A journey together

Mr 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.

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

remedial work agency that helps young people back towards normal lives. Since the Federation’s work is much wider in scope with diverse services and many facets, Mr Wan thinks the Federation can map out work for proactive development as well as remediation and “Be youth’s companion on a joyful journey.”

Give them hope

Mr Wan also recognizes the importance of information, communication and technology (ICT) in youth services. Recently, when a member of the Federation’s Council proposed launching new schemes in ICT, he was surprised to learn that Hong Kong’s workforce in this field numbered only 100,000, or less than 3% of the working population. Mr Wan sees this as an important future policy direction for the Federation as the use of technology during the pandemic shows clearly how significant it is. “Many more young people could channel their efforts into this sector in order to secure job opportunities. This would definitely give them hope,” he says.

Recalling the two times he was a member of the Hong Kong Housing Authority, Mr Wan identifies major hurdles ahead. He thinks Hong Kong’s housing situation is bad and getting worse. “Cramped, badly built, unhygienic and lacking privacy, housing today is a serious impediment to youth who are losing hope for their future.” Angry at the absence of commitment and passion among some who handle the machinery for land and housing supply, he says, “They not only fail to support housing production for the community but also make youth work doubly difficult.” Mr Wan also recalls meeting a teacher who emigrated to Latvia. “He felt unable to continue teaching here because it seemed like lying when he told his students about hope for the future when he could not see any.”

Joy of learning

On a brighter note, Mr Wan returns to the theme of learning. He says he hopes to “learn something new daily.” Having established the routine of independent learning in his mid-thirties, he encourages young people to read widely. “Examples of my reading include anthropology to help understand both our community and ourselves, and cosmology to be well-informed and humbled by the vast immensity of the universe.”

p President Wan and young volunteer

He encourages young people to read widely and grasp the brevity of their existence, a mere 100 years perhaps. Compare that with the age of the Earth at 4.5 billion years, he says, and that of the universe at 13 billion. “When you see how small you are, then you can gain better perspective, and life − though hard – becomes more enjoyable.” Furthermore, Mr Wan says, enlightenment through selflearning makes life so much more gratifying. Learning language skills, for example, especially a second language, is also important and helps one to think more clearly.

Mr Wan encourages youth to look widely in order to find opportunities and to share others’ viewpoints, to look ahead and set targets, and to look back to understand their roots. “Having clear vision in these directions can provide a compass to steer by.”

He hopes that the Federation will continue to do its best for young people and be a good companion for their growth and development. “How far we go will depend on our efforts, and when we succeed, our success must have been built on hope and trust.”

香港青年協會會長溫文儀先生認為青年最需要的就是治癒 和希望，即使面對任何挑戰，只要心懷希望，定能迎難而 上。青協將繼續以熱誠及專業回應青年需要，未來將有各 項與青年就業相關的工作推出。