In the fast-evolving social landscape of the 21st century, young individuals not only need a comprehensive understanding of their society and the world, but also the ability to leverage their values, skills, and talents to make meaningful contributions to their communities. To address diverse social issues and challenges, it is essential for more young people to actively engage in social services, fostering creativity and innovation to develop effective solutions.

In 2016, The D. H. Chen Foundation and The Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs Association of Hong Kong (BGCA) co-initiated The Youth ImpACT Award (YIAA) 「感創敢為: 青年社會創新服務獎」, offering a human-centric service-learning and diverse experiential-learning experience to secondary school students with the aim to nurture participants’ empathy and enable them to turn social inspirations into actionable impacts. Underpinned by the design thinking approach, this initiative is also supported by the Education Bureau of the Government of the HKSAR, the Hong Kong Council of Social Service, and Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Fund.

Over the past seven years, more than 10,000 S.1-6 students from approximately 350 secondary schools have participated in YIAA 1.0 and 2.0. Collectively, these students have generated over 1,900 innovative service ideas addressing critical needs of disadvantaged children, the elderly, and individuals with diverse abilities.

In 2024, with the launch of YIAA 3.0, this initiative has been seamlessly integrated into one of the BGCA’s strategic goals, while expanding its reach to tertiary students. As the Founding Partner of YIAA, the Foundation strives to continue to provide more young people with opportunities to forge meaningful connections with their communities and unleash their potential to be innovative and entrepreneurial social changemakers through this program.

For more details, please visit the official website of YIAA.