Govt Launches Drive For More Young Talent

The government on Friday invited young people between 18 and 35 years old to nominate themselves to join a host of government boards and advisory bodies, as it steps up its drive to encourage more young people to get involved in politics.

Applicants will be given the next month to write letters, or send audio or video clips to apply for seats on ten committees covering a wide range of policy areas from sports, to sustainable development and the rehabilitation of offenders.

There will be two such recruitment drives per year, in an expansion of a pilot scheme launched last October that attracted more than a thousand applicants.

The new scheme, dubbed the ‘Member Self-recommendation Scheme for Youth (MSSY)’ aims to increase the overall ratio of young members on government boards and committees from 8.6 percent to 15 percent within the term of the current government, or by 2022.

Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung Kin-chung said in a statement that the government wants to address the concerns of the younger generation, and is eager to give young people “more opportunities to participate in public affairs so that the government can better understand their views and suggestions and take them into account.”

Applicants will be vetted for their suitability, and the government is aiming to complete the first recruitment exercise in the final quarter of this year.