Origin of the Macao Youth Indicators Profile

Young people are the hope of a nation and future master of a society. The issues of the growth and development of youth, their physical and mental health, their education and employment, etc., bear profound significance to the prosperity and progress of a nation and its society. Youth signifies a special phase in life: as a young person grows out of childhood, he or she becomes more physically and mentally mature, and no longer needs to be cared as a child; however, he or she has not the rights and status of an adult yet (Cheng 2004, quoted from United Nations, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Council 1997). Young people are therefore in a vulnerable position and are confronted by many issues. Whether they would ultimately contribute to the society or jeopardise the society hinges on the ability to address these issues effectively (Cheng 2004). These considerations have prompted countries and districts around the world to accord highest priority to the growth and development situations of young people. The Australian government, for example, has set up an independent agency, the National Clearing House for Youth Studies, with the sole mission of studying the country’s youth issues. The agency also compiles and publishes the journal Studies on Australian Youth (Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, 1997). The Division for Social Policy & Development under the Department of Economic & Social Affairs of the United Nations has established the UN Programme on Youth, whose sole responsibility is to raise public awareness of issues concerning young people. Worldwide conferences are convened on a regular basis to discuss youth affairs, resulting in enlightening reports such as the World Youth Reports (www.un.org/youth). The Hong Kong SAR government has also set up the Commission on Youth, which is charged with the responsibility of collecting information on youth affairs, conducting relevant research and promoting cooperation between youth service providers and private organisations. The Commission publishes reports and surveys such as the Youth in Hong Kong: a Statistical Profile on a regular basis. Other non-profit making organisations such as the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups and the Breakthrough also conduct frequent researches on young people, in order to keep abreast of young people’s latest ways of life and thinking, as well as their general situation.

At the beginning of the study on Macao Youth Indicators Profile, many countries and districts had already set up adolescents indicators profiles, compiled and published related reports on a regular basis. Examples of such reports include the “Youth Policy White Paper of Taiwan, China (Youth Affairs Promotion Committee, Republic of China (Taiwan) 94)”, and “Report on the Development of Adolescents and Study on Youth Developmental Trends in Hong Kong (Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, 2002)”, etc. In America, the Indicators of Children’s Well-Being Conference was held in 1994, and since 1997, the US government has been publishing the annual report “America’s Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being (The Boys’ & Girls’ Clubs Association of Hong Kong 2007)”. The America National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) launched the first version of “Youth Indicators Profile” in as early as 1988 (Fox, Connolly & Snyder, 2005). In Europe, the Europe Community Health Monitoring Programme under the EU released the “Child Health Indicators of Life and Development for Europe” in 2002.

A Youth Indicators Profile comprises a set of tools and methods for evaluating the development status of young people, covering various areas related to the life of young people. Its value lies on offering clear, precise and comprehensive data about young people, which can be used for comparison with other social sectors as well as with other countries/districts. Today, the world is undergoing significant changes, be it in politics, economics or science and technology. This has meant tremendous impact on the growth of young people and their living environment, and the society must therefore respond by formulating specific policies. More importantly, whether the response is in the form of new initiatives or revision of existing policies, the first and foremost step is for government officials, decision-makers, educators and social workers to have a clear grasp of the youth’s current situation and their real needs. A Youth Indicators Profile offers the right tool to provide decision-makers with comprehensive data on youth, and a complete picture of their current status and development trends. This would allow formulation of long-term developmental policies which can truly meet the needs of young people, so as to match with the government’s overall governing principles and local economic development. Furthermore, with this indicator profile, it would be possible to quantify and to compare the youth situation of different regions to meet the trend of globalisation.

By the same token, Macao also needs a Youth Indicators Profile to gain understanding of the current situation and needs of young people in the territory and to realise the relevant policy objectives, thereby building an excellent society that is in line with the international community. Specifically, this brings the following benefits: 1. Macao may use this indicators profile to obtain a precise understanding of the youth situation and hence exercise appropriate youth or talent planning to raise the international competitiveness of Macao and also to realise the SAR government’s governing principle of “always focused on the needs of youth”. 2. The Macao society is also faced with a number of youth problems. It is imperative for the government to trace and monitor how these problems are evolving and the external conditions affecting the growth of young people, as well as to predict development trends. Only through this can the social environment be improved and remedial measures be devised, and ultimately mitigate conditions for breeding illegal activities among youth. 3. In response to the development of the gaming industry in Macao, there is also the need to further improve social environment and civic quality. This calls for systematic survey of youth situations and youth policies to create favourable conditions for breakthrough in fostering knowledge, ethics and civic education. By enhancing the quality of its people, Macao will be able to achieve all-round and sustained progress. 4. Many of Macao’s neighbouring economies which have attained similar level of economic development, as well as observing similar Confucius values, viz. Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, China have all set up their own youth indicators profile, while Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and others are in the course of launching such a profile. UNESCO is also urging more countries to adopt a youth indicators profile to facilitate comparison on an international basis. In other words, as an international city where eastern and western cultures converge, Macao must eventually adopt a youth profile, and it would be beneficial to take action earlier (Cheng 2004). Furthermore, western countries have started to develop similar indicators more than a decade ago, they are now equipped with quite sophisticated profiles and have reached beyond the stage of debating “whether or not to establish indicators” or “how much resource should be allocated”. It is common practice for public schools, private or commercial organisations to make reference to indicators when formulating policies or plans (The Boys’ & Girls’ Clubs Association of Hong Kong 2007). To create a better growth environment and opportunities for Macao’s young people and to keep pace with international trends, there is the need to establish a local youth indicators profile for Macao.

Upon due consideration of the various factors mentioned above, the Education and Youth Development Bureau commissioned the University of Macau to conduct researches on Macao Youth Indicators Profile in the summer of 2001. In 2003, the University completed a research on 10 areas under the “Macao Youth Indicators Profile” covering 80 indicators. A report was subsequently published.

Based on the report, the Macao Youth Affairs Committee set up the "Macao Youth Indicators Profile Project" Task Force in 2003 as an advisory unit for the specific work related to follow-up data collection and research of the various indicators of the Youth Indicators Profile of Macao. The Education and Youth Development Bureau promptly commenced information gathering for Phase I of the Macao Youth Indicators Profile Project, covering 10 areas and 80 indicators. Information was acquired mainly through two channels: (i) Data Collection, i.e. statistical data provided by various government departments/agencies; (ii) Social Survey, i.e. statistical data collected through surveys conducted in the community. The whole project was carried out in three stages and information gathering work on the 80 indicators was completed in 2006.

【Back】