Hong Kong – SHYA leads new batch of United Nations youth volunteer interns to visit OCMFA (with photos)

     The Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Miss Alice Mak, and the Permanent Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Ms Shirley Lam, led more than 20 youth volunteer interns participating in the United Nations Volunteers – Hong Kong Universities Volunteer Internship Programme to visit the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (OCMFA) today (June 27), and met with Deputy Commissioner of the OCMFA Mr Fang Jianming. The Chairman of the Agency for Volunteer Service (the co-organiser of the Programme), Ms Melissa Kaye Pang, also joined the visit. 
      
     The Home and Youth Affairs Bureau promulgated the Youth Development Blueprint in end-2022. The vision is to nurture a new generation of young people with an affection for the country and for Hong Kong and equipped with global perspectives, an aspiring mindset and positive thinking, who will make contributions to the development of the country and the city. The Government launched the Programme in collaboration with the United Nations (UN) Volunteers and provides funding support to local university students to undertake six-month volunteer placements in different UN agencies. This would help young people develop their personal capabilities and expand their horizons, and also provide an opportunity for them to contribute to the international community in the capacity as Chinese youth volunteers. This year, the Programme offers a total of 25 internship placements in different UN agencies located in Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Laos, Nepal, Tajikistan, Thailand, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.
      
     During her remarks, Miss Mak expressed gratitude to the OCMFA for its support to the Programme, especially the arrangements of today’s visit. She also thanked the representatives from the Department of International Organizations and Conferences of the OCMFA for introducing the work of the OCMFA to the youth volunteer interns, which would help deepen their understanding of the country’s foreign affairs prior to their departure. She mentioned that this year’s Programme has been expanded to cover more countries along the Belt and Road regions and was well received by young people, with the number of applications nearly doubled compared to the previous year. She said she hopes that the interns could broaden their global perspectives, understand China’s contributions and influences across the world through this valuable experience, and also take the opportunity to tell the world good stories of Hong Kong.
      
     The youth volunteer interns will depart to undertake volunteer placements in the UN agencies (e.g. the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, etc) starting from next month.