Following the inaugural launch of the Equal Opportunity Youth Ambassador Scheme in 2022, the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) is organising the Scheme again this year. An orientation gathering was held today (27 January 2024) to officially kick off the Equal Opportunity Youth Ambassador Scheme 2023/24. The event was attended by EOC Chairperson Mr Ricky CHU Man-kin, Convener of Community Participation and Publicity Committee of the EOC Mr Gary WONG Chi-him, and EOC Member Ms Queenie CHAN Lai-kwan. In addition to sharing the EOC’s vision and work in promoting equal opportunities, a few Youth Ambassadors from the first cohort also shared their experiences at the event.

The EOC introduced the Equal Opportunity Youth Ambassador Scheme to promote the values of diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI) to the younger generation and bring together youth supporters of equal opportunities. The inaugural edition received positive feedback from the Youth Ambassadors. To further promote the values of DEI to young people, the EOC launched the Scheme again for the 2023/24 academic year.

Mr Ricky CHU welcomed the new cohort of Youth Ambassadors at the event. He said, “The response to the Scheme this year was very enthusiastic, as we received close to 170 applications from 18 institutions. After careful consideration of all the applications by an assessment panel, we chose 43 tertiary students to be our new cohort of Youth Ambassadors. They are the future leaders of society and will be the engine of social progress. Through a series of experiential learning and training activities, the EOC hopes to deepen their understanding of equal opportunities, nurture them as advocates for equality, and bring about positive change in society.”

Mr Gary WONG said, "We firmly believe that young people are the future of our society. They possess not only energy but also the power to create and effect change. Through the Scheme, we aim to connect a group of passionate and positive young people who strongly believe in equality and inclusion. We also hope to grow a network of young people who will help us spread the message of equal opportunities to different corners of society, and work towards making our society a more equal and inclusive place.”

In the coming months, the Youth Ambassadors will participate in a series of experiential learning activities, including training with athletes with disabilities, visiting a company that employs people with disabilities and ethnic minorities, joining community multicultural tours, receiving training on combating sexual harassment, and exploring barrier-free communities. Highlights of these activities will be shared on the EOC’s Instagram account, EO Matters (https://www.instagram.com/eo.matters).

For more information, please visit the Scheme’s website: www.eoc.org.hk/youth.

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Equal Opportunities Commission
27 January 2024

Picture shows Mr Ricky CHU, Chairperson of the EOC (front row, fifth from right); Mr Gary WONG Chi-him, Convenor of Community Participation and Publicity Committee of the EOC (front row, fifth from left); Ms Queenie Chan, EOC Member (front row, fourth from left), and Equal Opportunity Youth Ambassadors at the orientation gathering of the Equal Opportunity Youth Ambassador Scheme 2023/24.​​​​​​