Special June 2020 | Youth Hong Kong
A journey together M
r MY Wan, President of the Federation’s Council, reflects on the past and talks about his vision for the future. Three themes emerge strongly built on trust as a foundation.
“A cycle of 60 years has special meaning in the Chinese tradition. It is called a jia zi ( 甲子 ) and when I celebrated my 60th birthday in 2011 with a talk to young people at the Federation about the joy of learning my theme was and ‘Learning to Learn’. This year, when the Federation celebrates its first 60 years, Mr Wan speaks of the blessing of being its President. “It is a humbling but grave responsibility, particularly when I reflect upon the heart-breaking scenes of the 2019 riots that continue to haunt me.”
Healing and harmony Mr Wan believes that healing is the most pressing need today: healing for young people, healing for their relationships with parents and healing of the rifts within the community. “An essential solution to these problems is to give youth hope,” he says. 26
When we succed, our success must have been built on hope and trust. Mr Wan finds it depressing and unfortunate that the expression of filial piety as love for parents is missing, in a Chinese community. “It causes hardship for youth because harmony at home is fundamental for their proper growth.” He suggests that the Federation could motivate young people to take the lead in this respect. Mr Wan started his youth work in the early 1990s when he participated in the development of the NGO Youth Outreach. He describes it as fundamentally a
