Youth Development Summit in Hong Kong Connects Over 3,000 Participants to Foster Global Perspectives and Collaboration.

2025-09-27 17:50 Last Updated At：17:58

Youth Development Summit · Hong Kong Connects the World into the Future

The Home and Youth Affairs Bureau (HYAB) today (September 27) hosted the second edition of the Youth Development Summit · Hong Kong. Under the theme "Connecting the World into the Future", the Summit has gathered officials responsible for youth policies from various regions, alongside experts and leaders of different sectors as guest speakers. The Summit attracted over 3000 young people registered to participate, including around 600 of them from the Chinese Mainland and 33 overseas countries such as the United States, Malaysia, Laos, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, which enabled them to exchange views and engage in mutual learning on issues of concern to young people.

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Youth Development Summit · Hong Kong Connects the World into the Future Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

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Youth Development Summit · Hong Kong Connects the World into the Future Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, officiated at the Summit. In his opening remarks, he said, "The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government attaches great importance to youth. Our Youth Development Blueprint, released in late 2022, outlines our guiding principles for advancing youth development, as well as charting a clear pathway for stakeholders everywhere. Our vision is to nurture a new generation of youth equipped with a global perspective, a positive thinking mindset, and an affection for our city and our country. Since the release of the Blueprint, more than 250 concrete actions and measures have been put forward to providing young people with wide-ranging opportunities and support."

Mr Chan thanked all the speakers who shared their experiences and visionary ideas, inspiring the participants from around the world to think about how they can foster stronger connections across boundaries and cultures to help and learn from each other to build a better future together. He also encouraged young participants to make good use of the Summit as a platform to exchange ideas with young people from different regions to develop innovative solutions, and to turn bold ideas into tangible impact.

At the morning's keynote session on "Youth Creativity Energy", key officials responsible for youth development policies from various regions were invited to share insights on the importance of connecting young people around the world in driving social development, as well as policies and initiatives in different regions that aim at nurturing talent, fostering innovation, and encouraging active youth engagement. Keynote speakers included the President of All-China Youth Federation, Mr Xu Xiao; the Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Miss Alice Mak; the Minister of Youth and Sports, Malaysia, Ms Hannah Yeoh; the Deputy Minister of Society Development at the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mr Ahmed Saleh AlMajed; the Deputy Secretary General of the Central Committee, Lao People's Revolutionary Youth Union, Mr Souliya Keophilavong; the Vice Minister of Culture and Information, the Republic of Kazakhstan, Mr Yevgeniy Kochetov; and the Deputy Director-General, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Dr Qu Xing.

Miss Mak delivered a keynote speech at the Summit and shared the vision of the Hong Kong Special Administration Region Government in deepening international exchanges and co-operation, and highlighted key Government measures and initiatives on youth development which broaden local young people's horizon and encourage them to share the good stories of Hong Kong youth.

Miss Mak said, the Government has been taking forward measures in the Youth Development Blueprint at full steam to provide more Chinese Mainland and overseas exchange opportunities for Hong Kong young people to strengthen their global perspective. She wished that young people would work together to unlock endless possibilities for a brighter future of Hong Kong, the country and the world.

The afternoon featured three thematic sessions. The first session, chaired by the Vice-President of All-China Youth Federation and the Vice-Chairman of Youth Development Commission, Mr Kenneth Leung, was themed "Digital Reform · InnoTech of the Future". The panelists, including the Director-General of Investment Promotion of Invest Hong Kong, Ms Alpha Lau; the Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Vidi Labs Ltd, Ms Lamia Sreya Rahman; the Director of the State Key Laboratory of Management and Control for Complex Systems, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Professor Wang Fei-Yue; and the Chief Executive Officer of Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, Mr Terry Wong, explored how technological innovation can drive economic growth and sustainable development in the digital era, aiming to inspire young people to embrace innovation and harness technology.

The Commissioner for Belt and Road, Mr Nicholas Ho, was the moderator of the next session titled "Cross Cultural Creativity". Leaders from different sectors, including the Global Operations Director of the Duke of Edinburgh's International Award Foundation, Mr Edwin Kibuthu Kimani; the Founder of Bakehouse, Mr Grégoire Michaud; and the Chairman of the Board of Ocean Park Corporation, Mr Paulo Pong, explored development trends in integrating traditional culture with the creative industry, aiming to inspire creative thinking among youth and create new opportunities for the younger generation.

The final thematic session "Unleash Potential and Positivity" was hosted by the Under Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Mr Clarence Leung. He was joined by former Captain of China Women's National Volleyball Team and Associate Professor of the School of Sports Science and Physical Education, Nanjing Normal University, Professor Hui Ruoqi; former F1 Racer and Director, Head of Private Office of Knight Frank Greater China, Mr Tung Ho-Pin; the Gold Medalist of 1 000m Speed Skating at Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014 and the Head of the Olympic Studies Centre, Harbin Institute of Technology, Professor Zhang Hong. They delved into the importance of positive thinking and a proactive mindset, inspiring young people to cultivate a positive attitude towards life and fully realise their potential.

In addition to the above sessions, starting yesterday (September 26), the HYAB has arranged a three-day thematic visit programme and exchange activities to enhance the participants from the Chinese Mainland and overseas in understanding Hong Kong's latest development in technological innovation, culture and arts, and to provide them with an opportunity to exchange and interact with the local youth. The YDC Youth Ambassadors and the Youth Link Committee members served as the ambassadors of the programme, alongside over 400 Summit participants in exploring Hong Kong. The activities will foster cross-regional interaction and collaboration among young people, showcase the charm and vibrancy of the city, and tell the world the good stories of Hong Kong Youth.

Prior to the opening of the Summit, Mr Chan hosted a welcome dinner yesterday for officials, guests and speakers from the Chinese Mainland and overseas who came to Hong Kong to participate in the event.

For the highlights of the Summit, please visit the thematic webpage, www.youthfest.hk/en/summit.

Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou Cluster Tops Global Innovation Index 2026 Rankings Again

Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou cluster remains No. 1 in Global Innovation Index 2026

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) published the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2026 top 100 innovation clusters today (September 8), among which the Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou cluster ranks first globally once again.

A spokesman for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government said, "We warmly welcome the innovation cluster ranking published by WIPO, which reaffirms the outstanding innovative capacity and the innovation and technology (I&T)-supporting financing ecosystem of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA).

"Expediting I&T development has been a policy priority of this Government. The Government has been committed to enhancing the I&T ecosystem, as it continues to develop the original grant patent system and introduces the patent box regime, which offers tax concessions for intellectual property income to promote innovation. It is also deepening Hong Kong's collaboration with our GBA sister cities while optimising the local I&T development paradigm and driving the in-depth integration of technological and industrial innovation. The goal is to spearhead the development of Hong Kong into an international I&T centre and contribute to building a technologically advanced nation. Our efforts have started to bear fruit. The number of start-ups rose from over 1 500 in 2015 to more than 5 200 in 2025, and Hong Kong Science Park and Cyberport, the two I&T flagships, have collectively witnessed the birth of around 20 unicorns to date. Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Park of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone (the Loop Hong Kong Park) was officially opened in December 2025, and over 100 technology enterprises and institutions have signed leases and begun moving in. By leveraging the advantages of the strong alliance of Hong Kong and Shenzhen, the Loop Hong Kong Park will be an important platform for basic scientific research, commercialisation, pilot production and international I&T collaboration in the GBA, driving high-quality development. The San Tin Technopole Company Limited was also officially established in June 2026 to press ahead with the development of 210 hectares of I&T land in the San Tin Technopole, which will form a crucial node for the integrated development of upstream, midstream and downstream industries together with the Loop Hong Kong Park.

"Hong Kong has a vibrant private equity market, with assets under management of close to US$250 billion, ranking second in Asia after the Chinese Mainland. The Government has been enhancing the development of venture financing as a key element of Hong Kong’s I&T and commercialisation ecosystem. The establishment of a HK$10 billion I&T Industry-Oriented Fund, together with another HK$10 billion Research, Academic and Industry Sectors One-plus Scheme and the Pilot I&T Acceleration Scheme, aims to reinforce the funding continuum from university research and seed-stage entrepreneurship to scale-up, industrial application and global market expansion. At the same time, the Hong Kong Investment Corporation Limited acts as patient capital, investing in smaller and early-stage ventures with a long-term horizon to steer long-term market capital towards emerging and future industries. These initiatives all help deepen the I&T cluster's entrepreneurial and venture-financing base, thereby facilitating more new economy and technology enterprises with potential to raise funds and expand their businesses in Hong Kong.

"Going forward, we will proactively align with the National 15th Five-Year Plan to strengthen our strategic positioning as an international I&T centre. Hong Kong will further deepen collaboration with the GBA sister cities, contributing to our country's efforts in building a modern industrial system and achieving high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and strength."

The GII Cluster ranking identifies local concentrations of world-class innovation activity using three key metrics, viz international patent filings via WIPO's Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), scientific publications, and the number of venture capital deals. For this year's ranking, the Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou cluster filed 2 259 PCT applications, published 4 060 scientific articles, and had 138 venture capital deals, all per 1 million inhabitants over the last five years.

Youth Development Summit in Hong Kong Connects Over 3,000 Participants to Foster Global Perspectives and Collaboration.

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