Foreword

Young people are the masters of our future and the vital new blood for driving social development. Our country all along attaches great importance to young people, cares about young people and believes in young people. In his important speech delivered on 1 July 2022 and the Report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, President Xi Jinping remarked that "a nation will prosper only when its young people thrive", "Hong Kong will prosper only when its young people thrive", "Hong Kong will develop only when its young people achieve well-rounded development", "Hong Kong will have a bright future only when its young people have good career prospects".

The Youth Development Blueprint (Blueprint) was published in December 2022. It outlines the overall vision and guiding principles of the Government's long-term youth development work in future and put forward more than 160 concrete actions and measures supporting youth development, among which 50 have already been completed. Since the release of the Blueprint, relevant bureaux have put forward about 60 new measures in light of the latest development in the society and among the youth, so as to ensure that the initiatives in the Blueprint are progressing with the times and can consistently respond to the evolving needs of young people. The Government strives to be young people's confidant, advocate and guide for future through formulating this Blueprint. The annual youthfest@HK is one of the major youth development initiatives promulgated in the Blueprint for engaging and helping the youth. As announced in The Chief Executive's 2023 Policy Address, we will organise the Youth Development Summit in mid-2024 as the opening and highlight of the 2024 youthfest@HK.

To steer and co-ordinate different sectors in jointly organising youthfest@HK, the Youth Development Commission, chaired by the Chief Secretary for Administration, has set up a dedicated Action Group on Youth Festival to plan and promote youthfest@HK. Starting from 2023, we organise youthfest@HK in collaboration with youth organisations, non-governmental organisations and the business sector to arrange a wide spectrum of activities for young people to nurture positive thinking, realise their potentials and facilitate cross-fertilisation of knowledge and experience.