JCI Yuen Long
Background
JCI Yuen Long was founded in 1977 as a chapter of JCI Hong Kong. It was the first chapter in the New Territories and the first with a strong local character. Its purpose is 「服務社會，訓練自己」. It takes part in community affairs, takes civic responsibility seriously, and works for Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability, with the support of organisations, government departments and community leaders in Yuen Long.
Its flagship, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Outstanding Students Selection, is an annual event in education. It finds able young people, trains tomorrow’s leaders, and asks them to carry that standard on and contribute to Hong Kong.
Projects
- Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Outstanding Students Selection
- 「新春盆菜宴」
Events Overview
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Outstanding Students Selection is JCI Yuen Long’s flagship. It began in 1988 and is an annual event for Hong Kong schools. For the first ten editions, from 1988 to 1998, only secondary schools and prevocational schools in the New Territories could enter. From the eleventh edition in 1999, every secondary and prevocational school in Hong Kong could nominate. Hundreds of entries from schools across the city, thirty years on, show the scale and the standing of the selection.
Its purpose is to equip and raise the next generation of leaders. Selection and the activities around it are meant to wake students’ attention to society and to draw them into improving their community. Marks are not the only test. Character, ability, civic sense and community service count as well, so that students also pursue excellence outside the classroom. Each year’s theme starts a discussion and raises civic awareness. Past themes have included social mobility, innovation and inheritance, active citizenship, and young people’s resilience.
This year’s theme is 「『醫』缽相傳、『智』療香港」. It asks students to look at the development and the pressures of medical care and health in Hong Kong, and to think about how inherited medical skill and new technology can push care forward. Medical knowledge and a humane practice have to be passed on, and technology is opening possibilities that did not exist. Students are encouraged to use insight and creativity, with science as the base and technology as the help, to build a healthier and wiser Hong Kong. The selection also wants to hear what students think and hope for Hong Kong’s economy, and to have them look at it objectively and inventively.
The 38th selection will take this theme as its way in, keep the purpose of previous years, and name ten outstanding students, recognising their study, leadership and service.
To widen young people’s view and deepen exchange between Guangdong and Hong Kong, JCI Yuen Long has just taken a group of student members to Guangzhou for several days. The trip is study, and it is also a bridge across place, culture and ideas, so that Hong Kong young people can feel the pace of the Greater Bay Area and start a lasting friendship with their counterparts in Guangzhou.
Guangzhou is one of the core cities of the Bay Area, with a deep history and a busy inventive life. The tour will visit well-known universities, innovation campuses and cultural landmarks, so that students take something from study, technology and culture. In discussion and joint activities with Guangzhou’s young representatives, they will share how they learn and serve in Hong Kong, and hear what Guangzhou’s young people are doing in enterprise, research and public affairs.
Besides the formal exchange, the programme includes Lingnan architecture, an intangible-heritage craft workshop and Cantonese food. These help students read the city and practise talking across cultures. The tour is meant to stir creative thinking and to strengthen an international outlook and a sense of duty.
An outstanding student should not only chase academic excellence. Leadership, cultural literacy and taking part in society matter as well. Guangzhou gives them a rare platform on which to appreciate difference, respect diversity, and meet the next challenge with a more open mind.
Projects
 Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Outstanding Students Selection |  「新春盆菜宴」 |