperature and relative humidity sensors.

Other than energy consumption optimization, smart homes also contribute to the development of decentralised energy generation and reduced electricity bills. For instance, in Hong Kong last year, CLP Power launched a one-year Smart Energy Programme. The goal is to change energy consumption patterns and reduce energy use during peak hours by introducing a Time-of-Use Tariff and a Summer Saver Rebate.

Smart homes with renewable energy generation systems can also control consumption of energy-intensive household appliances by turning them off automatically at peak hours or by using a stored energy system.

Rather than focusing only on energy consumption and environmental protection when we talk about sustainability, there are other goals that can be reached with a smart home. In Hong Kong, as in other developed world cities, the demographic changes that have brought about ageing societies mean that nearly 30% of the population will be 65 or above in 20 years. Everyone

agrees that Hong Kong’s medical system is already under pressure as a result. What about the future?

Smart homes may help. One area of focus is the “Internet of Things” and the use of intelligent, networked sensors to monitor health and bring medical help when necessary. The smart home can provide an extension to traditional healthcare services encompassing not only treatment but also prevention.

Smart homes can thereby prove cost-effective in helping elderly and disabled people to live at home for longer, allowing greater independence and quality of life while reducing the chance of social isolation.

End-of-life care at home is another example. Research conducted by the American Society of Clinical Oncology has shown that a carer’s distress is closely associated with the severity of a family member’s symptoms, so monitoring the carer as well as the patient and giving timely advice via smart technology can increase comfort for dying patients and improve wellbeing for their carers.

Such an automated system is telephone-based and monitors symptoms by using computer-based technology to have “conversations” with carers before 33

Science & technology June 2018 | Youth Hong Kong

sending electronic alert reports to a nurse. Automated, customized, real-time coaching based on the nature and severity of symptoms is then given to carers, such as how to position the patient for greater comfort or improved breathing or how to improve time together such as looking at old photo albums. For the carer’s sake, there is guidance on how to organize other helpers, how to schedule time off, how to improve sleep and how to decrease anxiety and deal with sadness.

Undoubtedly, the concept of smart homes brings much hope, both from the sustainable energy perspective and from the human perspective. However, in an era of big data there are also concerns. How can collected data be made secure so that it is properly used? How can data privacy be maintained? These questions are still unanswered, but I believe that advances in data security and comprehensive regulation will be the keys to realizing an authentic era of smart homes in future.

Power and pollution precision Hong Kong government data shows that energy consumption increased by 9.3 times from 1970 to 2015. By then, transport used 32% and residential buildings used 21% of all energy. Meanwhile, greenhouse gas emissions increased nine times. The number of licensed private cars in Hong Kong increased from 93,000 in 1970 to 521,852 in 2015. The Hong Kong Government has set an ambitious carbon intensity reduction target of lowering its total GHG emissions by 26–36% by 2030 using 2005 as the base year.

Hong Kong Energy Statistics are published regularly in terms of Primary Energy Requirement (PER) and Final Energy Requirement (FER). PER describes the overall quantity of various energy forms required to generate power. FER describes the amount of energy consumed. It differs from PER in that the latter includes all energy used or lost in the energy transformation and the distribution process.

Hong Kong Energy End-use 2015 Industrial 5%

Transport 32%

Commercial 42%

Residential 21%

By 2017, the city’s PER was 598,671 terajoules* (TJ) and FER was 338,264 TJ. The terajoule (TJ) is equal to one trillion (1012) joules. For comparative purposes, the International Space Station has a kinetic energy of roughly 13 TJ and Hurricane Irma was estimated to have a peak wind energy of 112 TJ. Sources Census and Statistics Department, HKSAR. Hong Kong Energy Statistics Annual Report 2017. https://www.censtatd.gov.hk/hkstat/sub/sp90.jsp?productCode=B1100002 To Wai-ming & Lee, Peter KC. Energy Consumption and Economic Development in Hong Kong, China. Energies 10, 1883, 2017.

Read more Census and Statistics Department, HKSAR. (2017) Hong Kong Population Projections 2017-2066. https://www.censtatd.gov.hk/hkstat/sub/sp190.jsp?productCode=B1120015 CLP. (2017) CLP launches Smart Energy Programme to help turn Hong Kong into a Smart City. https://www.clp.com.hk/en/Current%20Releases/20170615_en.pdf Electrical and Mechanical Services Department, HKSAR. (2017). Hong Kong Energy End-use Data 2017. https://www.emsd.gov.hk/filemanager/en/content_762/HKEEUD2017.pdf Electrical and Mechanical Services Department, HKSAR. (2018) The Energy Scene of Hong Kong. Energy Land. http://www.energyland.emsd.gov.hk/en/energy/energy_use/energy_scene.html The ASCO Post. (2014) ‘Smart Technology’ System for Home Hospice Symptom Management and Care Helps Both Patients with Cancer and Family Caregivers. http://www.ascopost.com/News/19586 Bennett, J, Rokas, O & Chen, L. Healthcare in the Smart Home. Sustainability 9, 840, 2017.

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George Chan Tsz-chung is a City University of Hong Kong graduate in Energy Science and Engineering.

He was awarded an Innovation and Technology Scholarship in 2015 and works for Schneider Electric.

Act now for future health I

mprovements in healthcare mean that people live much longer than in the past but demographic changes bring challenges. Catherine Kan says we can tackle some of these by eating wisely.

Hong Kong had the world’s highest life expectancy in 2017 but is facing a huge healthcare burden due to an ageing population. At the same time, the prevalence of noncommunicable diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes, is a serious concern. Many of these diseases are preventable through early adoption of healthy habits, and Hong Kong’s Department of Health has a five-pronged strategy to promote them.

A notable difference is in their use of cooking oil.

The classic Mediterranean Diet uses olive oil and the Nordic Diet uses rapeseed oil. The latter, not common in Hong Kong, is made from a plant belonging to the wonderful brassica family. It has the lowest saturated fat content of any cooking oil – half that of olive oil – as well as being rich in Vitamin E and omega-3 and 6 fatty acids, and is a great option for stir-frying.

Part of the strategy is a healthy diet with few sugary drinks and little red meat or processed food but lots of fruit and vegetables, whole grains, legumes and fish. Not only can this reduce the risk of disease but also, if begun early, it can prolong good health in later life. Eating more citrus fruits, leafy greens or vegetables from the brassica family, such as bak choi, kai lan, choy sum, broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower, by 100g a day can reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease by 12-22%, and plenty of brassicas have been shown to reduce total cancer risk by 16% as well.

People need to adjust their diets with age for optimum health as well. Adolescents are particularly prone to nutrient deficiency. A study on the eating behaviour of Hong Kong 11-18 year-olds had worrying findings. Teenage girls anxious about weight and image put themselves at risk of iron deficiency. This can cause anaemia which in turn causes tiredness, dizziness, and pale, yellowish skin. These are all avoidable with a healthy diet.

In contrast, an extra 100g a day of red meat − approximately a palm-size portion − can raise the risks of coronary heart disease, stroke and heart failure by 15%, 12%, and 8% respectively. Processed meat is even worse − the WHO has officially classified it as “carcinogenic to humans”. An extra 50g a day, equivalent to one sausage in a bun, might increase your risk of cardiovascular disease by as much as 27%, stroke by 17%, and heart failure by 12%. It will also put you at higher risk of colorectal, pancreatic and prostate cancer.

Although vegan and vegetarian diets are becoming more and more popular it would be challenging for many people to eliminate meat entirely so the WHO is promoting two eating patterns. These are the traditional “Mediterranean Diet” (see graphic) and the “Nordic Diet.” Both involve low consumption of meat, a moderate amount of oily fish and dairy products, plus lots of fruits and vegetables, whole grains and legumes.

Another problem caused by poor nutrition in youth is osteoporosis. Even in 20-year-olds, the calcium content of bones begins to drop if you don’t consume enough calcium, Vitamin D and Vitamin C or if your body weight remains very low for extended periods.

Adopting healthy eating habits is part of healthy ageing, and despite the risks mentioned above it is never too late to change. As little as an extra 100g of bak choi or broccoli together with 50g less red meat each day could make all the difference between health and disease.

Catherine Kan graduated in science at HKU and went on to do a master’s degree in nutrition at King’s College London. She was awarded an Innovation and Technology Scholarship in 2015 and is currently an intern with the WHO.

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City space June 2018 | Youth Hong Kong

Mediterranean diet

Source: https://dietamediterranea.com/en/nutrition/

Read more 1. Aune, D et al. 2017. Fruit and vegetable intake and the risk of cardiovascular disease, total cancer and all-cause mortality—a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective studies. International Journal of Epidemiology, 46(3), 1029-1056, 2017.

2. Schwingshackl, L et al. Food groups and risk of all-cause mortality: a systematic review and metaanalysis of prospective studies. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 105(6), 1462-1473, 2017.

3. Bechthold, A et al. Food groups and risk of coronary heart disease, stroke and heart failure: A systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective studies. Critical reviews in food science and nutrition, 1-20, 2017.

4. World Health Organization. Q&A on the carcinogenicity of the consumption of red meat and processed meat. 2015 http://www.who.int/features/qa/cancer-red-meat/en/ 5. Gotsis, E et al. Health benefits of the Mediterranean diet: an update of research over the last 5 years. Angiology, 66(4), 304-318, 2015.

6. World Health Organization: Regional Office for Europe. Fostering healthier and more sustainable diets-− learning from the Mediterranean and New Nordic experience. 2018.

7. Yeung, WLTL. (2010). Gender perspectives on adolescent eating behaviors: a study on the eating attitudes and behaviors of junior secondary students in Hong Kong. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 42(4), 250-258, 2010.

8. http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/disease-prevention/nutrition/news/news/2018/5/fostering-healthierand-more-sustainable-diets-learning-from-the-mediterranean-and-new-nordic-experience

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Tracing Origins at China Week 2018

China− Guangdong culture and history C

antonese cooking and the history of Chinese food culture through multiple perspectives are on the menu for primary and secondary students at HKFYG’s China Week this year.

The focus will be Cantonese cuisine, the techniques and ingredients used, and the ways in which the region’s food culture has developed over the centuries. Also known as Yue cuisine or Guangdong cuisine, Cantonese cuisine, ( 廣東菜 ), is one of China’s “Eight Culinary Traditions” the others being from Anhui, Fujian, Hunan, Jiangsu, Shandong, Sichuan and Zhejiang.

Cantonese cooking is well-known outside China, mainly because many emigrants from Guangdong Province and Hong Kong opened restaurants in western countries that served Cantonese dishes. Hong Kong cuisine is mainly influenced by Cantonese, Teochew, Hakka and Hokkien cuisines but has also assimilated many aspects of British and other western cuisines due to its colonial past and long history as an international port.

Key takeaways will include the influences of geography, climate, environment and the economy on Chinese food culture as well as the associated history, ancient customs and stories. Special ingredients and cooking skills for Guangdong cuisine will be included.

HKFYG China Week Highlights at the HKFYG Jockey Club M21 in Aberdeen on Tuesday 3 July • Demonstration by a professional chef cooking a Guangdong dish • Movie showing of 春風得意梅龍鎮 The Pride of Mei Long Town • Classic cooking methods

• Steaming, braised, stewing, frying, braising, marinating, grilling and soup-making • Main ingredients

• Vegetables, seafood, poultry, pork, wild delicacies, tea, Chinese herbals, grains and sugarcane Partners

• Hong Kong Young Chefs Club • CCI [Chinese Culinary Institute] • Kwan Sang Catering Professional Employees Association • GD QINGLIAN Co-organizer Southern Film Co Ltd Acknowledgements Dr Au Chi-kin Department of History, Hong Kong Shue Yan University Dr Siu Yah-ho Department of Chinese, Lingnan University More details https://chinaweek.m21.hk/2018/index.php Enquiries James Mok 3979 0000 / Wilson Chan 3755 7064

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HKFYG June 2018 | Youth Hong Kong

Summer’s here

fresh, green, delicious

W

e often hear about organic produce. What does it mean, how is it grown, and what can you buy at the HKFYG Organic Farm?

Organic farming is eco-friendly and the Federation’s organic farm is the only one in Hong Kong that is certified by both the US Department of Agriculture and Hong Kong Organic Resource Centre.

Various professional organic farming techniques are used there to produce high quality organic crops such as beetroot, cactus and purple cauliflower. The farm also has an online shop. Vegetables harvested in the morning will be delivered to online customers super-fresh at discount prices in the afternoon.

Love yourself, love life, love the environment The farm also organizes regular activities such as guided tours and seasonal food workshops to promote the spirit and advantages of healthy organic farming to food lovers of all ages.

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pp Ho Pui Reservoir, adjacent to HKFYG's Organic Farm

Family-Friendly Guided Farm Tour • Harvest delicious, fresh organic vegetables with your own hands • Bring your own eco bag to take some home • Learn about local organic farming and enjoy the peace with beautiful views • Paint your own decorative gourds

Summer Stargazing Camp • Visit the farm and take a tour to learn about organic husbandry • Get some hands-on experience – just like a farmer • Harvest fresh organic vegetables and cook them instantly • Go stargazing – learn about the summer constellations • Find out about camping in the New Territories

Seasonal Produce at HKFYG’s Organic Farm WITH 20% off the prices below when you order online SHOP NOW AT

by Eric Guinther commons. wikimedia.org/w/index. php?curid=253457

https://www.organicfarm.hk for these beautiful, healthy vegetables Water Spinach HK$28/catty Nutrition Vitamins A, B, C, E, and “U” (S-methyl-methionine)

Snap Beans HK$40/300g

by H. Alexander Talbot flickr.com/ photos/ideasinfood/8319802446/

Nutrition Vitamins A, B6, C, K, protein, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, folate, manganese, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and copper

Okra HK$24/150g Nutrition Vitamins A, B6, C, K, protein, riboflavin, niacin, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper, thiamin, folate, calcium, magnesium and manganese

by Megg flickr.com/photos/ peachyogurt/5072215681/

HK$32/catty

by She Paused 4 Thought flic.kr/p/ dgzX9M

Cucumber

White Yard Long Bean

Nutrition Potassium plus ß-carotene and α -carotene, Vitamin A, C, K, zeaxanthin and lutein

HK$32/catty Nutrition Vitamins A and C, iron, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, manganese and protein

More summer activities and registration forms: https://www.organicfarm.hk/pages/summer-events Enquiries Winki Ng or Chan Ching Shan 2838 4808

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HKFYG June 2018　|　Youth Hong Kong

Sizzling summer samplers H

ere is just a sampling of some of the 10,000 hugely varied activities for children and young people organized by the Federation this summer.

Life Magazine Reporter Summer School for Future Skills Dates 17 July to 4 August 2018 Organizer Media 21 and Creative Education Unit HKFYG venues Centre for Creative Science and Technology, M21, Organic Farm Age S2 to S4 students in the 2018/19 academic year Activities include Micro:bit and STEAM hologram workshops, AR and VR Applications, learning science through cooking, touch rugby, Thai boxing, art jamming, forensic science Learning styles Flipped and integrated classroom, experiential and adventure-based training Languages Cantonese and English Contact

Dates Wednesdays 8 to 29 August 2018 Times Class A 4:30-6:00pm Class B 2:00-3:30pm Organizer CPS Venue HKFYG Building, 21 Pak Fuk Road, North Point Age 15 to 18 Activities include Interview experience in reporting and magazine production; workshops with media professionals on news and media ethics; writing and shooting techniques; editing software and basic splicing techniques Work may be published in the HKFYG Youth SPOT magazine Certificates for successful completion of workshops and minimum 75% attendance Contact Tiffany Lam 3755 7108

Josy Lai 3979 0034

Email cps@hkfyg.org.hk

Email josy.lai@hkfyg.org.hk

Activity ID CPS-S0002

Details & fees

Details, deadline & fees

https://m21.hk/summerschool/

https://easymember.hk/ eportal/Program/SU_ALL_ Prog.aspx?SU=120

Legendary Duel Strategy eSports Dates 18 July to 15 August 2018 Time Every Wednesday 7:00-8:00 pm Organizer HKFYG Tai Po Lions Youth SPOT Venue G09, Tai Po Community Centre, 2 Heung Sze Wui Street, Tai Po Market, New Territories Age 12 to 18 Activity Learning about sportsmanship and skills of eSports; five best players participate in commercial eSports competitions Contact Erwin Cheng 2656 3257 Email tp@hkfyg.org.hk

Midsummer Martial Arts Experience Dates 20 to 26 August 2018 Organizer Youth Exchange Unit Venue Wudang Mountain, Hubei Province Age 10 to 14 Activities include Basic Wudang boxing, learning about self-discipline in a mountain camp environment; learning about Taoist culture Contact YY Wong 3586 8448

Email ye@hkfyg.org.hk Activity ID YE-S0002 Details, deadline & fees https://ye.hkfyg.org.hk

Event ID TP-S18-TP-S18-702 Details, deadline & fees

https://easymember.hk/eportal/ Program/ProgramDetail. aspx?PID=18005247-1

Calling all keen readers!

Dates 18 to 24 July 2018 Times 10am to 10pm Hong Kong Book Fair Venue Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, 1 Expo Drive, Wan Chai

Find the HKFYG team at booth: 1A-C21 More Book Fair details http://hkbookfair.hktdc.com/en/About-Book-Fair/Fair-Details.html

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English Conversation Class Dates Saturdays 21 July to 25 August 2018 Times 5:00-6:00pm Organizer HKFYG Felix Wong Youth SPOT Venue G/F, Dak On Building, Hou Tak Tsuen, Tseung Kwan O, NT Age 4 to 6 Activities include Encouraging interest in English, building confidence by improving pronunciation and fluency. Storytelling with question and answer sessions to strengthen skills and interactive role-playing and group discussions Contact Rachel Yeung 2706 2638 Email fw@hkfyg.org.hk

Activity ID FW-S18-954 Details, deadline & fees

https://easymember.hk/eportal/ Program/ProgramDetail. aspx?PID=18006636-1

V-Studio Volunteer Service Planning Training Course Dates 25 July to 8 August 2018 Times Class A Monday & Thursday 2:30-4:00pm

Class C Wednesday & Saturday

10:30am-12 noon Organizer

HKFYG Youth Volunteer Network Venue HKFYG Building, 21 Pak Fuk Road, North Point

Summer "King" Game Date Saturday 4 August 2018 Time 4:00-6:00 pm Organizer HKFYG Jockey Club Jat Min Youth SPOT Venue G/F-1/F, 13 Jat Min Chuen Street, Jat Min Chuen, Sha Tin, NT Age 16 to 25

Chinese Writing Class Dates Fridays 1-31 August 2018 Times Classes A & B 3:00-5:00 pm Organizer CPS Venue HKFYG Building, 21 Pak Fuk Road, North Point Age 11 to 15 Activities include Introduction to writing and professional writing skills.

Classroom interaction allows students to learn from each other and find inspiration.

Language Cantonese

Activities Do you have extraordinary skills and amazing physical energy?

If so, this is NOT FOR YOU!!

This collective competitive game is designed for mad men and women who are young and weak. A secret gift goes to the winner. Feeling fated but brave? Then come and try!

Contact Eunice Cheung 3755 7030

Contact Leo Tan 2647 0744

Email jm@hkfyg.org.hk

Email cps@hkfyg.org.hk

Activity ID UCD-S0001, UCD-S0003

Activity ID JM-S18-JM-S18-301

Details, deadline & fees

Details, deadline & fees

Details, deadline & fees

Age 14 to 25 Activities include Training to understanding community issues, broaden volunteering skills and design voluntary services to suit needs

Email ucd@hkfyg.org.hk

https://easymember.hk/eportal/ Program/ProgramDetail. aspx?PID=17016879-3

https://easymember.hk/eportal/ Program/ProgramDetail. aspx?PID=18004412-1

Certificates for successful completion of workshops and minimum 75% attendance Contact Ada Chau 3755 7108

Activity ID CPS-S0001 https://easymember.hk/ eportal/Program/SU_ALL_ Prog.aspx?SU=120

HKFYG @ H o n g Ko n g Bo o k Fa i r 2 0 1 8 BRING THIS COUPON WITH YOU TO RECEIVE

40

%

HKFYG Booth 1A-C21 From 18 July to 24 July

DISCOUNT on new publications 41

Society & culture June 2018 | Youth Hong Kong

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Startup Explorer and Maker House

get ready for Hong Kong unicorns

A

new video platform from the HKFYG Jockey Club Social Innovation Centre promotes startups. Maker House is another of their specials, on now at Cityplaza.

Startup Explorer gives exposure to young entrepreneurs seeking investors, venture capital and partners in the government and business sectors.

First up on the platform is Brian Hui, co-founder of the Pokeguide app. This Hong Kong travel guide includes directions for the best place to board the MTR so that you can minimize delays. It also recommends hot spots near your destination for eating, shopping and relaxing. Now working on a new tool to help disabled passengers cope better with the MTR and looking to grow the business to multiple cities in the near future.

CEO of Unicornis, Estee Sham presents her hi-tech project on Startup Explorer by talking about customization.

Streamlining container cargo-moving logistics is a key project, well-suited to Hong Kong’s major role as a shipping hub. It uses artificial intelligence with smart cameras for automated alignment of stacked boxes.

In future, she is looking to install smart security cameras in schools to support student monitoring.

Maker House is running through the summer and into the autumn. Fledgling local businesses founded

by Hong Kong youth are sharing their eco-friendly products with the community at Cityplaza.

H House by Pomaru with natural, eco-themed, indoor and outdoor items from Maggie Hui

Eco-Greenergy with recycled & upcycled coffee grounds from Peann Tam & Jay Ho

UNSUIKYO with a fusion of technology and natural raw materials in original design glasses from Brian Chan & Cat Lee Find them Now till October, 12 noon to 9 pm at GH1, 1/F, Cityplaza

The HKFYG Social Innovation and Youth Business Unit encourages and supports social innovation by the use of technology.

Incubation services for greater cost savings such as co-working space Conference facilities and equipment Interconnectivity to bring talent and professionals together Investment opportunities to seek more resources, funds and financing platforms for social innovation projects More information https://sic.hkfyg.org.hk/en/ social-innovation-and-youth-business-unit/ Address Genesis, 11B-E, 33-35 Wong Chuk Hang Rd, Aberdeen Tel 35950945 / 39568001

Email sic@hkfyg.org.hk

More details https://sic.hkfyg.org.hk/en/startupexplorer/ https://jumpstartmag.com/cityplaza-proudly-presents-makerhouse-sustainable-retail-startup-partnership-program/ Enquiries 3595 0945 Ken Ngan or Jessie Ng

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Address 17&18/F, Wing Wong Building, 557 Nathan Rd, Yau Ma Tei

Email hello@accelerating.tech

This annual programme, organized by The Dragon Foundation, brings together Chinese 18-35 year-olds from around the world who have demonstrated skills, academic achievements and commitment to their communities. Each year, they gather in Hong Kong and visit at least one city in mainland China to learn about its development, history and culture. The programme’s aim is to ensure that delegates return home with more innovative ideas, enriched knowledge of Chinese culture and a wider network of contacts.

More details www.dragonfoundation.net Enquiries The Dragon Foundation Secretariat Tel (852) 2811 2779 Email info@dragonfoundation.net

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Enhancing e-Government in Hong Kong

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he development and application of information and communication technology have provided government with the opportunity to provide better access to user-friendly public services. What progress has been made so far?

The HKSAR Government has put many resources into fostering and enhancing its online services, following the global trend. The public is the main target and it is important that the needs and expectations of users are grasped accurately and often by the government. Effective online public e-services can also help improve the performance of the government and contribute to good governance.

Given its goal of making Hong Kong a world class smart city, it is also worth the government’s while to heed public views on the provision of e-services and the ways in which they are used. Views of young people in particular are valuable if improvements are to be made, now and in future.

Key points from respondents 71.1% Used online government services during the past 12 months, 76.4% mainly for convenience 30.1% Were dissatisfied saying that insufficient links between government department websites was the main reason, followed by complexity 39.4% Said simplicity and user-friendliness were the most important factors for effective government e-services 35.7% Said such effectiveness could increase interaction with the government 31.7% Were not confident that HK could develop into a smart city in the next five years

Comments from Youth I.D.E.A.S. think tank members Ray Poon, convener The current administration aims to make Hong Kong into a world class smart city with e-services as an important element. However, experience overseas shows that a high level of structural leadership with clear terms of reference is crucial for effective online public e-services. To this end, we recommend that the e-Government Steering Committee comes under the aegis of the inter-departmental Steering Committee on Innovation and Technology chaired by the Chief Executive.

Ansel Lam, deputy convener Young people today are part of the e-generation and will be the main users of government e-services in future. Given that the world is moving towards a digital age, it is worth paying more attention to the experiences of end-users of public e-services. It is hoped that functionality and usability will be enhanced so that people of all ages will find it a pleasure to use them.

Report No. 29 HKFYG Youth I.D.E.A.S. Published title Enhancing e-Government in the HKSAR Governance & Constitutional Development group Respondents 648 18-34 year-olds answered an online poll in March 2018.

Five focus discussion groups were held with 30 young people and four scholars or experts were interviewed.

More details [in Chinese] http://bit.ly/YI029GC_Egovernment Enquiries Sharon Cheung 37557039

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Committed to Hong Kong Web: LeadershipInstitute.hk Tel: (852) 2169 0255

Publisher : The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups

香港青年協會

hkfyg.org.hk．m21.hk

Youth Hong Kong: 21/F, The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups Building, 21 Pak Fuk Road, North Point, Hong Kong Tel : 3755 7084．3755 7108．Fax : 3755 7155．Email : youthhongkong@hkfyg.org.hk．Website : youthhongkong.hkfyg.org.hk The title of this journal in Chinese is Xiang Gang Qing Nian 香 港 青 年

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