On July 23, the second Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao Bay Youth Camp kicked off in Shenzhen. 110 high school student representatives from Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao attended the opening ceremony. This year’s youth camp was initiated by Tencent and, for the first time, the New World Development Group was invited to co-host the event. In the following week, the students will experience a series of courses and training programs in science and technology, culture, social responsibility, art, etc., where we will enhance exchange and understanding, and experience the cutting-edge technology of the Greater Bay Area. Guests including deputy general secretary of the Shenzhen Committee of the Communist Youth League and honorary vice chairwoman of the Shenzhen Youth Federation Fang Lin, honorary vice chairman of the Guangzhou Youth Federation Pan Jianyong, director of the Educational and Scientific Department of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in Hong Kong S.A.R. Huang Yu, and executive vice president of the Hong Kong Association of Overseas-Returned Scholars Sun Dong were invited to attend the opening ceremony.

With the theme of “New Youth of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao”, this year’s Youth Camp consists of two successive phases, with 110 high school student representatives from the Bay Area participating in each phase. The number of participants has more than doubled compared with that of the previous year, and the number of schools involved has also grown from 6 to 36 schools. Therefore, this year’s Youth Camp covers a larger area, and the backgrounds of participants are more diverse.

Fang Lin, deputy general secretary of the Shenzhen Committee of the Communist Youth League and honorary vice chairwoman of the Shenzhen Youth Federation, addressing the opening ceremony

“The Chinese dream of realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation cannot be possible if there is no continuous struggle from generations of aspiring young people. In this June, Tencent Group and the Shenzhen Committee of the Communist Youth League signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement which is aimed at providing a better learning environment and platform for the youth of Shenzhen, the Greater Bay Area and even the whole country”, said Fang Lin. At the end of her speech, she hoped that all the young participants would become friends and gain knowledge from the event.

“The youth are critical to the future of the Greater Bay Area. The Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao Bay Youth Camp is committed to bringing the youth from the Bay Area together and supporting them in creating a better future through joint efforts. This is the most imaginative thing to the Bay Area. Tencent was established and grows in Shenzhen, and it was listed in Hong Kong. Thus we aspire to do this well for the Bay Area and the youth”, said Li Hang, vice-chairman of the Tencent Youth Development Committee. He also expressed that Tencent regards the Youth Camp as a product and attaches great importance to its user experience. Therefore, this year’s Youth Camp will see three major upgrades: first, it connects more people and covers a larger area as the number of participants and schools more than doubles over that of last year, enabling participating students to communicate with more of their counterparts from the Bay Area; second, apart from science courses that had already been introduced to the event, new activities such as cultural and art experiencing projects have been created for this year’s Youth Camp; third, the event provides a platform for the youth to showcase their talent. Under the guidance of professional filmmakers, participants from across the area will have the opportunity to make short films about their talent, abilities, thoughts, etc., and play them at the graduation ceremony of the camp.

Li Hang, vice chairman of the Tencent Youth Development Committee addressing the Youth Camp

Li Hang also introduced new discoveries in Tencent’s Post-00s Generation Research Report:  entrepreneur and scientist are the two most popular careers among the Post-00s Generation, as over 60% of students from Hong Kong and Macao are very interested the application of technology in everyday life, and nearly 60% of young people are willing to participate in scientific and technological practice. The Post-00s Generation of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao have shown their advantages in utilizing science and technology, innovation, and cultural creation. When faced with problems, they tend to employ technological means and are willing to solve problems by themselves and create new things. “This is in line with our concept of the development of the new youth in the Bay Area. In the future, young people should be the 3C talents, which means they will be “Connector, Crossover and Creator”. It can also be said they should become ‘trans-boundary creators who are good at connecting people and different areas’”, said Li Hang.

Lu Shishi, director of social innovation of New World Development Co., Ltd, making a speech at the ceremony.

Director of social innovation of New World Development Co., Ltd. Lu Shishi said in her speech that under the leadership of Dr. Zheng Zhigang, New World Development always attaches great importance to making innovations in the cultural industry and has set “collect, connect and collide” as its management belief. It is committed to integrating emerging and traditional industries as well as cultivating the craftsmanship, entrepreneurship and creativity among young people of the Bay Area. It is a privilege of New World to cooperate with Tencent for the first time in hosting the Youth Camp and jointly creating a new form to promote youth exchanges and development as well as to cultivate their ability to make innovations.

based on the requirements of 3C talents cultivation and related research results, the Youth Camp has upgraded the curriculum on the basis of previous success to create activities that are more in line with the needs of the Post-00s Generation, so as to better support them in developing their interest in fields such as technology, culture, social responsibility, etc. At the same time, under the joint organization of Tencent and Hong Kong New World Development Co., Ltd., activities of the Youth Camp will be carried out both in Shenzhen and Hong Kong. The theme of the courses in Shenzhen will be “modern technology and entrepreneurship”, and the courses in Hong Kong will focus on “traditional culture and design”.

Guests launching the Youth Camp at the opening ceremony

(starting from the left: general secretary of the Tencent Youth Development Committee Tan Tian, director of the Educational and Scientific Department of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in Hong Kong S.A.R. Huang Yu, director of social innovation of New World Development Co., Ltd. Lu Shishi, vice-chairman of the Tencent Youth Development Committee Li Hang, honorary vice chairman of the Guangzhou Youth Federation Pan Jianyong, deputy general secretary of the Shenzhen Committee of the Communist Youth League and honorary vice chairwoman of the Shenzhen Youth Federation Fang Lin, executive vice president of the Hong Kong Association of Overseas-Returned Scholars Sun Dong)

During the event, participants will visit a number of innovative companies and institutions in the Bay Area, such as Tencent, DJI, New World and Vango Fencing, where they will experience cutting-edge technologies and engaging sports and cultural activities. The event also pays special attention to interactive experience. Students will have the opportunity to shoot short films, create innovative “companies” in Tencent Maker Space, and experience the latest games in the Game Academy. In addition, through the “Future City Imagination” course developed by prestigious universities including Polytechnic University of Milan and the Academy of Arts & Design of Tsinghua University, participating students can design the future for the Bay Area on blueprints and sand tables.

Student representatives from Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao receiving flag of the Youth Camp from Mr. Li Hang, vice-chairman of the Tencent Youth Development Committee  

The future of the Greater Bay Area lies in the growth and cooperation of young talents. In 2017, Tencent established the “Tencent Youth Development Committee”, which is committed to making systematic and growth-oriented talent incubation plans. Tencent hopes to work with more partners and cultivate more innovative youth leaders through programs like the Youth Camp to support the development of the Bay Area.

Group photo of participating students and guests

Talent cultivation is the purpose, and cultural integration is the foundation. As an advocate and promoter of the development of the Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao Greater Bay Area, Tencent’s chairman and CEO Pony Ma pays special attention to the exchange, understanding and growth of local young people. He believes that “the future of the Bay Area depends on the integration and development of young people”. Youth exchange and growth platforms, such as the Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao Bay Youth Camp, help connect young people from the three places and promote their in-depth exchanges, thus forming a development community of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao in their mind, and advancing the win-win and coordinated development of the Greater Bay Area.