A Resounding Success of Youth Square's "Dunhuang Youth Internship Programme 2019" Draws to a Close

HONG KONG,Aug. 30,2019 -- The "Dunhuang Youth Internship Programme 2019" organized by Youth Square has officially drawn to an end. Sixteen interns from different universities in Hong Kong attended the graduation ceremony and results sharing seminar in Dunhuang Academy,sharing their valuable learning experiences in Dunhuang. In addition,Mr Zhang Xiantang,Vice President of Dunhuang Academy; Mrs Cherry Tse Ling Kit-ching,Permanent Secretary for Home Affairs of HKSAR; and Ms Doris Luey Sisi,Executive Director of Youth Square,were also cordially invited to attend the prestigious event.

The graduation ceremony and results sharing seminar The “Dunhuang Youth Internship Programme 2019” was held in Dunhuang Academy. Mr Zhang Xiantang,Vice President of Dunhuang Academy,Mrs Cherry Tse Ling Kit-ching,Permanent Secretary for Home Affairs of HKSAR,and Ms Doris Luey Sisi,Executive Director of Youth Square,the representatives of Beijing Office of the Government of HKSAR,Dunhuang Academy,Youth Square and the interns attended together this prestigious event.

Youth Square's "Dunhuang Youth Internship Programme 2019" was subsidised by the Home Affairs Bureau of HKSAR and fully supported by Dunhuang Academy. It was held from June 17 to July 27,spanning across 6 weeks with enriching contents covering Dunhuang's humanities and geography,thematic learning,explanatory training and practical internship. Standing out from over 100 candidates,the final sixteen Hong Kong's youth learned from the experts of Dunhuang Academy a wide variety of subjects such as history,arts,folk customs,science,etc.,deeply understanding Dunhuang from many different perspectives. Furthermore,they also ventured into varying on-site observation and comprehensively explored the Dunhuang's culture. During the learning process,the interns delved further into the Dunhuang Mogao Cave,and applied their knowledge,becoming tour guides at the Millennium Cave.

Dunhuang is a cultural melting pot between the traditional eastern and western cultures. The murals and sculptures in its caves depicted the cultures and histories of China,and further reflected the focus and passion of the people towards arts over a millennium. The use of advanced scientific technologies in the preservation of cultural artefacts and sand control projects of Dunhuang exhibited the perseverance of the experts in protecting the cultural artefacts,so that the Dunhuang culture can be passed down to future generations. Ms Agnes Sung Pui Yee,one of the interns,said,"Apart from the internship programme allows me to have the opportunity to personally walk into the caves to understand her story,it also reveals the hard work behind the scene sacrificed by the scholars in preserving the millennium stone caves,enabling me to deeply appreciate the will of Dunhuang people along each generation in conserving treasures of Dunhuang against the wind and sand. While I was playing the role of a tour guide,I met loads of tourists from different countries and backgrounds. I learned to be flexible to meet the varying knowledge needs. The explanatory process is a very good opportunity to connect with people,enabling me to share the beauty of Mogao Caves with everyone."

Another intern,Ms Julie Chan Yau Lee,believed that the contents of the internship programme were enriching and comprehensive. Besides allowing her to experience the taste of being a tour guide,Youth Square also arranged senior teachers for them during the rest days. For example,the retired Dean of the Academy of Fine Arts shared her professional experiences with the interns and answered their questions about history and arts,which very much benefitted her.

Mr Zhang Xiantang,stated that Dunhuang's culture has a long history. It not only passes down the human civilisation,it also embodies the essence of peace,tolerance and openness of the Chinese culture. It is the best window to understand the Chinese traditional culture. He was delighted to see that the interns have completed the programme,he sincerely thanked the Home Affairs of HKSAR and Youth Square for organising this meaningful programme. He certainly hopes to continue the collaboration in obtaining more and better results.

Mrs Cherry Tse Ling Kit-ching,said that she was very pleased to share the joy of completing the internship programme with all interns,and she hopes that the interns can share their experiences with their classmates and friends,recommend them to participate in such programme and join the ranks of heir of the arts and culture after returning to Hong Kong.

Ms Doris Luey Sisi,was gratified to witness the proactive learning attitude and internship performances from the interns. She expressed her gratitude towards the Home Affairs of HKSAR and Dunhuang Academy for providing the resources and support to the programme,enabling the Hong Kong's youth to have the insightful,learning opportunities and experiences on behalf of the internship programme's teams and interns.

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Youth Square's "Dunhuang Youth Internship Programmeme"

The "Dunhuang Youth Internship Programmeme" is organized by the Home Affairs Bureau in conjunction with Youth Square and fully supported by Dunhuang Academy since 2018. It is a six-week programmeme which offer 16 Dunhuang internship positions for local tertiary institution students. The programmeme delves into areas such as Dunhuang's humanities,geography,and other specific subjects. Interns will also get to engage in field work to polish up their explanation skills and work together as a group on a creative project to promote Dunhuang. They will have a chance to personally experience and understand Dunhuang's conservation efforts for rock caves,murals,and the environment.By this opportunity,interns can interact with Dunhuang researchers and learn from professional guides on how to better introduce the facts and details about places of interest to tourists,and develop themselves into bona fide Mogao Caves guides. To date,more than 30 Hong Kong youths have travelled to Dunhuang through the programmeme.

Since 2016,Youth Square has launched a series of "Discover Dunhuang" activities,including exhibitions,tour guide training,art creation,sharing sessions,and many others in order to increase awareness among the younger generation about Dunhuang's cultural and conservation efforts. Besides these avenues,youths who have proven to be interested in Dunhuang are selected as "Dunhuang Art and Cultural Ambassadors" and get to personally travel there to interact with the locals. Youth Square has successfully organized three "Art and Culture Learning Trips" and led over 60 young and aspiring Dunhuang Art and Cultural Ambassadors to Dunhuang for visits. Through close contact with researchers from Dunhuang Research Academy and other young tour guides,these ambassadors have learned more about Dunhuang's history,and culture through invaluable hands-on experience.The "Dunhuang Youth Internship Programmeme" was first introduced in 2018 with the goal of encouraging youths to experience the culture and conservation of the long-established Silk Road up-close from its starting point both in times past and the present - Dunhuang.

New World Facilities Management Company Limited

New World Facilities Management Company Limited is a non-profit making company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of New World Group (HK Stock Code: 00017). Embracing the mission of youth development and supporting youth to contribute to society,we strive to develop Youth Square as the platform for youth to exchange knowledge and experience and to develop and discover their potential.

Youth Square

The Youth Square,which came into full operation in 2010,is a youth development project of the Home Affairs Bureau of the HKSAR Government,with an aim to be the hub of diversified youth development activities for youth to develop their potential. Youth Square facilities include the 643-seat Y Theatre,Y Studio,multi-function areas and the Y Loft which has 148 guest rooms. Youth Square has been conducting over 180 themed events under "Music & Dance","Arts & Culture" and "Community Engagement". Youth Square has been holding over 9,700 youth events and served for more than 1.8 million participants since 2010. In addition,with participants came from more than 80 countries or regions,Y Loft has been providing accommodations for more than 260,000 youths who participated in various exchange programmemes in Hong Kong. Youth Square is located in Chai Wan and is managed and operated by New World Facilities Management Company Limited on a non-profit making basis.

6G model is Youth Square's guiding principle. 6G refers to Groom,Grow,Glow,Green,Global Vision and Give Back. Official web site: http://www.youthsquare.hk

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