CE Attends Bay Area Ceremony

Chief Executive Carrie Lam today attended the Greater Bay Area - Starting Line to a Bright Future ceremony with youth development as the theme.

The event was held by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government to mark the second anniversary of the promulgation of the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Guangdong Province Vice Governor Zhang Xin also joined the event and addressed the ceremony via a recorded video.

The central government promulgated the Outline Development Plan on February 18 last year, which sets out the directions guiding the bay area development.

The Hong Kong SAR Government is committed to giving new impetus to Hong Kong's economic development through participating in the Greater Bay Area development. It will also step up its publicity and promotional efforts to encourage Hong Kong people to participate more proactively in the development.

Speaking at the ceremony, Mrs Lam said: “Young people are brimming with energy and vitality, and are full of hope and vision for their future. The Greater Bay Area provides a stage to realise their aspirations.

 “The Hong Kong SAR Government wishes to encourage Hong Kong young people to aim high and explore opportunities beyond Hong Kong, and unleash their potential on a bigger platform through starting a new business or pursuing a career of their interest in the Greater Bay Area.

“With the support from our society, I am very confident that Hong Kong young people will be able to seize the opportunities of the Greater Bay Area to realise their aspirations.”

Today’s event also included the We Venture launching ceremony to announce the list of funded organisations under two funding schemes, one for youth entrepreneurship in the bay area and another for experiential programmes at innovation and entrepreneurial bases in the area.

There was also a launching ceremony for the Greater Bay Area Youth Employment Scheme, an initiative in the 2020 Policy Address that encourages and supports young people to work in the Mainland cities of the bay area and leverage the opportunities for career advancement.

The scheme provides 2,000 places, including 700 places designated for innovation and technology posts. The response has been favourable, with about 1,400 vacancies received since the scheme's launch last month.

The life record documentary Starting Line at the Bay Area was also officially launched. Featuring the life stories of 10 Hong Kong people living in different bay area Mainland cities, the programme will be broadcast on channel 81 every Sunday evening from February 28.