A group photo of the WAY’s newly-elected leadership team, including President Soheila Hayek of YMCA Lebanon (centre), Deputy President Ronald Yam of the Association (right) and Treasurer Cici Rojas of the YMCA of the USA (left).
Cover Story
The 20th YMCA World Council Comes to a Perfect End
Hon. Treasurer Ronald Yam Elected World YMCA Deputy President
Mr. Ronald Yam (third from right), Dr. Bonson Lee Hing-wai, Deputy General Secretary (second from right), Ms. Carman Wong Yiu-yu, Executive Secretary (first from left), Dr. Jenny Tang Sau-man, Aide to the General Secretary of Administration Office (first from right), and two student volunteers from the Association attended the YMCA World Council and met with staff and volunteers from other national YMCAs in Denmark.
The 20th YMCA World Council was held from 3-9 July in Denmark. Its theme, “Ignite”, intended to connect with young people and bring new hope and motivation to the world. More than 2,100 attendees were registered – 1,100+ in person, 1,000+ online and a total of 70 movements – making it the largest and most inclusive World Council yet.
Mr. Ronald T.F. Yam, the Honorary Treasurer of Chinese YMCA of Hong Kong (the Association), who had just completed his term as World YMCA Treasurer, was elected to be the new Deputy President at the World Alliance of YMCAs (WAY) Leadership Election held during the Council on July 5. We congratulate Mr. Yam with all our hearts and trust that he will take the World YMCA movement to new heights during the next four years.
Mr. Ronald Yam, the new Deputy President (right), presented an art piece to Ms. Patricia Pelton, the former President (middle), and Mr. Agustin Garcia Bolanos Cacho, the former Deputy President (left), at the end of the World Council, expressing gratitude for their past contributions.
With the seven-day World Council successfully concluded, the Association plans to give full support to the YMCA’s Vision 2030. The Vision, announced by Mr. Carlos Sanvee, Secretary General of the World YMCA, consists of four core pillars: Community Wellbeing, Meaningful Work, Sustainable Planet, and Just World, and prompts us to act on ESG principles and develop a sustainable society through the Christian spirit of “to serve, not to be served”.
What’s New
Social Enterprise YM HAIR is Now Open for Business!
Rev. Timothy Fung of Shatin Baptist Church (Ma On Shan) (second from right); Dr. Jim Hui Yik-piu, Acting Assistant Chief Social Services Officer (centre); Ms. Shirley Sham Wai-yee, Coordinating Secretary (second from left); Mr. Vikki Chung, a barber instructor (first from right), and the young hairstylist representative (first from left).
Our newest social enterprise, YM HAIR, officially opened for business on 17 June. Several guests of honour attended the opening of the new hair salon: Rev. Timothy Fung of Shatin Baptist Church (Ma On Shan); Dr. Jim Hui Yik-piu, Acting Assistant Chief Social Services Officer of the Association; Ms. Shirley Sham Wai-yee, Coordinating Secretary of the Association; Mr. Vikki Chung, a barber instructor, and some young hairstylists. The event concluded with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and a closing prayer led by Rev. Fung.
After a live haircut demonstration, the young hairstylists talked about how this new enterprise has transformed them. One of the stylists, Cliff, lacked goals and direction in life before he discovered his passion for hairstyling. He told the guests, “Hairstyles give people self-confidence. That’s what attracted me to hairstyling, and I love sharing this happiness with others.” He hopes that YM HAIR will give him more chances to hone his techniques.
The young hairstylists showed off their sophisticated techniques at the opening of YM HAIR.
The story of YM HAIR began in 2015, when the Association’s Shatin Youth Outreaching Social Work Team invited young people to form a volunteer group providing free haircuts. So far, they have given haircuts to 600 people. During the pandemic, demand for simple haircuts began to soar. In 2021, the Team secured start-up funding from the Home Affairs Department’s “Enhancing Self-Reliance Through District Partnership Programme” and set up YM HAIR in Shek Mun, aiming to provide residents with high-quality haircuts for low prices while delivering professional and heart-warming customer service at the same time.
YM HAIR is led by a team of young and energetic hairstylists including William, the shop manager (second from left), Kelvin, Cliff and Yui (first, third and fourth from left, respectively).
Apart from offering haircuts in the salon, the YM HAIR hairstylists travel to hostels and service units to give basic haircuts to the needy. YM HAIR also organises training and apprenticeship programmes, offering young people professional skills training and a career path into the hair industry. If you have any enquiries or would like to collaborate with YM HAIR, don’t hesitate to contact Mr. Chung Ka-ming at Shatin Outreach on 2693 5097.
To encourage organisations and educational institutions to take “Sport-friendly Action” for the physical and psychological wellbeing of their staff, the Association is putting on a Charity 3 on 3 Basketball Competition. The funds raised, after expenses have been deducted, will be put towards sponsoring free basketball training sessions for children in grassroots families.
We cordially invite organisations and colleges to register for this competition – this will help them fulfil their corporate social responsibility and promote a physically active and healthy lifestyle to all staff and stakeholders. The Association will arrange pre-game training routines for participating teams in July and August with a certified basketball coach at our Wu Kwai Sha Youth Village. Registration will close on 12 August, so click here to submit your entry today!
Date
12 Sep 2022 (Mon)
Time
9:00 am - 5:30 pm
Venue
Wu Kwai Sha Youth Village
Application Fee
Men's Team
Women’s Team
Normal
$6000 (Competition)
$15000 (Competition & Training)
$4500 (Competition)
$13500 (Competition & Training)
Discount for Sport-Friendly Action Awarded Corporates
$4,000 (Competition)
$10,000 (Competition & Training)
$2,500 (Competition)
$8,500 (Competition & Training)
For more details, please see this document or contact the Secretariat of our Sport-friendly Action campaign at 2783 3347 (Mr. Leung) or 2783 3483 (Mr. Yeung).
Programme Highlights
Study on Youth Mental Health and Internet Usage Habits
Ms. Phoebe See Man-yan, Coordinating Secretary (centre); Mr. Ng Pui-him, Assistant Principal Programme Secretary (left); and Counsellor Bean Ma Hing-man (right), shared professional advice with parents and schools at the press conference.
In May, the Association’s Jordan Centre conducted a survey of 1,184 students, ranging in age from Primary Five to Form Three, hoping to understand the correlation between their mental health and their internet usage during the fifth COVID-19 wave. The findings revealed that these students spent more time online, in addition to ordinary school learning time – especially during holidays. Over 30% of these students also experienced mild to serious levels of emotional distress, and the longer they spent online, the worse their mental health appeared to be.
Two young people attended the press conference and spoke about the changes in their mental health and online habits during the fifth COVID-19 wave.
To present these findings, Ms. Phoebe See Man-yan, the Coordinating Secretary; Mr. Ng Pui-him, Assistant Principal Programme Secretary; and Mr. Bean Ma Hing-man, a counsellor from our Counselling Unit, held a press conference on June 26. They shared professional advice with parents and schools, and two teenagers spoke, which received a lot of media coverage. The Association suggested providing “psychological antibodies” as a way to relieve young people’s emotional stress, and advised parents to spend more time with their children and encourage them to take part in community activities, as this will widen their social circle and improve their physical and psychological health.
Click hereto explore the report and read our advice.
“Be a Global Citizen Campaign” Awards Presentation Ceremony 2021-22
57 people were honoured at “Be a Global Citizen Campaign” Award Presentation Ceremony this year.
In an ever-changing world, the Association’s passion for building up young people remains strong. The pandemic caused the new normal of living in our society while the ways to connect with the world were seemingly narrowed down. The pandemic might have closed the door on physical meet-ups, it also opened a new window of opportunity with the use of internet. Youths could get connected and meet with peers from around the world through the online activities organized by our service units.
Mr. Andy Tsang Wai-hung, Chairman of “Be a Global Citizen Campaign” Steering Committee gave a speech at the conferment ceremony.
This year’s Be a Global Citizen Campaign Awards Presentation Ceremony was held online on 25 June, with 18 Gold awards, 7 Silver awards and 32 Bronze awards given out to the best-performing students. Mr. Andy Tsang Wai-hung, Chairman of the campaign’s Steering Committee and Mr. Philip Poon, Chairman of the Social Services Committee and Vice President of the Association, gave speeches to congratulate the awardees and encouraged students to shoulder the responsibility of being a global citizen; advising them to look beyond the horizon when going through rough patches, care for society, and ensure they are making difference to their future and the future of those around them.
To encourage organisations and educational institutions to take “Sport-friendly Action” for the physical and psychological wellbeing of their staff, the Association is putting on a Charity 3 on 3 Basketball Competition. The funds raised, after expenses have been deducted, will be put towards sponsoring free basketball training sessions for children in grassroots families.
