July 29, 2014 - Co-organized by Macau Management Association (“MMA”) and Galaxy Entertainment Group (“GEG”), the “GEG Youth Achievement Program” has been providing local youth with a wide range of personal enhancement and community outreach activities since it was launched in 2011. Now that the third term of “Youth Achievement Program” had completed successfully, the organizers held a closing ceremony at StarWorld Hotel this Tuesday to present completion certificates and special awards to the participants with distinguished performance, and announced the winners of the Study Tour in Sri Lanka.

The ceremony was attended by the guests of honor including Ms. Teng Nga Kan, Acting Director of Labor Affairs Bureau, Ms. Leong Lai, Director of Education and Youth Affairs Bureau, Mr. Chui Sai Cheong, President of MMA, and Mr. Tommy Lau, Council Chairman of MMA. They were also joined by Mr. Francis Lui, Vice Chairman of GEG and Mr. Philip Cheng, Director of GEG, in witnessing this special moment of the young people.

“We profoundly understand the immediate need for talent cultivation in various fields as we strive to provide quality training service for local youth. Through organizing a host of community-oriented activities, the program aims to promote community involvement of the participants and encourage them to make contributions with what they have learnt from the program,” said Mr. Tommy Lau during his speech. Meanwhile, Mr. Philip Cheng said, “I am very delighted to see that the participants have interacted with people from all walks of life and have learnt more about the city through planning and organizing different community activities. They also gained invaluable knowledge and experience, and developed great friendship with their teammates throughout the Program.”

The most anticipated moment of the ceremony was the reveal of the winners of the final contest, who would entitle to the six-day Study Tour in Sri Lanka with round-trip air tickets and hotel accommodations. “Life-Scripter”, formed by Hoi Ka Kit, Cheong Ka Man, Lou Chi Weng, Ngan Chek Hou, Lou Chon Hin and Lou Chon Hin, was named the champion for their community project that aimed to draw attention to people living in poverty. During the execution of the project, not only did the team visited the homeless to learn more about their needs, but they also designed and built “micro-shelters” for the homeless and presented the idea to local charity groups.

The members of the winning team were thrilled by the recognition and Lou Chi Weng, one of the members of the team, said, “From collecting materials and building the shelters, and to presenting the idea to the community, we have devoted tremendous effort throughout the entire process and have brought out our best for it. We also learnt to appreciate the effort of others and were greatly inspired to strive for a better self.”

The participants this year had to form their own teams to organize community activities with two themes “Touch Macau” and “Discover Macau”. In addition to the Most “like”-able Awards that were presented to the teams with the highest number of “like” in the social platforms, the Community Citizenship Contribution Award and the Macau Ambassador Award were also presented to the most outstanding teams in “Touch Macau” and “Discover Macau” respectively. Moreover, individual awards such as gold, silver and bronze medals of the YAP Outstanding Awards, together with the prizes of hotel accommodation at Galaxy Hotel™ and spa coupons of Banyan Tree Macau, were presented to the participants with exceptional performance. Each participant who earned up to 150 credit points throughout the program also received a completion certificate in recognition of their hard work and dedication.

Targeting local young people aged between 18 and 27, the “GEG Youth Achievement Program” aims to help the participants explore their potential and build a strong team spirit through a variety of training courses, community activities and volunteer work. The Program has attracted more than 1,300 local youth until now, and around 60 of them have become the team members of GEG after completing the Program so that they can apply their knowledge and skills in the work setting.