Chief Secretary Chan Kwok-ki held a gathering today with the third-term Partners’ Board under the Strive & Rise Programme and some 200 guests, sharing the programme’s fruitful achievements.

During the gathering, mentors said that by making use of resources allocated by the business sector, various innovative activities were organised to enrich mentees’ learning profiles and broaden their exposure. In addition, mentors shared how they built trusting relationships with mentees and guided them to develop a positive outlook on life.

Addressing the event, Mr Chan highlighted that 4,000 mentees had been admitted to the third cohort of the programme and that the matching of mentors and mentees had been completed.

Mentees, their parents, and mentors have been attending orientation sessions and training courses since January. About 380 enterprises and organisations offered enthusiastic support to the third cohort, including nominating a sufficient number of mentors, raising about $18.6 million in donations, and providing group activities, study tours, diversified learning opportunities and internship programmes.

Mr Chan also said that in addition to continuing the enhanced measures adopted for the second cohort, the third cohort focuses on strengthening the support for mentors and further encouraging youth leaders of the Strive & Rise Alumni Club to organise more activities for self-development, with a view to maintaining the Strive & Rise Programme’s spirit and sustaining its effectiveness.

A newly-developed mobile application for the programme has also been launched to facilitate mentor-mentee communication, featuring functions such as signing up for group activities, arranging meetings, and submitting mentees’ personal development plans, he added.

To date, the cumulative number of Strive & Rise mentees has exceeded 10,000. The Chief Secretary remarked that through the powerful synergy of the Government, the business sector, and the community, the programme will continue to help uplift more underprivileged youths by broadening their horizons, reinforcing self-confidence and developing a positive outlook on life.