Drug abuse: know about it and know how to cope Drug abuse has serious physical and psychological consequences and police figures reveal that youth arrests for drug crimes are rising. Parents are anxious about their children being tempted, teachers are worried they might need to take action on campus, and government has brought forward the date of a voluntary school drug test. In this context, the Federation took practical steps to provide guidance and counselling on demand, with a new hotline and resource kits for schools. Education and awareness are powerful tools when faced with drug abuse, especially in schools. HKFYG's strategy includes the new hotline, 9739 3857. It provides an immediate link between parents, teachers and youth, and help-desk counsellors who give guidance and make referrals. We also have resource kits for school personnel. These advise on identification and handling school drug abusers, on implementing forthcoming government guidelines, and on developing teaching material on drug counselling and therapy. We believe that education on drugs is the first step in prevention, and we are acting in this belief. *Contact Leo, 2487 6151, for more on HKFYG's outreach work with young drug abusers. Contact Tang, 3755 7066, for more about the school resource kits. See below for details of last week's seminar on drug abuse. What's new HK teams win prizes at Odyssey of the Mind Programme World Finals Seven Hong Kong Odyssey of the Mind Programme championship teams went to the 30th World Finals at Iowa State University this month. They were with 780 teams from 33 American states, as well as teams from Canada, China, Belgium, Germany, Poland, Russia, Hong Kong, Mexico, Singapore, Slovakia and South Korea. Ho Fung College and St Joseph's Primary School teams came 4th and 5th in their respective divisions, and Hong Kong also won an award for one of the most creative booths. Congratulations! New books from HKFYG at the HKTDC Hong Kong Book Fair 2009 The Hong Kong Book Fair organized by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council is from 22-28 July at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. This is a major summer event, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors. HKFYG's booth is at 3D10-10, Teens' Paradise (Hall 3) and our books will also be on display at the SUP Publishing Logistics booths, 1D16-16 to 1D16-26, 1D17-15 to 1D17-27, Book Pavilion (Hall 1). We have 11 new books on sale this year. Come and see! Click here for a full list. Contact Brenda, 3755 7108, for full details. Dragon Foundation & Institute of International Education for Global Citizenship in Bangkok 30 students nominated by Hong Kong's universities will go to Bangkok from 28 June-4 July on this year's Global Citizenship Programme, led by Mr David Lan, GBS, ISO, JP, Director, Dragon Foundation. The programme is co-organized by the Dragon Foundation with the Institute of International Education and this year's topical theme is The Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on Local and International Communities. The opening ceremony will take place in the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand (FCCT), Bangkok. Visits to national and international organizations with talks by eminent speakers will follow, plus thematic group project work. Contact Phoenix or Snowie, 2811 2779 for more details. Hang Seng Bank Leaders to Leaders Lecture Series 2009 Mr CHAN Ki-hung, Curator, Hong Kong Space Museum Rayson Huang Theatre, University of Hong Kong Wednesday July 10 4.30-6.30pm The theme of this year's series, sponsored by the Hang Seng Bank and co-organized with the University of Hong Kong, is the 60th anniversary of the founding of the PRC and Mr Chan is expected to talk about innovation and technology on the mainland. Call Rita, 2169 0255 for more information. Thank you partners Banks as collection points for Flag Day 12 August 2009 We are very grateful to Living Stone Printing Company Ltd and Lammar Offset Printing Ltd for funding production of promotional materials for this year's Flag Day. Many thanks also go to DKSH Hong Kong Ltd for Dextro candies to keep the volunteers full of zip. The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd, Hang Seng Bank, and Bank of East Asia have kindly offered their help as venues for flag bag collection and the Hong Kong Housing Authority, New World First Ferry Services Ltd and The "Star" Ferry Company Ltd have graciously agreed to allow flag selling on their premises. We will need thousands of volunteers to help us reach our ambitious target of HK$2 million this year. The funds will support work on behalf of children and youth with special needs. If you would like to volunteer, make donations in kind for the volunteers, or advance cash donations, please contact Ada, 3755 7102. Young Scientists' Summer Camp in July at Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Building on last year's success, the Young Scientists' Summer Camp will give 100 primary students the chance to make an environmentally-sound mechanical structure driven by wind, water, or solar power. The students will gather for this 3-day camp, packed full with activities, courtesy of the Federation's co-organizer, Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks, from 17-19 July 2009. They will participate in hands-on science workshops, attend talks by experts on environmental protection, and display their work at the project showcase. Call Joanna, 3106 0600 for more information or email lead@hkfyg.org.hk Sino United Publishing and Metro City Phase II support book collection campaign Project Rebook, one of HKFYG's youth social enterprises, enjoys the most welcome support of Sino United Publishing (Holdings) Ltd and the management team of Metro City Phase II. They have both been allowing us to use their premises for collection boxes. This means that residents and staff can easily find them and as a result, we have received fine donations of valuable books that can be offered for sale at our secondhand book store. Call Miranda, 3113 7999 for more details of book donations or book bazaars. Sportsoho Media Ltd donates magazines Thank you to the publisher of Sportsoho for donating copies of past editions. The glossy monthly sports magazine will be distributed to all HKFYG Youth SPOTs, camp sites, the outreaching social work unit, the Youth Support Scheme and Cafe 21. Announcements In the attempt to help limit the spread of swine flu, HKFYG has made the following arrangements: LEAD Creativity Showcase 2009 Saturday 4 July 2009: postponed Hotline & Youth Website: extended hours and strengthened services on the web and Youthline. These include copyright-free worksheets on the u21 website for teachers and parents to download. Flu prevention news and content are also updated frequently on Infoline, 2777 8899. Call Phoebe, 2788 3433 for further details. Felix Wong Award Ceremony Saturday 4 July 2009: postponed Coming soon Youth Hong Kong special summer issue The connected generation Feature articles, interviews, highlights and statistics, all you want to know about Hong Kong youth in the internet age of mobile communications. Email youthhongkong@hkfyg.org.hk to ensure you get your own copy.