Organised by AIA Foundation, the 19th Young Leaders Development Programme (AIA YLDP) carried the theme “A Hand to Lead A Vision to Serve”. This year, 10 elite university students completed a series of in-depth and comprehensive training courses and travelled to Cambodia to help build houses for local villagers. The programme succeeded in broadening the horizons of the participants and developing their leadership skills while providing them with the experience of community service. The diverse curriculum was designed to equip them with the skills to become the leaders of tomorrow.

Mr. Jacky Chan, Chief Executive Officer of AIA Hong Kong and Macau, said, “As the annual flagship community programme of AIA Foundation, AIA YLDP aims at encouraging energetic youngsters to accept challenges as opportunities for growth and at preparing them to become responsible leaders of the new generation. AIA has long been committed to nurturing the community leaders of tomorrow. By providing all-round training, we help participants to enrich their life experiences and unleash their full potential. The experience of serving others will inspire them to lead by setting an example of giving back to the community.”

Selected through a stringent evaluation process, the 10 students who took part in the 2016 programme come from seven tertiary institutions. In addition to outstanding academic results (GPA of 3.3 or above), the students had to demonstrate great leadership potential, a passion for community service and a willingness to serve society.

To become “A Hand to Lead”, participants had to overcome various challenges and complete a series of training activities over the course of several months. Highlights included the six-day/five-night “Adventure and Leadership Camp”, which pushed them to the limits of their physical and mental abilities; the “Career Workshop”, where participants learned how to forge a path to achieve their ambitions; and the “Star Speakers Forum” featuring the Honourable Bernard Chan, member of the Executive Council.

The comprehensive three-month training programme was specially designed to help the students discover and develop their own unique qualities and hidden talents that would shape their success as effective leaders. Jay Yim, a student from the Department of History at the Hong Kong Baptist University, said, “The programme has widened our horizons and trained us to keep a stiff upper lip in times of adversity.”

“A Vision to Serve” was another core element of the programme. The Foundation partnered with Habitat for Humanity and arranged for the students to travel to Cambodia over the summer holidays where they helped the local residents build houses and improve their living conditions. Participating students also provided cleaning and maintenance services to several elderly families living in public housing estates in Ho Man Tin.

At the presentation ceremony, several awards including the “Outstanding Young Leaders Award”, “My Favourite Young Leader Award”, “Best Community Project Award” and “Outstanding Presenter Award” were given to recognise students for their excellent achievements. AIA Hong Kong also offered a summer internship to the best performers.

Wong Ching from the Department of Social Work at Hong Kong Polytechnic University won the “Outstanding Young Leaders Award”. She said, “The ‘Adventure and Leadership Camp' enabled us to identify our strengths, brought out our courage and tested our willingness to accept challenges. During our time in Cambodia, we opened our eyes by building houses for impoverished families and exploring the local culture.”

Panda Lee, the coach at the “Adventure and Leadership Camp”, said, “Though a variety of activities, the camp aims at building the confidence of students to overcome difficulties, at toughening them up physically and mentally, and at helping them build team spirit so they can shoulder the responsibilities of young leaders.”

In addition to AIA YLDP, the Scholarship Programme is another key AIA Foundation initiative focusing on nurturing talent. Over the past 20 years, the Foundation has invested over HK$6.4 million in scholarships for tertiary students from Hong Kong and Macau with outstanding academic achievements and who have made meaningful contributions to society.

AIA Hong Kong and AIA Macau are subsidiaries of AIA Group Limited. AIA Group Limited established its operations in Hong Kong in 1931. We have over 12,000 financial planners*, as well as an extensive network of brokerage and bancassurance partners who serve more than 1.8 million customers*. Our products range from individual life, group life, accident, medical and health, personal lines insurance to investment-linked products with numerous investment options. We are also dedicated to providing superb product solutions to meet the financial needs of high net worth customers.
* As of July 2016

AIA Group Limited and its subsidiaries (collectively “AIA” or the “Group”) comprise the largest independent publicly listed pan-Asian life insurance group. It has a presence in 18 markets in Asia-Pacific – wholly-owned branches and subsidiaries in Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, China, Korea, the Philippines, Australia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Vietnam, New Zealand, Macau, Brunei, a 97 per cent subsidiary in Sri Lanka, a 49 per cent joint venture in India and representative offices in Myanmar and Cambodia

The business that is now AIA was first established in Shanghai almost a century ago. It is a market leader in the Asia-Pacific region (ex-Japan) based on life insurance premiums and holds leading positions across the majority of its markets. It had total assets of US$181 billion as of 31 May 2016.

AIA meets the long-term savings and protection needs of individuals by offering a range of products and services including life insurance, accident and health insurance and savings plans. The Group also provides employee benefits, credit life and pension services to corporate clients. Through an extensive network of agents, partners and employees across Asia-Pacific, AIA serves the holders of more than 29 million individual policies and over 16 million participating members of group insurance schemes.

AIA Group Limited is listed on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited under the stock code “1299” with American Depositary Receipts (Level 1) traded on the over-the-counter market (ticker symbol: “AAGIY”).