A youth think tank on Monday called on the government to regularly hold a “youth uniformed group day” to raise awareness and break stereotypes about such groups. Youth I.D.E.A.S, under the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, said it recently surveyed 1,001 people aged 12 to 26 and most respondents said they believe joining a uniformed group helps improve teamwork, discipline and a sense of responsibility. The survey also found that almost 55 percent of the respondents were current or former members of a uniformed group. Among those who had never joined a uniformed group, the main reasons cited were that they participated in other extracurricular activities, were worried about the time commitment or felt that it wasn’t required by their schools. Kelly Cheng from the think tank said many people have a limited understanding of uniformed groups. “So they may not encourage their children to join the uniformed groups, but we think it will be important to have different channels for youngsters to explore their potential. So one of our suggestions would be to have a regular uniformed group day so as to let the public know more of what exactly the uniformed groups can serve and can connect to a community,” she said. Cheng said a regular uniformed group day would also give young people a chance to serve the community and utilise their skills, such as teaching people about first aid and sharing health tips. Hong Kong has 19 community and government youth uniformed groups with about 280,000 members between them. The government said in its Youth Development Blueprint two years ago that it planned to get more young people to join such groups.
