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matters such as education, the economy, employment, and culture, as China's world stature continues to grow. Representatives of youth groups in Guangzhou and Macao also attended the summit. The proposals put forward at the summit were forwarded to the commission, the Government, and other concerned parties.

The commission also organised a cross-sector Youth Development Conference to define the aims and direction of developmental youth work.

The commission continued updating the report, Youth in Hong Kong — A Statistical Profile 2003, which provides a broad range of data and useful material on matters such as poverty, substance abuse, unemployment, human capital, cultural capital and social capital.

To follow up on the findings of the first-ever benchmarking survey of the civic engagements and social networks of Hong Kong's young people, a further study to track the accumulation and development of social capital of Hong Kong's youth is under way.

The commission continued to implement youth programmes to bring out and cultivate young people's potential. These included the International Youth Exchange Programme aimed at broadening young people's outlook and world perspective. During the year, four groups comprising 63 youth delegates visited Britain, Ireland, Japan and Singapore under the programme. The commission played host to 39 young people from Britain, Ireland and Japan who made reciprocal visits to Hong Kong.

The commission continued to run the Community Participation Scheme for Organising Study Tours to the Mainland to enhance young people's awareness and understanding of their home country, foster exchange with Mainland people and strengthen their sense of national identity. In 2006, the commission sponsored 171 study tours to the Mainland.

The Charter for Youth spells out clearly the principles and ideals of youth development.

Home pages

Education and Manpower Bureau: www.emb.gov.hk

Home Affairs Bureau: www.hab.gov.hk