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.

Keywords:

• youth
• youth development
• leadership
• leadership training
• civic education

Introduction

In Hong Kong, youth is defined as the ages between 15 and 24. However, the age range can be adjusted by up to five years either way for practical reasons. Young people are viewed as precious assets and the future leaders of society. They are at a transitional stage between childhood and adulthood when care, support and encouragement are essential to help them develop a mature personality, foster a sense of responsibility and make a contribution (Commission on Youth, 2011). Youth leadership training is a type of non-formal education designed to nurture young people with the positive qualities needed to become contributing members of society (Commission on Youth, 2000). Although the local literature on the subject focuses on assessing the needs and social contexts of leadership development (Leung, 1996; Mok, 2000) and on evaluating the outcomes of particular programmes (Chan, 2000; Lee & Yim, 2004), few attempts have been made to review and analyse the overall development of youth leadership training. Although the Commission on Youth in Hong Kong conducted a large-scale survey of this area in 2000, some of its findings may no longer reflect the current situation. For example, the study focused on examining the leadership training programmes run by youth service centres, schools and uniformed groups, but did not mention the programmes organised by junior chambers, political organisations and organisations at the district level. Furthermore, it showed that only a handful of the programmes aimed to help young people understand the mother country, but in fact increasing opportunities are being provided for young people to visit and exchange with agencies in mainland China due to the increasing integration of the two regions (Ng, 2003). These limitations restrict the understanding of current developments in and the future directions of local youth leadership training. This study therefore attempts to explicate this area based on more up-to-date information on leadership training programmes obtained from the Internet.

Leadership training has become a popular concept in the development of youth policies, services and programmes in Hong Kong. Youth leadership development and related training programmes have received much attention from the government, non-governmental organisations and the public alike, because such programmes shift the focus from remedying youth deficits to nurturing their unique talents and preparing them for full participation in the community and society. According to Skidmore (1990), leadership ‘refers to the capacity or skills to influence relationships with others so that they will follow the path taken by the leader’ (p. 120). As for the concept of training, Armstrong (1999) defines it as the ‘systematic modification of behavior through learning which occurs as a result of education, instruction, development, and planned experience’ (p. 507). Thus youth leadership training is defined as a systematic and effective learning process and experience through a planned activity or series of activities designed to help young people to grow, modify their values, attitudes and behaviour, learn knowledge and skills, develop competences and improve their performance.

In recent years, youth leadership training has become increasingly popular in various societies for three reasons. First, young people are the most significant asset of society. They reflect and mirror many of the cherished beliefs, values and ideals of the previous generation, while at the same time creating and advancing new perspectives that bring about dramatic social transformation (Edginton, Kowalski, & Randall, 2005). As young people are the leaders of tomorrow, it is an important task for society to help them develop their competence, cultivate civic responsibility and social commitment, and channel their vision toward the positive qualities of humanity (Commission on Youth, 2000).

Second, the nurturing of leadership among young people is a path to prosperity for a modern society. The effects of globalisation have generated intense concern over how countries and cities can improve the quality of human resources in response to the new political, economic, and social circumstances, and the keenly competitive global environment (Brown, 1997). Hong Kong is no exception. If Hong Kong is to thrive in the era of globalisation and sustain its economic growth, then it must make it a fundamental policy to foster young people to become future leaders and help them to realise their potential, become involved in community affairs, and expand their international horizons with a view to enhancing the territory's competitiveness and exploring new directions for its future development (Mok, 2000).

Third, young people have a natural capacity for leadership. Whether consciously or unconsciously, most of them take on leadership roles and participate in leadership processes in civic life at school, in the workplace, in the community and in society. These leadership roles may be formal positions infused with authority that allow young people to be involved in decision-making processes and management, or they may be informal roles performed in various social groups (Velsor & McCauley, 2004). According to Linden and Fertman (1998), all adolescents have leadership potential. However, they also posit that leadership is a set of attitudes, knowledge and skills that all adolescents can develop and improve according to their own characteristics (London, 2002). Those who have strong leadership traits and a strong ability to solve problems can learn and grow in ways that help them to assume leadership roles and engage in leadership processes more effectively. Those who are labelled ‘problematic’ or ‘under-achieving’ in their families and schools can move forward from their feelings of stigmatisation and hopelessness to develop a more positive self-concept through the re-affirmation of their leadership potential.

Numerous overseas and local research studies have verified the effectiveness of leadership training programmes. Sogunro (1997) examined the effect of a youth leadership training programme on participants and found that their knowledge and skills increased and their attitudes positively changed as a result of the workshop. Lee and Yim (2004) evaluated a leadership training group for secondary students, and noted an improvement in the group members in terms of self-understanding, interpersonal communication, decision-making, group maintenance and leadership practice. A study conducted by Chan (2000) also reported that student participants rated themselves as having more qualities, characteristics or abilities related to leadership after undergoing leadership training. Nirenberg (2003) further pointed out that leadership education can help young people to achieve five levels of development, namely, (1) mastering oneself through learning the techniques, skills, language and rationale of leadership; (2) mastering relationships through personal development and skills practice; (3) mastering team leadership by acquiring interpersonal and organisational skills; (4) mastering organisational leadership by establishing visions, missions and values; and (5) establishing a legacy or purpose through the articulation of and commitment to meaning.

Nevertheless, although the aforementioned literature takes into account the personal, interpersonal and organisational levels of leadership development, it makes little reference to how leaders can be nurtured to acquire an enriched sense of social responsibility and citizenship (Gibson & Pason, 2003; Mok, 2000). Claus and Ogden (1999) also pointed out that leadership training should provide young people with an opportunity to address and reflect on significant regional and global issues, help them to rethink their lifestyles and roles in society, and prepare them to work for valuable social change. Thus, although a number of theories and research findings have been advanced, the gaps in the relevant literature prevent a thorough understanding of holistic leadership development training for the new generation. Using Hong Kong as an example, this study explores how the government, voluntary agencies, the business sector and political parties can strive to provide multidimensional leadership training programmes to cultivate the talents of young people.

Method

The study involved a search on the Internet for programme materials related to the current development of youth leadership training in Hong Kong, using the terms ‘Hong Kong’ and ‘youth leadership training’. By investigating the data on the Internet, it should be possible to discover how leadership-training programmes are defined and identify the common practices among youth leadership schemes in Hong Kong. The websites of different programme operators such as government departments, uniformed groups, junior chambers, political organisations and voluntary organisations at the district level were browsed to assess how governmental and non-governmental organisations describe the objectives, domains and strategies of leadership development. The information represents the current development of youth leadership training in Hong Kong and how government departments, non-governmental organisations, the business sector and political sphere respond to this issue.

Although many of the programmes conducted by these programme operators seem to relate to youth leadership training, only those with clear goals and detailed information were chosen for review and analysis. A total of 38 programme operators offering leadership training activities for young people were selected as the sample organisations for the study using the criteria associated with: (1) youth leadership development, such as personal development, interpersonal relationships, team building, community participation, national identity and international horizons; and (2) training strategies, such as experiential learning, adventure-based training, service learning, non-local exposure and project-based competition. The information on the leadership training programmes was retrieved, reviewed and analysed in August 2007 (see Table 1). The programme operators can be grouped into the following six categories.

1.	Government departments (Social Welfare Department, Education Bureau, Leisure and Cultural Services Department, Junior Police Call). Table 1 Youth leadership training in Hong Kong. Objectives and domains Strategies Programme operator Programme Personal development Interpersonal relationships/ team building Community participation National identity International horizons Lecture/ workshop Visit/ exchange Service learning Adventure/ wilderness training Internship Competition Government departments 1 Social Welfare Department Volunteer Movement V 2 Junior Police Call JPC Leadership V V V V V V 3 Education Bureau The Youth Learning Project on Pacific Economic Cooperation V V V V 4 Leisure and Cultural Services Department Muse Teens Youth Leadership Award Scheme V V V V Uniformed groups 1 Salvation Army Youth Leadership Training V V V V V V 2 Scout Association of Hong Kong Youth Leadership Training V V V V V V 3 Hong Kong Girl Guides Association Youth Leadership Training V V V V V V V 4 Hong Kong Red Cross Volunteer Service V V V 5 Hong Kong Sea Cadet Corps Training Scheme V V V V V V 6 Boys' Brigade Hong Kong Youth Leadership Training V V V V V V 7 Girls' Brigade Hong Kong Youth Leadership Training V V V V V V 8 Hong Kong Air Cadet Corps Training Scheme V V V V V 9 Hong Kong Adventure Corps Training Scheme V V V V V 10 St. John Ambulance Training Scheme V V V 11 Hong Kong Road Safety Association Training Scheme V V Voluntary agencies 1 Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups Leadership 21 V V V V V V V 2 Agency for Volunteer Service Volunteer Service V V V V 3 Breakthrough Leadership Academy V V V V 4 Hong Kong New Generation Cultural Association Leadership Training V V V V V 5 Boys and Girls Clubs Association of Hong Kong Youth Leadership Training V V V V V V 6 Hong Kong Playground Association Youth Exchange and Development Center V V V V V V V V 7 Hok Yau Club Potential Development Center V V V V V V 8 Hong Kong Youth Association Volunteer Leadership Training V V V V 9 Hong Kong Caritas Volunteer Award Scheme V V V 10 Hong Kong Family Welfare Society Volunteer Service V V V V 11 Outward Bound Leadership Training V V V 12 Hong Kong Award for Young People Award Scheme V V V V V Junior chambers 1 Junior Chamber International Hong Kong JCIHK Training Institute V V V V V 2 Victoria Junior Chamber   V V V V V 3 Lionrock Junior Chamber   V V V V V 4 City Junior Chamber   V V V V V 5 Hong Kong Jayceettes Junior Chamber V V V V V Organizations at the district level 1 Hong Kong Youths Unified Association Youth Cohesion V V 2 Sham Ching Youth Association Leadership Training no information V V V 3 New Youth Forum Leadership Training V V V V V 4 Yau Tsim Mong Youth Association Volunteer Service V V V V Political parties 1 Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong Young DAB V V V V V 2 Civic Party Young Civics V V V V V V Note: ‘V’ denotes that the programme operators offer leadership-training activities in line with this objective, domain or strategy.
2.	Uniformed groups (Salvation Army, Scout Association of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Girl Guides Association, Hong Kong Red Cross, St. John Ambulance, Hong Kong Road Safety, Hong Kong Air Cadet Corps, Hong Kong Sea Cadet Corps, Hong Kong Adventure Corps, Boys' Brigade Hong Kong, Girls' Brigade Hong Kong).
3.	Voluntary agencies (Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, Agency for Volunteer Service, Breakthrough, Hong Kong New Generation Cultural Association, Boys and Girls Clubs Association of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Playground Association, Hok Yau Club, Hong Kong Youth Association, Hong Kong Caritas, Hong Kong Family Welfare Society, Outward Bound, Hong Kong Award for Young People).
4.	Junior chambers (Junior Chamber International Hong Kong, Victoria Junior Chamber, Lion Rock Junior Chamber, City Junior Chamber, Hong Kong Jayceettes Junior Chamber).
5.	Organisations at the district level (Hong Kong Youths Unified Association, Sham Ching Youth Association, New Youth Forum, Yau Tsim Mong Youth Association).
6.	Political organisations (Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, Civic Party).

The analyses of the data involved three steps. First, we identified all information relevant to youth leadership training on the websites of the selected programme operators. Second, the relevant information provided by the programme operators on the Internet was coded and categorised by important themes, statements or phrases for inductive inquiry and comparison, such as the intervention goals, domains and strategies of the programmes. Third, we examined each category and cited representative projects and programme information to describe the current developments and future directions of youth leadership training in Hong Kong.

Results

Goals

The goals frequently mentioned in the information on youth leadership training programmes in Hong Kong include: (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) expanding young people's international horizons. Hence, the primary aim of youth leadership training is not necessarily to train young people to be leaders. Rather, the training is intended to nurture leadership qualities to enhance the responsibility and competence of youth in a pro-social way. As such, the training is relevant to all youth, with the premise that every youth is capable of adopting a leadership role in one way or another.

The data indicate that most programme operators aim to achieve multiple goals, which reflect the holistic approach to youth leadership development in Hong Kong. They tend to believe that a positive self-image is the key to good mental health, positive emotional self-regulation and sound coping skills. Armed with an optimistic self-image, young people can discover their own strengths, develop confidence and the motivation to succeed, and seek various resources to overcome difficulties. Young people who develop such qualities are more likely to engage in activities that provide them with the opportunity to learn, communicate, and interact with others effectively. As adults, they will have a greater capacity to take part in civic life in their community and society, which requires a mature personality, interpersonal skills and team-building abilities. With a spirit of community participation, they are more likely to cherish their national identity. Those who become outstanding leaders in personal, interpersonal, community and national domains will be more aware of the international arena and try to position themselves within it.

Domains

Whereas goals can be regarded as the outcomes sought by the programme operators, and are usually broad and abstract in nature, domains tend to be more specific and concrete in terms of activities. In line with the aforementioned goals, the data reveal five inter-related domains of leadership training for young people, including the personal, interpersonal, community, national and international domains.

Personal development receives more attention in certain youth leadership training programmes than in others. For instance, the Hong Kong Air Cadet Corps (2007) ran aviation education programmes such as ‘operation flying eagle’ and ‘corporate citizenship programme’ designed to help young people enhance their self-confidence, cultivate a sense of responsibility and realise their potential to be outstanding leaders, and Outward Bound (2007) offered ‘classic outward bound courses’, ‘leadership and team development programme’, ‘weekend sails’ and ‘youth sea courses’ to strengthen the decision-making, coping and problem-solving skills of young people. In fact, most of the programme operators state that the main objectives of their training programmes are to help young people foster a positive self-image, affirm their competences and cultivate their interests and abilities.

The interpersonal domain highlights the fact that leadership roles and processes are by their nature interpersonal, which implies that effective leaders need to make constructive connections with other people. As such, some programme operators, particularly the uniformed groups and voluntary agencies, place a great deal of emphasis on improving young people's interpersonal skills and team-building abilities. They acknowledge that the heart of leadership lies in getting others to cooperate, in dealing with complex power and influence issues, and in helping to solve relationship problems. To execute these tasks, young people need to learn to make full use of their language, gestures, communication skills, team-building skills, and negotiation and mediation skills. For example, the M4 Project (which refers to the four ‘M's of people management, task management, time management and crisis management), organised by the Salvation Army (2007), and the Y2K Youth Leadership Training Project, organised by the Boys and Girls Club Association of Hong Kong (2007), both aimed to train young people to work with others by setting group goals and regulations and assigning authority and powers to deal with group dynamics.

The community domain denotes that many programme operators, and specifically government departments, voluntary agencies and junior chambers, emphasise the importance of creating opportunities for young people to take part in volunteer services and community programmes. These services and programmes provide real experiences that help young people to develop an improved sense of community and prepare them to participate more in social affairs. In making contact with diverse social groups, young people can generate awareness of important social issues and acknowledge their own social responsibility. The Agency for Volunteer Service (2007) mobilised and facilitated individuals, groups and organisations to run a volunteer service in partnership with various sectors of the local community. Similarly, the Junior Chamber International Hong Kong (2007) formed a community concern group to address issues regarding public policy, and ran community programmes such as the ‘Better Hong Kong, Together We Care Project’ with the aim of contributing to the betterment of the community.

The national domain emphasises the fostering of young people's national identity by means of national educational activities. The return of Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty on 1 July 1997 prompted a change in the previous colonial government's principle of de-politicising formal and informal education. Young people are now encouraged to gain knowledge and understanding of the motherland and traditional Chinese culture. Many leadership training programmes now regard fostering a national identity as one of the main domains for intervention. As shown in Table 1, some voluntary agencies, political organisations and social organisations at the district level strive to cultivate in young people a sense of belonging to the country and pride in being a Chinese person. For example, the Hong Kong Playground Association (2007) set up the Youth Exchange and Development Center and the Exchange Embassy to organise national education programmes for young people. However, although there is increasing interest in the promotion of national education among young people, the findings suggest that it is not considered to be as pivotal as the other domains.

As Hong Kong is a cosmopolitan city combining both Chinese and Western cultures and is an international financial centre in the Asia-Pacific region, it is strongly interconnected with the political, social and economic systems beyond its borders. Hong Kong thus needs a large pool of high-quality people who have had international exposure. Young people today enjoy an ever-accelerating pace of communication through the World Wide Web. However, they also need advanced knowledge, opportunities for reflection and real-life experiences. Hence, the Hong Kong government, some non-governmental organisations, and the junior chambers all accentuate expanding young people's international horizons and helping them become aware of global and cross-cultural issues. For instance, the Youth Learning Project on Pacific Economic Cooperation 2007 ran a series of seminars that were jointly organised with the Hong Kong Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation and the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups (Education Bureau, 2007; Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, 2007), which aimed to help young people discern the challenges and opportunities presented by globalisation and regional cooperation, the development of financial and trade markets, and the exploration of human resources in the coming era. However, it seems that this domain remains a lower priority for some programme operators compared with the domains that deal with enhancing personal and interpersonal development and community participation.

Strategies

The findings show that a variety of strategies are used to achieve the goals of leadership development, including experiential learning, adventure-based training, service learning, non-local exposure and project-based competition (see Table 1). It should be noted that these strategies are not mutually exclusive, but are usually integrated to a certain extent. Although they differ in the means of task performance adopted, they all represent attempts by the programme operators to cultivate youth leadership in the twenty-first century.

In terms of experiential learning, the data indicate that lectures or workshops are a common format for local leadership training programmes. The ways in which these lectures or workshops are conducted range on a continuum from didactic learning at one end to experiential learning at the other. In the past, youth leadership training tended to emphasise a didactic learning approach, whereby trainers and professionals delivered talks to participants. Nowadays, however, a variety of means are used to acquaint participants with the various concepts and perspectives of leadership development. Current instruction formats include interactive lectures, video and film clips, simulation exercises, games, group discussions and project-based assignments. Most of the programmes are founded on the belief that learning must include direct experiences. For instance, the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups initiated the ‘Hong Kong 200 Project’ in 2006, which recruited 200 young people to participate in a comprehensive leadership-training programme that included lectures, projects, interviews with renowned local leaders and practical exercises (Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, 2007).

Adventure-based training as a type of experiential learning is predicated on the belief that change occurs by taking small controlled steps outside one's comfort zone. Adventure or wilderness training, which emphasises taking participants out of their familiar environments and immersing them in situations that are new and challenging, are thus effective means of leadership nurturing (Priest & Gass, 1997). Such training programmes require participants to be motivated in terms of energy, involvement, responsibility and self-reflection. Outward Bound is among the most renowned of the organisations conducting adventure training and wilderness training in Hong Kong. According to this organisation, adventure-based training offers young people the opportunity to take on the responsibility of leading a group in demanding situations with real consequences. By developing a supportive atmosphere that enables positive and constructive feedback, young people have the opportunity to evaluate how others view their leadership style (Outward Bound, 2007).

Service learning is given a high priority in leadership training programmes in Hong Kong. Programme operators, including uniformed groups, voluntary agencies, organisations at the district level and even political parties, perceive that volunteer services offer significant learning experiences for young people. The Hong Kong Family Welfare Society (2007) and the Hong Kong Playground Association (2007) both aim to equip youth participants with the essential attitudes, knowledge and skills to provide services to people in need, such as children and young people in disadvantaged circumstances, senior citizens in deprived communities and new immigrants. Participants are also encouraged to express their opinions in the decision-making process and to management regarding the provision of volunteer services. The trainers facilitate discussion and critical reflection on the design of programmes and the delivery of services, and on the problems and needs of the disadvantaged communities being served (Ngai, 2006). Some organisations also run programmes for young people to serve in remote areas of mainland China. For example, the Hong Kong Youth Association (2007) trained young people to provide a teaching service for children who live in the hills of Qingyuan in Guangdong Province.

Non-local exposure aims to train young people to see things from a wider perspective. The data show that a wide variety of visits and exchanges with agencies in mainland China and overseas are available for young people in Hong Kong, with a view to deepening their understanding of the motherland and expanding their international horizons. Through these programmes, young people can gain first-hand knowledge of a different culture, understand traditions, build connections with people around the world, learn from new perspectives and enjoy new experiences. For instance, the Sham Ching Youth Association (2007) and the Yau Tsim Mong Youth Association (2007) organised visits to Shanghai and Shandong to help young people understand the rapid economic and social developments in mainland China. Internship is also a means of nurturing leadership. The Hong Kong Government's Leisure & Cultural Services Department (2007) offers young people opportunities to work in temporary positions that allow them to experience different fields, evaluate their interest in a particular career and develop social networks.

Project-based competitions provide a forum for young people to engage in projects and share their results with other participants and the public, exchange ideas and improve their communication skills, all of which facilitate the development of youth leadership. For example, the Youth Learning Project on Pacific Economic Cooperation (Education Bureau, 2007) held a competition that encouraged young people to form their own teams to illustrate their views on Pacific economic cooperation. Participants selected a topic pertaining to community development, regional cooperation, the financial market or trade collaboration, and submitted a research report to compete for a prize.

Discussion

Although the findings of this study are derived from a review and analysis of the youth leadership programme information on the Internet, they nevertheless provide a knowledge base for understanding youth leadership training in Hong Kong and for determining its future directions. According to the findings, there are many areas that the government and programme operators could follow up to facilitate the development of policies and training activities for the future development of youth leaders. The most salient points are highlighted as follows.

The findings on youth leadership training programmes in Hong Kong show that programme operators place more emphasis on the themes of self-enhancement, interpersonal relationships and volunteer service than on themes relating to national and international activities. Due to rapid changes in economic, social, national and international conditions, it is doubtful whether the current programmes are adequate and effective in cultivating local talent to suit the changing macro-environment, especially as the goals and domains for nurturing leadership are somewhat narrow in scope at present (Leung, 1996; Mok, 2000). The Hong Kong government and the programme operators may need to review the current themes of youth leadership training programmes to ensure they provide young people with balanced leadership development activities that enhance not only their personal growth, but also their national and international perspectives.

Nurturing youth leadership can be achieved through a number of intervention strategies. The findings show that experiential learning, adventure-based training and service-learning strategies are more frequently employed than non-local exposure and project-based competition strategies. Nevertheless, overseas or non-local exchange programmes, internships and project competitions are useful activities for youth leadership training, and should be further emphasised and promoted (Commission on Youth, 2000).

The findings offer valuable reference materials for the construction of a comprehensive and practical youth leadership training model that will facilitate the development of quality leadership training programmes. Each programme operator has gained experience in offering leadership training programmes in one or several domains. These experiences will prove important in the development of a multidimensional, dynamic, strategic and creative training model for effective nurturing of youth leadership (Sogunro, 1997; Tetrault, Schriesheim, & Neider, 1988). Based on the available leadership training programme data, an analytical framework is formulated to examine the current developments in youth leadership training in Hong Kong, which is illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 1 Youth leadership training: an analytical framework.

The analytical framework suggests that youth leadership training programmes can be examined from a development-based approach (Cheung & Ngai, 2004). This approach is consistent with the idea of positive or pro-social youth nurturing, which regards young people as important assets to society. The goals of leadership training programmes should thus aim to cultivate the personal, interpersonal, community, national and international domains of youth development. The framework also suggests that a wide array of strategies is available for service providers to use (Edginton et al., 2005). Although each strategy has its own special features, all are in fact interrelated. The synthesis of these strategies opens up the possibility of developing a comprehensive youth leadership training model.

Resilience and empowerment have become popular concepts in working with young people in recent years (Claus & Ogden, 1999), and are in many ways parallel to the concept of youth leadership development. All three concepts challenge the deficit or remedial model of youth work and offer practical approaches to the creation of a constructive environment that prevents young people from succumbing to risks and promotes outcomes associated with positive experiences and performance (Edginton et al., 2005). Future youth leadership training initiatives could synthesise these concepts and other youth work approaches that adopt a similar positive and asset-building perspective on young people.

Inter-organisational cooperation is also a crucial factor in youth leadership development. The government departments that are closely related to youth development and training, such as the Education Bureau, the Home Affairs Bureau, the Social Welfare Department, the Commission on Youth and the Committee on the Promotion of Civic Education, should make joint efforts to formulate policy guidelines, and voluntary agencies, uniformed groups, junior chambers, political parties and organisations at the district level should be invited to participate in the processes of policy formulation and implementation (Commission on Youth, 2000). Furthermore, there has been little involvement of young people in issues pertaining to youth leadership training. Therefore, both government and non-government organisations should provide a platform for young people to express their opinions and should treat them as partners in training programmes, for example by appointing them to programme committees or working groups.

The limitation of this study, its reliance on publicised information on the Web, indicates a need for further research. Accordingly, the information merely presents overt strategies in theory rather than examining implemented practices in effect. Such information is largely descriptive in nature, and thus it is not possible to gauge the importance, value or relevance of youth leadership training domains and strategies. Further research is essential to assess the relevance of the strategies to youth leadership development and to compare them with findings and models from alternative sources. In addition, the genesis of the exposed domains or strategies is also in need of rigorous investigation. Such an investigation would fruitfully illustrate how the macro-societal structure associated with globalisation and post-modernisation shapes youth leadership training in Hong Kong.

Conclusion

This study outlines the current development of youth leadership training in Hong Kong. The data indicate that leadership training programmes are designed and organised to achieve five developmental goals. These goals focus on the nurturing of youth leadership, which is realised in personal, interpersonal, community, national and international domains by employing a variety of intervention strategies, including experiential learning, adventure-based training, service learning, non-local exposure and project-based competition strategies. The blend of these goals, domains and strategies forms a theoretical framework for the cultivation of youth leadership. The analysis of the data further identifies the strengths and weaknesses of the existing youth leadership training programmes, and suggests appropriate policy and service changes that the Hong Kong government and the programme operators could consider making. At the policy level, the Hong Kong government should determine the future directions of youth leadership training and formulate related policies. At the practical level, voluntary agencies, uniformed groups, junior chambers, political organisations, organisations at the district level, intellectuals and trainers should synthesise the various intervention goals, domains and strategies to develop a comprehensive youth leadership training model.

Acknowledgement

The work described in this paper was fully supported by a grant from the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Project Number CUHK4150/04H).