Youth leadership training in Hong Kong: Current developments and the way ahead

Abstract

This study explicates the intervention goals, domains and strategies of youth leadership training programmes in Hong Kong using data collected on the Internet. The results show that youth leadership training programmes in Hong Kong are designed and organised to achieve five goals: (1) helping young people to achieve positive development and cultivate their leadership potential, (2) enhancing the ability of young people to form interpersonal relationships and engage in team-building, (3) encouraging young people to participate in community affairs and social services, (4) fostering a national identity and a deeper understanding of the mother country and (5) equipping young people with an international outlook. These goals are achieved through five inter-related training domains, including the personal, interpersonal, community, national and international domains. The intervention strategies currently used in these programmes comprise experiential learning, adventure-based training, service learning, non-local exposure and project-based competition strategies. The characteristics of the leadership training programmes and their implications for the future development of policy and practice in Hong Kong are also discussed. © 2012 Taylor & Francis.