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Young people form a significant part of human capital in any society.  Their sense of belonging and community participation are perennial subjects of youth studies.

 Our earlier study has established that civic participation is crucial to enhancing social cohesiveness.  As our civil society developed and citizens became more aware of their civic senses, young people¡¦s participation in society has become a cause for public concern.  The ¡§community¡¨ is one of the social arenas young people are most involved in apart from their schools and families.  Understanding young people¡¦s social participation facilitates future plans that will help in nurturing them.

 The District Council is the major administrative body in districts.  In light of the upcoming third-term election of the District Councils, the Federation conducted a study to probe our young people¡¦s understanding of the community and District Councils.  We hoped that by asking them to give comments on community affairs, local elections and the performance of District Councils, we could have a better grasp of how our young people participate in the community nowadays.

 In this study, ¡§young people¡¨ refers to those aged between 18 and 34.  ¡§Community participation¡¨ is understood in terms of three aspects: ¡§Knowledge¡¨, meaning the extent of one¡¦s understanding of community affairs; ¡§Action¡¨, putting concerns of various community activities and social agendas into participation; ¡§Affection¡¨, one¡¦s reflection and self-evaluation of individual community participation.  According to the existing 18 Districts in Hong Kong, ¡§communities¡¨ referred to in this study are the administrative districts where young people reside.

 To get an understanding of Hong Kong young people¡¦s community participation and their views about community affairs and the upcoming District Council Elections, the Federation conducted a random telephone survey covering young people in Hong Kong.  The study also sought opinions from academics, incumbent District Councillors and community leaders about young people¡¦s community participation.

 The telephone survey was conducted with the help of the Public Opinion Programme of the University of Hong Kong commissioned by the Federation.  It was conducted between the 25th of October and the 2nd of November, 2007 from 6:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.  520 young people in Hong Kong aged between 18 and 34 were successfully polled by interviewers over the phone.  The response rate was 59.8%, with a standard error within ¡Ó2.2%.

 The interviews with academics, incumbent District Councillors and community leaders were conducted between the 28th of September and the 23rd of October, 2007.  A total of 22 persons were interviewed, among them academics, incumbent District Councillors, young leaders and social workers.  They shared with us their views and observations about young people¡¦s participation in the community.

 The major findings are as follows:

 (1)   The respondents of this study gave an average score of 6 to the evaluation of their community.  Their ¡§sense of belonging¡¨ and ¡§community concerns¡¨ scored respectively 5.4 and 5.1.

 (2) Respondents have an insufficient understanding of their communities which may directly affect their involvement and participation.  Among the 520 respondents aged between 18 and 34, most gave an average score of 4.5 on their community understanding, less than half of the maximum score of 10.

 (3)   The respondents gave an average score of 2.5 for their community participation (on a scale 0-10).  Most took part in ¡§social activities¡¨ and only some of them participated in voluntary work.  Very few took an active role to join community groups or express opinions about community affairs.

 (4)   Young people feel that they cannot influence community affairs significantly.  Pressures from study and work also hinder their participation.  Of the 520 respondents, 65.2% do not agree that they ¡§Can influence the planning and development of the community¡¨.  36.3% agree that ¡§Even if they express their views to community leaders, there will not be much change¡¨.

 (5)   The Internet has become the dominant platform for young people to interact with their communities.  The advance of communication technology makes the Internet an indispensable part of young people¡¦s lives.  Making the most of this platform is vital to promoting their community participation.

 (6)   Young people have a certain level of trust in District Councillors.  Many respondents would seek help from District Councillors when encountering problems with their districts (70.8%).  22.3% believe that District Councillors are the most influential group in the communities.

 (7)   On a scale of 0-10, respondents ranked "Improving facilities for the residents", "Consulting residents' opinions" and "Striving for residents' benefits" with a higher score, with each securing an average of 6.9, 6.8 and 6.7 points respectively.  It shows that young people have a certain level of understanding and recognition of the District Councils¡¦ work.

 (8)   Active participation in the District Council elections is an important step for young people to be involved their in local communities.  According to this study, 72.1% of the respondents have registered as eligible voters.  Among those 375 respondents, 44.3% said they were obliged to vote in the upcoming District Council election while 33.0% said they would most likely do so.  Among the 288 respondents who belong to these two groups, 48.1% regard voting as part of their civic obligations.

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