June 29, 2018 – Galaxy Entertainment Group (“GEG”) attaches great importance to nurturing young talent. Since 2011, GEG has been cooperating with the Macau Management Association to organize the GEG Youth Achievement Program (“YAP”). This year’s YAP has introduced elements of national education, with a series of field trips to sites in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Bay Area. During the field trips, YAP members visited various development and cooperation initiatives and were given insights into the latest trends in the Greater Bay Area’s industrial sector, cultural and creative sector, and technology sector. The trips have enhanced the members’ knowledge of China’s development and helped them prepare for opportunities made possible by Macau’s participation in national development initiatives. 

The members visited Zhuhai, Zhongshan, Shunde and Shenzhen. In Zhuhai, they visited the Zhuhai-Macau Cross-Border Industrial Zone, where they met with the Zone’s entrepreneur representatives to learn about different functions, such as logistics, transit logistics and product sales. The special economic policies and flexible government measures applied to the Zone create an important platform for Macau’s young people to pursue career paths on the Mainland. In their second field trip, the members visited the 760 Creative Industry Park in Zhongshan, where they were introduced to the latest developments in the Mainland’s cultural and creative industry. Additionally, the visit to the 760 Creative Industry Park’s Macao Interactive Zone—an initiative under the Framework Agreement on Cooperation between Guangdong and Macau designed to support the development of young people from Zhongshan and Macau—encouraged the YAP members to explore opportunities made possible by regional cooperation. On the same field trip, the young people also visited the Guangdong Industrial Design City in Shunde, where they were shown a number of new industrial products and enhanced their knowledge of industrial design.

Shenzhen—the Bay Area’s most important technology hub—was the site of the final field trip for this year’s YAP. During the trip, the members visited the Tencent WeStart Space and the Shenzhen High-tech Industrial Development Zone. In the Tencent WeStart Space, the members interacted with the young entrepreneurs and learned about start-up opportunities. Afterward, in the Shenzhen High-tech Industrial Development Zone, members tried out a number of high-tech products and experienced the fun of virtual reality and augmented reality. They were amazed by Shenzhen’s cutting-edge technology in artificial intelligence and communications. Eric Cheong, a YAP ambassador, said the field trips filled him with admiration for the progress on the Mainland. He said, “I had never had chances to learn more about the development of the Mainland. This series of field trips to the Bay Area allowed us young people to learn about the development of various sectors on the Mainland, particularly the technology field. After the trips, we have been able to combine what we know about China, Hong Kong and Macau to enhance our understanding of regional cooperation in the Bay Area and the opportunities that lay ahead.”

With “Self-Awareness”, “Community Care” and “Career Development” as core themes, YAP aims to groom and inspire local youth aged 18 to 29, which provides platform to broaden their horizons and give full play to their potential. The program has attracted over 2,600 participants over the past seven years. Upon completing the program, participants will receive certificate and become eligible to enter the final competition, in which the winning team is awarded an Asian City Study Tour sponsored by GEG. In previous years, participants visited South Korea, Singapore, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Brunei. In the future, GEG will continue to support the Macau SAR Government’s development strategy of “letting Macau thrive through education” by nurturing Macau’s younger generations.