Youthful input deserves our support

The government on Tuesday started its recruitment under the Pilot Member Self-recommendation Scheme for Youth. The scheme invites young people aged 18 to 35 to serve on any one of five advisory committees in areas young people are interested in - albeit through a vetting process. The application period will close at 5 pm on Nov 30. This is yet another actual step that Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor promised to take during her election campaign for the CE's office earlier this year. From a constructive point of view the scheme should attract local youths who aspire to contribute to the welfare and development of Hong Kong society with their youthful energy and fresh ideas.

Hong Kong has never been in greater need of positive involvement of the younger generation in various areas of socio-economic and political development than today, considering the less-than-heartening impression left by a large number of participants in the illegal "Occupy Central" movement in fall 2014 and several similar political incidents of smaller scale afterwards. Some older local residents came to the sad conclusion that Hong Kong was going to the dogs as a "city of protests" because many young people wasted the best time of their lives on unconstructive or even destructive activities that largely served the interests of a few ambitious local politicians and their foreign abettors, even though the misguided youths accounted for only a small portion of Hong Kong's younger generation.

Much has been discussed over the years about any number of ways to let young people "see a bright future", with some being more fruitful than others but none impactful enough to leave a lasting mark in people's memory. Nevertheless, it is encouraging to know that the SAR government is still committed to giving young people hope by creating opportunities for them to show their developing abilities one way or another. That is why the pilot scheme has the potential to attract the most passionate youths who have been preparing for the day when they can actually show what they have to offer, as policy advisers in training if you will. One can never dismiss an opportunity like this as a "gimmick", because they have no idea how many smart young people there are in Hong Kong who aspire to be future elites.

With proper guidance and assistance the participants of this pilot scheme stand a good chance of at least acquiring considerable knowledge and hands-on experience in scientific policy formulation based on community sensibility and forward thinking. It is hoped this pilot scheme will prove successful. This could pave the way for many more advisory bodies to come online for young people to find out what it takes to be a policymaker.

(HK Edition 11/02/2017 page8)