Students from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) have taken part in the annual Asia Pacific Next Generation (APNG) Camp, now in its 13th year but first time in Hong Kong, sharing with youngsters from 16 Asian countries their experiences in helping grassroots and underprivileged people enjoy the benefits of the Internet.
The HKUST students were participants in the NetMission Ambassadors Program, aimed to gather the strength of Internet-literate youngsters to bring the benefits of the Internet to the less fortunate people in Hong Kong.
Matthew Hui, an HKUST Business School student who is also the Secretariat Director of APNG, said, "It is both an exciting and fruitful experience to meet with, and learn from, likeminded young people from all over Asia who have a common passion for making the Internet accessible to the underprivileged."
The sharing session was officiated by Ms Florence Hui, Under-Secretary for Home Affairs, HKSAR Government, and Mr Li Jiyi of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR.
HKUST business student Bonita Tsui presented her future community project - to design training materials for elderly centers to teach senior citizens how to use the computer. "Although Hong Kong boasts an Internet coverage of 90%, there are still a lot of people, in particular the elderly and children, to whom Internet access is still a faraway dream. We therefore hope to close this Internet gap," she said.
Matthew Hui, who had taken part in previous APNG camps as a NetMission Ambassador in Kuala Lumpur and Hiroshima, said he was most impressed by a group of youngsters in Myanmar who voluntarily visited primitive villages to set up Internet facilities for the villagers.
"The people in Myanmar have a great desire to discuss current issues online. Although only about 20% of their current population are Internet-connected, they have formed a very large online discussion group for their political elections," he said.
For media enquiries, please feel free to contact :
Ross Lai
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Email: rosslai@ust.hk
Kit Yip
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Email: kityip@ust.hk
