Speech by PSLW at Social Sciences Society of HKU
Good evening, Professor Holliday (Incumbent Dean of Social Sciences Faculty, HKU), new executive committee members of the Social Sciences Society, fellow students, ladies and gentlemen,
It gives me great pleasure to come back to my alma mater today and join you in the inauguration ceremony of the Social Sciences Society. This is an important event of the Social Sciences Faculty, an event which I had always looked forward to when I was student here some 30 years ago. At that time, I was like you sitting on the benches and listening to guest speakers deliver their speeches. How time flies! And now I have this great honour to be on stage.
I graduated from this Faculty in 1978 to join the Government. During the past 30 years of service in the public sector, I was given different assignments in various bureaux and departments, some posing greater challenges and some maybe less. But very soon I realized that, in all my different capacities, what I had learnt from my university education as a social science student was extremely useful. I do not want to bore you with an account of my life as a civil servant, but I would like to share with you some of my own feelings and views on youth participation in community affairs.
Some people tend to think that our younger generations are apathetic and uninterested in community affairs. I know this is not true, especially when so many of you are sitting in front of me waiting to serve the new executive committee of the SSS. Our university students today are very energetic and articulate. They still have a strong sense of civic responsibility and care a lot about social issues, like we did in the past. It is only that they might be expressing themselves in different ways, as new modes of social participation by our young people emerge.
In my university days, young people would voice their opinions through writing to newspapers and magazines, or speak up in discussion or concern groups. With globalization and the advancement of information technology, the means and scope of interpersonal communication have undergone drastic changes. There are as many opportunities as we can imagine for young people to participate in community affairs. Phone-in programmes, internet chat-rooms, blogs, you-tube, online news groups, etc. --- all these dynamic and virtual platforms have offered our younger generation a wide range of creative ways to share their views, and not only for the local audience.
As far as the cyberspace may extend, young people can reach out to the international community. The introduction of liberal studies to the school curriculum also helps, as it brings to our youngsters a broadened and worldwide perspective.
This idea of global citizenship is, in fact, one of the core themes advocated by the Social Sciences Faculty at its recent 40th Anniversary celebration. The Faculty seeks to guide our students to become global citizens through enhancing their awareness of what is happening in other parts of the world and encouraging their engagement in international issues. For this reason the Faculty has been working hard to find resources and opportunities for its students to participate in various exchange programmes on the Mainland and overseas.
Social innovation is another theme that the Faculty wishes to pursue. The aim is to instill a sense of social responsibility, and develop social leadership, among the students. For those participating in extra-curricular activities and student associations, you should congratulate yourselves on having such excellent opportunities to develop your potentials as young leaders of our society. Voluntary and community services can also help cultivate your sense of social responsibility. Nowadays, there are numerous volunteering opportunities open to you, locally and in disadvantaged communities abroad. I know, for instance, that some 20 students from the Faculty will have a chance to visit refugee camps in Thailand and to teach English there in the coming summer. This is no doubt a precious chance for you to have a first-hand understanding of the lives of people in need; and more importantly, how you, as a responsible global citizen, can help.
As the saying goes, young people are the pillars of our society. You have your dreams and ambitions, and the will to make them come true. Do you also have the passion to drive the development of our society? The community has invested a lot of its time and resources in you, providing you with an enriched environment to facilitate your development, and vesting in you the power to change the world. It is up to you to contribute yourself in turn. You are all brilliant students who have excelled in your academic pursuits and extra curricular activities, and I believe that your intelligence and your experience in serving the SSS will help you make Hong Kong, and perhaps the world, a better place to live.
Today is a remarkable milestone for you, because it signifies your readiness to take on greater responsibilities as leaders of the SSS and as citizens actively participating in community affairs. As an alumnus of the Faculty, I wish our Faculty and the SSS every success, and all of you a fruitful Year of the Rat.
Thank you.
ends