Organised by the Vision Foundation, the Youth Innovation and Technology Future Community Planning Competition 2023 (the Competition) was launched last Saturday (15 April) at noon at the Tencent Crowd Space to kick off the four-month competition and training programme. The Competition is the first of its kind in Hong Kong to combine innovation and technology, interactive STEAM education, youth development blueprints, future community planning and care and integration, with the theme of "Caring for the Elderly, Children, Ethnic Minorities or Disadvantaged Groups".

Under the theme of "Caring for the Elderly, Children, Ethnic Minorities or Disadvantaged Groups", the programme aims to deepen young people's understanding of social issues and encourage them to tackle social problems at root by adopting innovative ideas and technology in social planning. The ceremony was officiated by Mr Lau Ka-ki, Commissioner for Youth of the Home Affairs and Youth Affairs Bureau, Ms Cherry Tse Yuen-ching, Principal Assistant Secretary (Curriculum Support) of the Education Bureau and Mr Wong Yan-yin, District Officer (Sham Shui Po), with guests from the business sector joining in to kick off the Competition.

Under the guidance of professional instructors, the teams will attend and complete various workshops to learn the skills of proposal writing, enhance their presentation skills and explore the application of various innovative technologies. The teams will also visit local innovation and technology companies or industrial parks to learn more about the development of innovation and technology, as well as visit local social welfare organisations to understand the real needs of people in need, so that participants can think deeply about how to use technology to help plan and improve community life. In the end, the participants will work together in small groups, using "innovative technology" as the conceptual blueprint, to design and plan a practical solution that can be practically applied to the local community. The winning teams will be awarded prizes and scholarships, and will be encouraged to submit their proposals to relevant government departments for reference or practical application in the local community.

In his briefing on the Competition at the Ceremony, Mr Clement Yuen, Vice Chairman of the Organising Committee, said, "Participating teams will have the opportunity to participate in study tours in areas such as AI, interactive digital technology, big data management, nanotechnology and advanced materials technology research and development, healthcare and healthcare applications, etc., so as to gain a comprehensive exposure to and understanding of the development of local innovation and technology. The competition was made possible by the generous support of sponsors including IF Interactive, EPISODE Limited and FTI Intelligence Corporation. One of the star instructors of the workshop, Mr Lam King Sing, one of Hong Kong's Ten Outstanding Young Persons and a negotiation expert, was invited to share his presentation skills and tips with the students at the ceremony.

Dr Joe Yan, Chairman of the Vision Foundation, said, "In recent years, the Government has been investing heavily in the development of the innovation and technology industry. The latest Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Development Blueprint proposes to improve the innovation and technology ecosystem, expand the pool of innovation and technology talents, and popularise the innovation and technology culture, among other important directions and strategies. Talent is the key to promoting the development of innovation and technology. Therefore, we are very pleased to launch this year's Youth Innovation and Technology Future Community Planning Competition 2023, which aims to attract students to participate in the development of local innovation and technology, and to cultivate new blood and enrich the resources of innovation and technology talents for Hong Kong. We are looking forward to seeing the students' best performance in the coming months under the guidance of the mentors, and we believe that they will come up with more innovative ideas for the future planning of our society and take action to care for the underprivileged."

Mr Lau Ka-ki, Commissioner for Youth of the Home Affairs and Youth Affairs Bureau, said, "The HKSAR Government attaches great importance to youth development. We hope to be a close friend of young people, a passionate advocate of youth work and a guide for young people, so as to create more opportunities for young people to excel and grow. One of the important aspects of the Youth Development Blueprint announced by the Government last year is to promote STEAM in a fun and diversified way, so as to popularise creative learning and lay a good foundation for students, and to tie in with the general direction of Hong Kong's future creative development. This concept is very much in line with the objective of the Competition, which is to provide participants with rich and diversified activities to learn technological knowledge, planning and management, how to treat others and the spirit of caring and helping others. This is beneficial to students' personal growth and whole-person development, and contributes to the nurturing of local talents."

Ms Cherry Tse Yuen-ching, Principal Assistant Secretary for Education (Curriculum Support), said, "The objective of the Competition is in line with the EDB's vision of 'Continuous and Deepening Values Education'. Through learning activities in the community, participants can understand the needs of different people, learn to respect others and understand the importance of a caring and inclusive community, and contribute to the sustainable development of the community. I believe that the students will be able to gain a deeper understanding of community development and how to make use of innovative technology to improve their lives, and build up positive values of empathy and care."

Mr Yau Tat-kan, Member of the Legislative Council of the Technological Innovation and Technology Commission (TITC), believes that the nurturing of local innovation and technology talents is the most important task for Hong Kong to become an international innovation and technology centre: "The competition can raise primary and secondary students' awareness of innovation and technology and their application of such technologies. I hope that through the competition, the students can explore different kinds of innovation and technology and build up their interests, and actively equip themselves for joining the industry in the future to make contributions to the development of Hong Kong's innovation and technology industry and to achieve great success. We hope that you will contribute to the development of innovation and technology in Hong Kong by joining the industry in the future.

Ms Karen Lee, Chairman of the Organising Committee of the Competition, said, "After a long period of preparation, the first edition of the Competition is officially launched today. Due to the outbreak of Crown Pneumonia, the whole preparation process has been affected to varying degrees. As the epidemic subsides and the community gradually recovers, I am very pleased that the competition has been able to start smoothly and carry out various activities in a practical manner, with the support of the Education Bureau, the Home Affairs Bureau and the Youth Affairs Bureau, as well as the support of various organisations, including Cyberport, Amazon Web Services, Tencent and Tomson, Caritas Institute of Higher Education, Sowers, Hong Kong Association for Education in Emerging Science and Technology, the Hong Kong Computer Society, the Institute for Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, Hong Kong Computer Education Association, the Hong Kong Schools Association, the Hong Kong Schools Association, and the Hong Kong Computer Society, The Hong Kong Computer Society, Nano and Advanced Materials Institute, Hong Kong Computer Education Society, Hong Kong School Managers Association, Metaverse Finance Company Limited and Hong Kong Stock Critics and Professional Investor Association have become partners to create a better platform for students to realise their potentials in innovation and technology."

The competition is divided into a secondary school category and an open category. The deadline for registration is 30 April 2023 and the registration fee is HK$1,800 per team. The first 15 teams that successfully complete the workshops and study tours during the programme and submit their proposals by the specified date will be eligible for full sponsorship of the competition entry fee.