GEG Youth Achievement Program Nurtures Local Youth

In support of the Macau SAR Government’s “Macau Thrives on Education” and “Building Macau through Talent Training” policies, Galaxy Entertainment Group (GEG) has been fostering local young people’s comprehensive development through the launch of various initiatives. For 10 consecutive years, GEG and the Macau Management Association (MMA) have co-organized the GEG Youth Achievement Program (YAP) which aims to foster and inspire local youths aged from 18 to 29 and become future elite leaders through promoting self-awareness, community care and career development. The program has reached over 3,000 participants, who have received guidance and support through a number of training opportunities.

Earlier this month, a ceremony for the 10th YAP Award Presentation and the 11th YAP Launch was hosted in recognition of the outstanding performance of 10th YAP participants whilst welcoming the new talents of the program.

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During the ceremony, GEG and MMA representatives presented a number of awards to the outstanding participants of the 10th YAP. Additionally, Senior Instructor Dr. Timothy Lam shared his experience of witnessing the positive impact that YAP had made on young people. In his opinion, the program has led to a “multi-faceted growth and transformation of the participants.” He encouraged participants to uphold the spirit of the YAP whilst continued to strive and innovate, and expressed his hopes that the program would help pass on YAP’s values to more young people in Macau.

To Do Is To Be

To encourage more young people to participate in YAP and develop their potentials, for the 10th YAP, a brand-new campus roadshow was initiated program and reached out to over 1,500 students from three tertiary institutions in Macau. Moreover, participants were provided with a series of diversified trainings, activities and lectures such as “GEG Online Career Talk: Strong in Face of Adversity” and “YAP Financial Independence Workshops”, which aimed to build resiliency and confidence amongst the participants. Additionally, to nurture the patriotism of the participants and strengthen young people’s understanding of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay’s latest development, the 10thYAP also included a visit to the Base of the Education of Love for Motherland and for Macau for Young People.

Each year, YAP holds a Final Competition for its participants. This year, a creative simulated entrepreneurship competition that mimicked the setting of Inno Valley Hengqin was held, where YAP participants formed teams and presented their own creative business proposals. The team “TutorNest” won the champion in the Final Competition with their innovative business plan of a tutorial matching app.

Gary Lao, a member of the winning team, said that participating in YAP equipped him with “positive mindset” and “proactive thinking”. He added that the diversity of the program’s activities had helped him see all the ways through which the new generation could enhance themselves. When asked what his favorite part of the YAP was, he had no hesitation in saying that: “The lecture on Business Network and Asset Management was the most impressive activity to me. It allowed me to understand the importance of personal connections and the need to manage them properly in order to gain greater support during our life journey.”

Gary Lao, the member of the winning team “TutorNest”.

The Future Is Now – Entrepreneurship and Opportunity

To better poised in seizing the array of opportunities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the Guangdong-Macao Intensive Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, the participants in the 10th YAP were also taken for a visit to Hengqin where they visited the Hengqin New Area Construction and Development Planning Exhibition Hall, Inno Valley Hengqin and the Macao Institute for Tourism Studies Hengqin Training Base (Center for Vocational Practice) in the Sumlodol Hengqin Camping Town. During the trip, participants saw their horizons expand and knowledge enhanced over the development of different industries in the region.

Tom Hoi, a YAP participant who hopes to start his own business one day, found the trip inspiring. “YAP has helped me strengthen my determination to start a business. Through the visit to Hengqin, I learned a lot regarding the business environment and new development trends in Hengqin’s New District. In addition, the program also organized workshops related to entrepreneurship, where professional instructors were invited to share skills and knowledge that would be useful for a lifetime. It was also a great chance to meet a group of like-minded individuals and expand my network!”

Tom Hoi, one of the participants of the 10th YAP

Comic Relief – Encouraging Vaccination With Creativity

Taking its social responsibility to heart, GEG and MMA proactively encourage the new generation to actively participate in the community’s most poignant issues. The 10th YAP hosted a comic competition on the theme of vaccinations and herd immunity. The competition had participants create four-frame comics to promote vaccination to different sectors of society, which received enthusiastic response and attracted a great number of young people who showed their creativity and care for the community through artistic creation. Heidi Leong’s unique and creative comic won the competition. She said, “The competition was uniquely meaningful as it could be helpful in heightening immunization awareness.”

Centering on the cutting edge of “big health” and technology, the 11th YAP has officially started. Local youth aged 18-29 can join the program and all the activities for free to fully develop their talents to “Reach Out, Reach Beyond.”