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“New Life in the GBA” Lucky Draw by Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation Concluded with 521 Happy Winners

HONG KONG, Oct 27, 2022 - (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - With its tremendous development, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) offers endless opportunities to Hong Kong Youth. The "New Life in the GBA" lucky draw launched by the Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation (the Foundation) ran from April to September this year aimed to support the development of young people in Hong Kong in establishing new lives in the GBA. The lucky draw received positive responses from young Hong Kong residents aged between 18 to 45. All eligible participants held a valid Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macao Residents, had successfully registered as a YO PLACE member and held a "GBA Youth Card". 521 prizes were drawn live at YO PLACE yesterday on 25 October.We were pleased to have Mr Tommy Yuen Man-chung, Commissioner for the Development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Mr Bunny Chan Chung-bun, Hong Kong Delegate to the National People's Congress, and Mr Daryl Ng Win-kong, Chairman of Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation as the officiating guests, as well as Mr Nicholas Chan Hiu-fung, Honorary Legal adviser of the Foundation, Partner of Squire Patton Boggs and Mr Chris Mo Ying-wai, Partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers Hong Kong to witness the occasion. 521 winners were announced after the lucky draw, in which the Grand Prize winner received a decorated 3+1 bedroom residential apartment with GFA of 105m2 at Empyreal-Bay Zhongshan, valued at approximately HKD2.5 million, sponsored by Ng Teng Fong Charitable Foundation. Other prizes included 20 GBA living expenses spending credits of HKD20,000, and 500 GBA living expenses spending credits of HKD1,000, adding to a total of HKD900,000 being given away. Each of the rest of participants also received a transportation allowance of HKD100.The Foundation Supports Hong Kong Youth in Embracing Development Opportunities in the GBA With a total population of over 86 million, and an approximate area of 56 thousand square kilometres, the GBA is where the most open and vibrant markets are situated, and is of great significance to China's implementation of innovation-driven development and reform. According to the research data from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, the GDP of the GBA has reached US$1,958.14 billion in 2021, showing extensive development potential of the GBA. Hong Kong has always been committed to integrating into the national development with the GBA as the entry point, in addition to consolidating traditional industries, the city has also strived to develop new businesses in innovation technology as well as art and culture. Mr Tommy Yuen Man-chung, Commissioner for the Development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area said, "Over the past three years since the promulgation of the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, we have witnessed the continual development of the GBA. Many Hong Kong young people are taking the opportunities to work and develop their career in the Mainland cities of the GBA. The latest Policy Address has announced the regularistion of the GBA Youth Employment Scheme to encourage participating enterprises to recruit and deploy local university graduates to work in Hong Kong and other Mainland cities of the GBA, so that young people can better understand and grasp the opportunities of GBA development, enhance their awareness of the country's development, and fulfil their dream."Mr Daryl Ng Win-kong, Chairman of the Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation said, "The Central and Hong Kong government have always placed great importance in the development of Hong Kong youth within the GBA. As announced in the Policy Address last week, the Hong Kong government would set up a "Steering Group on Integration into National Development" to carry forward more cross-border initiatives, enhance communications with Mainland authorities and formulate strategic plans for Hong Kong to dovetail with the "14th Five-Year Plan" and the GBA development. With such immense opportunities, the Foundation will continue to organise diverse activities to encourage Hong Kong youth to seize the opportunities in the GBA while leveraging on the advantages of "One Country, Two Systems", and at the same time contribute to the development of Hong Kong and Mainland China."The full winner list has been published on the website of the Foundation (www.gbayouth.org.hk) and YO PLACE (http://www.yoplace.org.hk/) on 26 October.Trade Promotion Competition Licence No.:55633-6 Copyright 2022 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. (via SEAPRWire)

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Singapore youth give 18 recommendations for tackling environmental crisis

GLASGOW - As young people take to the streets in Glasgow on Friday (Nov 5) to mark Youth Day at the COP26 climate summit, youth in Singapore are also making their demands for climate action heard. On Friday morning Singapore time, a group of young people here released a statement of 18 recommendations on how the Republic can be made more liveable for future generations. Titled An Urgent Call From Singaporean Youth On The Environmental Crisis, the statement was co-authored by six youth-led organisations, including the Singapore Climate Rally and FiTree, as well as 10 individuals from different sectors of society. They include marine biologists Pavarne Shantti and Sam Shu Qin; co-founder of environmental group LepakInSG Ho Xiang Tian; indigenous culture and environmental advocate Firdaus Sani; as well as environmental communicator Woo Qiyun, who runs the Instagram account @theweirdandwild. Calling the effort an "unprecedented initiative", the co-authors said the statement was crafted by environmental and climate youth organisations of varied interests, coming together to collaborate for the first time. Their recommendations span six areas - emissions, nature, energy, corporate responsibility, community empowerment and inclusion, and the economy and people. One key recommendation was for Singapore to set itself a bolder emissions target to reach peak emissions before 2025 instead of the current target of 2030. The earlier the timeline, the earlier the country must take steps to bring down the amount of greenhouse gases it produces, even as the economy continues to grow. Over the longer term, the youth say the amount of planet-warming emissions Singapore produces should reach net-zero by 2050, in line with the recommendations of the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Singapore currently plans to reach this milestone "as soon as viable in the second half of the century". The IPCC has said global emissions should reach net-zero by mid-century for the world to stand a better chance of avoiding harsher climate impacts such as more extreme floods, wildfires and heatwaves. On nature, the young people urged the Government to protect remaining natural habitats in Singapore such as the Clementi Forest, and to ensure that nature conservation efforts are grounded in science. A jogger at Clementi Forest on Nov 19, 2020. PHOTO: ST FILE Natural habitats can serve as nature-based climate solutions, they said, as these ecosystems can take in carbon and protect the country's coastlines. "Mature habitats are much better at providing these solutions, and destroying them would be counter-productive to our climate mitigation and adaptation efforts," they said. More on this topic   Related Story Singapore pledges to phase out unabated coal in electricity mix by 2050   Related Story EMA to set green standards for power generation companies to reduce S'pore's carbon footprint Ecosystems such as mangroves, for instance, are huge stores of carbon. By locking the carbon in the soil, these habitats prevent the carbon from reaching the atmosphere, where it can trap heat and drive climate change. Mangroves also have the ability to keep pace with rising sea levels if the rate of increase is not too rapid, and can act as natural sea walls against sea level rise. The signatories of the statement also echoed the voices of young people around the world, who want a greater stake in shaping policies that will affect how their generation experiences the impacts of climate change in the future. View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Weird and Wild (@theweirdandwild) They called for more governmental engagement with youth communities in an "expansive and strategic manner", citing how young people in the European Union are involved in energy transition-related consultations through initiatives that form networks between interested youths and key actors in the energy sector. "The government can reach out to energy-focused youth groups in Singapore or create initiatives to get youth involved in our energy transition conversations and long-term plans," they said. One key recommendation was for Singapore to set itself a bolder emissions target to reach peak emissions before 2025 instead of the current target of 2030. ST PHOTO: TIMOTHY DAVID The statement has since Nov 4 been endorsed by 93 individuals and 75 organisations and entities, including Associate Professor Jason Lee from the National University of Singapore's Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and the Nature Society (Singapore). "While we acknowledge that the government has released various initiatives and made progress on various environmental issues over the years, we know that our actions are still not yet where they need to be," the co-authors said. More on this topic   Related Story Red alert! What can you do to help bring carbon emissions down?   Related Story S'pore pledges $10m in new funds, making more investments in low-carbon technology While climate change and biodiversity loss are existential crises with far-reaching and world-changing consequences, humanity is at an inflexion point, the authors noted. "Moments like this also give us an opportunity to reflect on the values we want to hold on to, and the world we want to leave behind for our future generations," they wrote. "Singapore aims to honour the values of justice and equality. This means that our approach to mitigating the climate crisis must logically be rooted in these same values." The full set of recommendations and statement are available at SG Youth Cop26. More on this topic   Related Story Will COP26 deforestation pledge be game-changer or just more broken promises?   Related Story Climate Code Red: Live from COP26   

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Time to Act: Promoting Women and Youth Leadership for Sustainable and Inclusive Growth

by Erick Thohir and Sharon Florencia JAKARTA, Oct 13, 2021 – (ACN Newswire) – COVID-19 has had a significant impact on people’s lives, how businesses and economies operate, and the global sustainability agenda. Nevertheless, the current conditions will provide an unprecedented opportunity to build a better world by implementing more sustainable policies and actions. In addressing these, the G20 heads of state and government will convene at the Rome Summit this month to discuss various development agendas, from health and education to the economy, emphasizing trade, investments, and the digital economy. The Rome Summit is not the only significant event happening in the world in October. In the same month, International Day of the Girl (IDG) is being celebrated annually on 11 October, and this event, which intends to campaign on gender equalities, has become an important moment for us. It is a reminder for gender equality, to amplify girls’ voices meaningfully, and to support their presence and leadership. Women’s effective participation and leadership have been recognized by UN Women reports to improve productivity, enhance ecosystem conservation, and create more sustainable systems. The participation has been progressing in the last decade: an increasing number of women serving in parliament, gender budgeting policy, and equal school attendance. Despite these gains, many challenges remain at the country, region, and global level. Globally, of the 500 world-class companies, only around 5.8% (just 29 women) became CEOs in 2019, and 5.3 percent of women became board members in 2018 (Catalyst 2020). The Global Gender Gap Report in 2021 by the World Economic Forum shows that across the 156 countries covered by the index, women’s representation is only at 26.1% of some 35,500 parliament seats and just 22.6% of over 3,400 ministers worldwide. Women’s participation in Indonesia is not far behind when compared to the global levels. The McKinsey Global Institute in 2018 revealed that Indonesia could add $135 billion to its annual gross domestic product by 2025 if it can improve gender equality, the Asia-Pacific Girls Report 2021, published by Plan International, revealed that Indonesia is ranked 10th of 19 countries in the Girls Leadership Index based on six domains: education, health, economic opportunities, protection, political voice and representation, and laws and policies in the Asia Pacific. In this index, Indonesia’s position is ranked 12th in vote representation and representation of young women in politics. The progress achieved before the outburst of the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened gender equality’s situation during the pandemic. Women, mainly in the informal sector, is amongst the hardest hit by the pandemic. According to the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection, women bear more burden in doing domestic chores and spend more time caring for the family than men. This potentially affects their productivity, mental health, and participation in economic and leadership positions. Responding to the situation, increasing the role of women in the Indonesian State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) has been a key development agenda of the Ministry of SOEs since 2019. The Ministry of SoEs has been recognized as one of the agents of change in promoting women’s empowerment. The Ministry has set a high target of at least 15 percent of SOEs leaders being women in aggregate by the end of 2021, which is in line with the Asia average. Singapore and Italy have been in front of this by having the highest female CEOs at 15 percent. With the current figure in Indonesian SOEs at 13 percent, significant progress has been made, and the target will be increased to 25 percent in 2023. In celebrating the IDG, the Indonesian Government, through the Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises, has involved five major Indonesian SOEs in the #GirlsTakeover campaign starting this year and joined forces with the Plan International. A commitment to participate in the #GirlsTakeover campaign is being set for this year and the subsequent five years. This participation is not mere rhetoric, but it represents the genuine readiness and a long-term commitment to promote and involve women and young people in transforming SOEs and develop the best solution for more sustainable and inclusive development within the Ministry and 100 state-owned companies, including their subsidiaries throughout Indonesia. The #GirlsTakeover program had attracted over 7000 participants, and the outcome of the program resulted in recognizing outstanding leadership skills shown by six young women. As one of the #GirlsTakeover finalists, Sharon has had first-hand experience in being part of the high level commitment of the Ministry in promoting women leaders through mentoring, coaching and education programs for women. #GirlsTakeover is also aligned with the Ministry of SOE’s programs to develop women and youth leadership in SOEs, aiming to provide an opportunity for people under 42 to lead and transform SOEs. The target is for young leaders populating 5 percent of all SOEs’ leadership positions by 2021 and 10 percent by 2023. The Ministry facilitated the establishment of Srikandi BUMN (Women of SOEs) and BUMN Muda (Youth of SOEs) communities as strategic partners to implement measures and build support systems to meet the targets. These affirmative actions by SOEs can inspire other private companies and enterprises to support women and youth leadership for a more equal future in our nation. With a full commitment from the Indonesian Government and the business leaders for women and youth leadership, we can contribute to achieving gender equality and pre-condition for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly goals 5 and 10. We believe that promoting women and youth leadership can significantly contribute to the development of a country. Next year, Indonesia will be trusted to host the G20 Summit, which will focus on three pillars: promoting productivity, increasing resilience and stability, and ensuring sustainable and inclusive growth. Evidence has shown that women and men, and young people are inseparable success factors for these pillars. Indonesia cannot deliver success in those pillars by only having men and male and senior leaders. If anything, this crisis teaches us about balance, inclusiveness, and togetherness. Hence, it is important for Indonesia, as the 2022 G20 Presidency, to promote women and youth leadership for an equal world which will contribute to country development performance in gender equality and a significant improvement to global development goals and prosperity. @ErickThohir is Indonesia’s Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs)@SharonFlorencia is a future female leader who took over the Minister of SOEs’ role in the Girls Takeover 2021 campaign organized by Plan Indonesia in collaboration with the Ministry of SOEs, Srikandi BUMN and Indonesia Human Capital Forum.

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Football: PSG sign Kylian Mbappe’s brother Ethan on three-year youth contract

PARIS (REUTERS) - While Paris St Germain sweat over Kylian Mbappe's future at the club, his younger brother Ethan has signed a three-year youth contract until 2024, the Ligue 1 side said on Friday (June 25). Ethan, 15, has played for PSG's youth sides in the past and joins Senny Mayulu in signing for the next three seasons. "Born in 2006, these promising youngsters had until now been playing in the Paris St Germain youth set-up. They are now tied to the club from the capital for three seasons," PSG said in a statement. Kylian is currently on international duty with France at the European Championship and has one year left on his contract, with French President Emmanuel Macron also urging the 22-year-old to stay with PSG and continue playing in Ligue 1.

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Youth unemployment rate climbed higher last year amid Covid-19: MOM report

SINGAPORE - The youth unemployment rate climbed higher last year amid the Covid-19 pandemic, compared with previous downturns, the Ministry of Manpower said on Thursday (June 17), as part of its labour market report for the first quarter. The annual average resident youth unemployment rate hit 10.6 per cent, higher than the 8.8 per cent in the 2009 global financial crisis and the 9.3 per cent in 2003 with the Sars pandemic. MOM said: "This could reflect greater difficulties among youth trying to secure part-time or temporary employment in the retail and food and beverage industries." It added that these sectors were more severely hit by the pandemic, compared with previous recessions. Youth are defined as those aged 15 to 24. About four in 10 youth in employment are in temporary jobs or contract work, the report said. They are mostly students who work on the side. Unemployment rate among youth is also consistently higher than other age groups, reflecting the job search of fresh graduates entering the labour market, for instance, the report said. There is also a higher churn among this age group as they explore various options to find a suitable job. Those who are studying might also frequently move between temporary or part-time jobs. MOM noted that youth unemployment is mostly transitional and short term. The youth long-term unemployment rate last year was still comparable to previous crises. It stood at 1.1 per cent in 2020, similar to the 1.3 per cent recorded in 2003 and the 1 per cent in 2009. Singapore's youth long-term unemployment rate is also one of the lowest when compared with other economies such as France, Britain and Hong Kong, the report showed. The report also studied the proportion of young people who are not in employment, education or training. This reflects the difficulty among youth in finding a job, and their likelihood of being idle economically. The prevalence of youth in such a situation rose to 5.3 per cent last year, compared with 4.5 per cent in 2019. But the report added that this figure remains low, relative to international counterparts. MOM said: "Taken together with Singapore's good international standing in terms of low unemployment and long-term unemployment rates, the favourable labour market outcomes of our youths attest to our quality education and training system." More on this topic   Related Story Fewer teens working part-time last year in S'pore amid pandemic: Survey   Related Story 85% of Singapore youth still optimistic about the future, volunteer group's survey shows

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Star-studded lineup for Youth With You Season3, Dance Mentor LISA returns

Youth With You Season3 is about to on show, the mentor lineup has officially released. LISA, the member of international girl group BLACKPINK, joined again as the dance mentor in this season. Youth With You Season 2 was broadcasted in 2020, which gained high attention overseas, a total of 144 hashtag appeared on Twitter trends more than 429 times, covering Asia, Europe, South America, and North America. Cuts of the show have been listed on YouTube's global and national popular video charts more than 22 times. After participated in Youth With You Season2, the number of LISA's Weibo fans increased by 7.47 million. Many brands notice the commercial value of LISA due to her popularity in China, and have established commercial cooperation with LISA. Youth With You is the first Chinese reality show that LISA joined, she brought a perfect stage performance in the show, also win the audience's attention with her responsible attitude and cute personality. The re-cooperation between LISA and iQIYI is attributed to the results of the previous season that brought both artists and iQIYI to a win-win situation. Youth PD of Youth With You S3 is the well-known musician CHRIS LEE. She has participated as a special guest in the debut night of Youth With You S2, and witness the born of THE9. As a popular celebrity voted by Chinese audience, she is one of representative Chinese idol. She was on the cover of Time Asia, and BBC also have feature story about her. Music mentor is the well-known singer-songwriter Ronghao Li. In Idol Producer and Youth With You, he won praise from trainees and audiences for his professional skills and humor. Will Pan will be the rap mentor for Youth With You S3, he is an influential singer in the area of Chinese music, and deeply loved by young people born in the 90s. Youth With You has helped a batch of outstanding young people who are good at singing and dancing, and has witnessed their growth from trainee to artist. The well-known artist Cai Xukun made his debut through the reality show Idol Producer with millions of fans' attention. And THE9, the most popular girl group in China, also debut in Youth With You S2. Popular members XIN Liu and Esther Yu get millions of passionate following from Southeast Asian fans. The basic information of new trainees have released, some hot trainees already attracted high attention from fans before the show starts. Such as well-known choreographer Jun Liu from Korean dance studio ONE Million, Krystian Wang (member of international group Now United) , and Tony Yu, who participated Korea idol-selection show, and trainees from Chinese famous artist management companies like Yuehua Entertainment, BG Entertainment, STARMASTER. In Youth With You S3, overseas audiences can support trainees by iQIYI app (international version). Let's look forward to the performance of the mentors and trainees in this season. Media contact Company: Beijing Aiqiyi Technology Co., Ltd. Address: 4th Floor, Building C10, Dongyi Media Industrial Park, Gaojing Cultural Park Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing Contact: Ella E-mail: ellajiao315@163.com Website: https://www.iqiyi.com Copyright 2021 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. www.acnnewswire.com

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Hangcheng GBA Youth Entrepreneurship (Employment) Camp: Helping Returning Students Starting Jobs or Own Businesses

SHENZHEN, CHINA, Oct 31, 2020 - (ACN Newswire) - The Greater Bay Area / GBA Youth Entrepreneurship (Employment) Camp, open for only three months, proudly announces success in helping overseas students find jobs and start their own businesses. More than 50 job seekers and entrepreneurs have joined the Camp for consultation and classes, while 16 entrepreneurial teams have settled in. The Camp held activities during this first quarter, talent, entrepreneurship and policy meetings, lectures on intellectual property (IP) and legal ownership, and courses to help prepare graduates and resident teams to solve issues they will encounter as entrepreneurs. At the same time, Hangcheng GBA Youth Entrepreneurship (Employment) Camp has published articles addressing policies, questions and apprehensions, empowering overseas students returnees.To help returning overseas students find jobs, and provide an entrepreneurial environment free of worries, Hangcheng, Bao'an District, Shenzhen established the Hangcheng GBA Youth Entrepreneurship (Employment) Camp. [10/27/20]The Coronavirus outbreak of 2020 brought challenges to all countries; an International Labor Organization survey suggested that one-sixth of the world's young people remain unemployed. The pandemic isn't subsiding, and entrepreneurship and employment are tested to their limits. The employment situation for overseas students is even more worrying: these students cannot return to China and can only stay abroad; all the major enterprises have laid-off workers or reduced their salaries, making it difficult for the most competitive international students to find jobs, or face unemployment. The pandemic has impacted the original supply chain and capital chain for entrepreneurs, dealing many entrepreneurial teams fatal blows.To reverse the social impact of the epidemic, the Chinese government has made employment and entrepreneurship a major task over this and the next few years. Various parts of China have issued favorable policies on employment and entrepreneurship, tried every possible means to stabilize and expand employment, and actively supported the masses' Entrepreneurship and innovation. In terms of talent recruitment, Shenzhen Special Economic Zone has been at the forefront of the country. To help returning overseas students find jobs, and provide an entrepreneurial environment free of worries for returnees, the Hangcheng Sub-district, Bao'an District, Shenzhen, established the Hangcheng GBA Youth Entrepreneurship (Employment) Camp.Bao'an District of Shenzhen is the heartland of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, close to the airport wharf and Bao'an International Airport. Bao'an is an important place of industry and innovation in Shenzhen and Guangdong Province. Bao'an District was selected eighth of the top 100 districts in China, In 2018; on March 4, 2020, Bao'an District ranked in the National Demonstration Base of New Industrialization by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. This is where the Hangcheng GBA Youth Entrepreneurship (Employment) Camp was founded.Bao'an's unique geographical and economic advantages will likely provide even more help for the entrepreneur. For overseas students, the main causes of employment difficulties are the lag of domestic employment news, maladjustment to the domestic environment, and lack of work experience. To assist with these issues, the Hangcheng GBA Youth Entrepreneurship (Employment) Camp, with it's well established services system, provides the following:- Help returning overseas students with an academic degree certification, in the form of settlement introductions, subsidy applications, and other guides;- Resume optimization, interview guidance, career planning, and other help in updating the latest recruitment information in Bao'an District;- Organizing enterprise introductory activities for overseas students to visit key enterprises in Bao'an, so as to help them better integrate into the domestic environment.- Professional policy consultants and senior HR to solve overseas students' employment problems.As for returnee entrepreneurial teams, Hangcheng GBA Youth Entrepreneurship (Employment) Camp will surely become a leading choice to start a business back home. In addition to its Greater Bay Area location, the Hangcheng GBA Youth Entrepreneurship (Employment) Camp can provide 3-6 months of free office space for an entrepreneurial team. The space features a beautiful environment with complete support facilities: Additional to the office area are a reception area, roadshow hall, conference room, multi-function room, and other features. At the same time, it is equipped with a cafe, book bar, gym, and shower room, providing leisure space for entrepreneurs.Free venues for entrepreneurs are provided in the early stage of entrepreneurship. Lectures on policy, business, finance, taxation, and legal affairs and invite experts to answer questions and doubts for entrepreneurs will be held time to time. Cooperation with investment institutions to provide financial support for entrepreneurs' one-on-one investment in the middle stage of entrepreneurship, and match the appropriate follow-up incubation resources for entrepreneurs when the team matures.To know more, please send a CV and project introduction to: bella@hexcubes.comContact: Eve@hexcubes.comTelephone: +86 17603014024Website: https://www.hexcubes.comAddress: Floor 2, Building 2, Baoxing Widsom City, Qianjin No.2 Road, Baoan District, Shenzhen, China Copyright 2020 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. www.acnnewswire.com

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