Monday, March 21, 2016

「展望青年領袖培訓計劃」招募學員及義工

By Eric Li

今年最後的一埸「展望青年」課程簡介會在三月十九日完滿结束。當天的簡介會由「展望青年」的行政總監李瀚文與野外訓練導師 Mandy Tsang 主講。當日的簡介會座無虛席,大家都全神貫注,悉心聆聽。
課程簡介會內座無虛席

「展望青年領袖培訓計劃由今天起開始招收2016-2017多個崗位的義工,其中的崗位包括導師,中文或英文寫作,攝影,市場推廣,網頁管理等。有興趣參與當義工者請瀏覽網址www.visionyouth.ca 或電郵info@visionyouth.ca。我們會為義工們提供基本領導才能訓練,訓練課程將在五月和六月進行。「展望青年」的義工簡介會將於短期內舉行,有興趣出席義工簡介會者,請電郵hr@visionyouth.ca


為期七個月的「展望青年領袖培訓計劃」現正招收2016-2017銅章新學員,查詢及報名請到網址www.visionyouth.ca電郵info@visionyouth.ca,或致電 (416) 800-4040 報名截止日期為331日。以下是介紹課程的單張:

「展望」行政委員會主席李瀚文在介紹課程


Saturday, March 19, 2016

Conference helps youth find their voice in city-building

By Ryan Lo

Youth engagement is an increasingly important priority in our city, and young people today are making sure their voices are heard more loudly than ever before. Over 60 high school students from across the GTA participated in the Tomorrow Starts Today Conference last Sunday at Ryerson University to discuss youth’s role in the city-building process.


 Ryan Lo, a graduate student at McGill University’s School of Urban Planning and Vice Chair of Vision Youth Leadership Program Executive committee, is the organizer of this conference. Rather than writing a conventional thesis for his research project, he decided to create this event to explore different ways to better engage youth. Through various formats of presentations and workshops, Lo wants to find out what works best when presenting urban issues to young people.


“Tomorrow Starts Today Conference has two main goals: to educate youth on planning, urban design and public engagement; and to empower youth by providing them with tangible tools to participate. Youth need to have the knowledge and language to communicate and engage in civic matters,” says Lo.

From his research, as well as his experience growing up in the GTA, Lo found that the Ontario secondary school curriculum in geography and civics do not provide much exposure to urban planning. The lack of awareness limits the public discussion on local issues, such as infrastructure and transit, to an often small and well-versed group in the community. The needs of youth, as a result, are often neglected in the decision-making process.


As the organizer of the conference, Lo invited guest speakers from the Toronto Youth Cabinet, consulting firm Steer Davies Gleave, Studio Y of MaRS Discovery District, and Bike and Walk DeFuniak, a Florida-based youth activist group. Facilitators also included graduate students from the University of Toronto, Waterloo, Ryerson and McGill. Local youth organizations such as the City Youth Council of Toronto, Vision Youth Leadership Program, Project 5K and Engineers Without Borders were also key supporters of the event.


Lo envisions the conference as a starting point in bridging the gap between decision makers and marginalized groups such as youth. He would like to share his experience and analysis of the conference with other planners and officials to help improve the effectiveness of youth engagement in the city. He also hopes that the youth participants will become more involved and drive positive change in their communities with the new skills and opportunities presented to them.

To find out more, visit https://www.facebook.com/TSTconference/ or follow @TSTconference on Twitter.




城市規劃會議 助青少年投入建立社區

By Ryan Lo盧文軒

青少年諮詢及讓他們參與的工作近年成為多倫多市政府一個重要項目之一,而這一代的年輕人亦更積極地參與其中。上周日有超過六十位來自大多市不同地區的中學生在懷雅遜大學(Ryerson University)參與了 Tomorrow Starts Today城市規劃會議,討論青少年在社區建設方面的角色。
會議策畫者盧文軒致歡迎詞
 麥基爾大學(McGill University)城市規劃學院碩士生及「展望青年」的行政委員會副主席盧文軒是今次會議的創辦人。他認為組織一個以青少年為主的討論會議比撰寫論文會更能有效地探討青少年的諮詢工作。盧同學希望能透過客席演講、互動工作坊等方式來帶出城市建設方面的知識和議題。

盧同學表示,今次會議最主要有兩個目標:第一是在城市規劃、設計和公眾諮詢等課題上教育青少年,第二就是給予青少年實質的工具和渠道去參與社區工作。年輕人需要有一定的知識和用語的運用才能夠有效地參與和溝通。
會場内座無虛席

回顧在大學的研究和自己在大多市升學的經驗,他指出安省的中學地理科和公民科課程並沒有詳細探討城市規劃的課題,令到公眾在基礎建設和交通運輸等方面的討論都出現局限,只有一部份比較有經驗的人士才會參與,因而青少年社群真正的需要往往可能被忽略。
講者介紹科技對智能城市的影響

作為這次會議的組織者,盧同學邀請了社區不同界別,包括來自青年團體和專業研究顧問的嘉賓來當客席講者。四間加國大學的研究生亦有到場主持工作坊。City Youth Council of Toronto、「展望青年」、Project 5KEngineers Without Borders 「無國界工程師」 亦有支持今次的會議。

盧同學希望這次會議能夠帶起社區更多的討論,把政府和年青人的距離拉近。透過今次機會,他期望能與其他規劃師和市府官員分享自己得到的經驗,從而令政府的青年諮詢工作變得更加有效。他亦期待今次參與的同學能學以致用,為自己的城市出一份力,建設更好的社區。

詳情請瀏覽https://www.facebook.com/TSTconference/ 或上Twitter, @TSTconference



「展望青年領袖培訓計劃由今天起開始招收2016-2017義工,有興趣參與當義工者請瀏覽網址www.visionyouth.ca 或電郵hr@visionyouth.ca

展望青年領袖培訓計劃」現正招收2016-2017銅章新學員,查詢及報名請到網址www.visionyouth.ca電郵info@visionyouth.ca,或致電 (416) 800-4040 報名截止日期為331日。
今年將舉辦簡介會以介紹「展望青年領袖培訓計劃」。簡介會的詳情如下:

日期:三月十九日(星期六)
時間:下午 2:00 – 4:00 
地點:105 Gibson Centre, 105 Gibson Drive, Markham L3R 3K7


歡迎家長及中學同學參加。詳情請瀏覽 www.visionyouth.ca


Saturday, March 12, 2016

十大僱主看重的技能

By Eric Li

安永會計師事務所是第一個僱主用自行設定的技能標準去厘定畢業生入職的要求。在此之後其他大會計師事務所也相繼仿傚。

去年11月發表的全球大學畢業生就業調查,當中列出十大雇主看重的技能,意外地學術成績的高低不是主要的僱用考慮因素。僱主對大學畢業生的學術成績不為重視,反而對畢業生的個人技能較為看重。一些推測是僱主認為若能夠畢業的同學已經有一定的技術水平。分數高低未必對日後的工作有很大的影響,但是個人的軟技能(Soft Skills)對他日後的工作態度,團隊精神等更影響他將來在職的表現.

以下的圖表顯示該調查的結果,根據該技能的重要性排列,他們更預測2020年的技能需求。
2020 年的重要技能是
1.  解決複雜問題
2.  批判性思维
3.  創造力
4.  人事管理
5.  與他人協調的技巧
6.  情商
7.  判斷和決策
8.  服務主導
9.  談判技巧
10.認知靈活性
2015 年的重要技能是
1.  解決複雜問題
2.  與他人協調的技巧
3.  人事管理
4.  批判性思维
5.  談判技巧
6.  品質管制
7.  服務主導
8.  判斷和決策
9.  積極聆聽
10.創造力




很有趣的是「解決複雜問題」的技能永遠都排在首位.這一點很配合以往我們提到的「後專業」時代的分析。所謂「後專業」時代是僱主並不着重你在大學所收的是什麼專業,只要你能夠為僱主解決他遇到的種種問題,你就會被僱用。另一解讀是現代的問題很多都是跨專業的。舉例生化高科技公司要解決產品銷售的問題,很可能要有生化技術加商業知識的專才去解決問題。衹是有其中一種專才未必能夠解決問題。

2015年的技能「品質管制」和「積極聆聽」在2020的預測中都上不了鎊。取而代之的是「情商」和「認知靈活性」.「情商」是E.Q., 我相信很多人都認識到「情商」的重要性。「認知靈活性」是指可以靈活地轉變或接納不同的概念或多維的想法。

以上的分析是希望帶出學術成就是基本,個人的軟技能對同學將來的成就是同等重要,缺一不可。

「展望青年領袖培訓計劃由今天起開始招收2016-2017義工,有興趣參與當義工者請瀏覽網址www.visionyouth.ca 或電郵hr@visionyouth.ca

展望青年領袖培訓計劃」現正招收2016-2017銅章新學員,查詢及報名請到網址www.visionyouth.ca電郵info@visionyouth.ca,或致電 (416) 800-4040報名截止日期為331日。
今年將舉辦兩場簡介會以介紹「展望青年領袖培訓計劃」。簡介會的詳情如下:

日期:三月十九日(星期六)
時間:下午 2:00 – 4:00 
地點:105 Gibson Centre, 105 Gibson Drive, Markham L3R 3K7


歡迎家長及中學同學參加。詳情請瀏覽 www.visionyouth.ca

Saturday, March 5, 2016

The Story of Anna Amy Ho - 2016 Vision Graduation Ceremony Keynote Speaker

By Zita Lau

Anna Amy Ho is a freelance aerialist, a crisis counsellor at Victim Services Toronto, and a public speaker for child welfare advocacy. As our keynote speaker for Vision Youth Gala in 2016, she shared how to develop hope, resiliency, and courage by facing your fear and how she uses her “black box”. Here, we extend her inspiring speech through an interview on her experiences, values, and prospective plans.
Anna Amy Ho delivering her Keynote speech at the 2016 Vision Graduation Ceremony

‘Being able to give back and share something valuable’

Anna witnessed the ghastly deaths of her mother and grandmother on the day of her Grade 8 graduation – a story she continues to share with her audiences. It is never easy for anyone to share one’s own story, let alone speak about a wound that leaves an ineradicable scar. “I started off very shy and didn’t really feel like I wanted to share a lot,” Anna said, describing her initial feelings about speaking in front of the public.

As she saw her story have positive impact on people, however, she became encouraged to continue sharing. In particular, Anna relayed an exchange with her old classmate, who experienced a traumatic incident the day after reading her story. Like many, Anna’s classmate had always felt motivated just knowing pieces of Anna’s story and seeing her outspoken personality in classrooms; but after her own incident, knowing the full extent of Anna’s story gave her even more strengths to push through her studies and not let that experience hold her back from accomplishing her goals.

“There is a real sense of power – inspiration, hope, optimism – that comes from my story.” Anna explained what she learned from the feedbacks of her audiences. Through converting her negative experience to positive messages that give people courage and motivation, Anna is accomplishing something she believes we should all do – giving back to the community when we are able to.
Anna Amy Ho posed with the author of this article

Our strengths from within

Traumatic experiences will never completely heal or disappear from the lives of those who have been affected. Nonetheless, Anna believes everyone is capable of becoming strong and powerful for oneself but people often underestimate their inner ability to accomplish it.
Anna said: “Often times, we don't empower people enough to adopt their own sense of resiliency and strength I think for me, at a very young age, I was able to realize that quickly – that no matter how much supports we have in our life and how much other people around us want to help us, we have to be willing to accept that help, and realize that our strength really comes from within us first. We have to believe in ourselves and believe we can do it in order to push through.”

She further explained that her mother, a tough, single mother who raised Anna and her brother to the best of her abilities, had and continues to inspire Anna to be the strong person she is today.

Being a crisis counsellor
We often speak of empowering people in crisis, but Anna understands everyone as the expert of their own lives and only they can realize the power within themselves to become the person they want to be. In fact, this is what Anna does as a crisis counsellor – give people the tools to discover their ways to cope with grief and sorrow adaptively.

Anna further described what she had come to realize through working as a crisis counsellor by defining three terms: sympathy, empathy, and compassion. Sympathy means feeling sorry for the person, which is usually not what the clients need; empathy is feeling the person’s pain – sounds ideal at first, but can be counterproductive when the clients need assistance; and compassion is understanding the root causes of clients’ pain, propelling one to take action and advocate about it.

“Having compassion is the core of what I do,” Anna added, “as much as academia can give you the right terminology and the right words to articulate what you are trying to say and your messages, your lived experience is much more valuable. That’s what gives you the wisdom and knowledge to know how to actually navigate the experiences alongside clients and victims.”
This not only is her work ethics, but a skill that allowed her to push through her own difficulties and challenges growing up.

Looking into the future
In addition to accepting some new and exciting challenges at her new role with Victim Services starting in April, Anna plans to pursue a Master’s Degree in Dance Movement Psychotherapy and Counselling in the near future. Dancing provided Anna a safe haven to express her emotions and what she could not express through words back in high school, and it remained a crucial tool of expression and source of strength ever since. Therefore, her goal is to create a hub where all those who also believe in the potency of therapeutic arts can gather.
Anna Amy Ho performing 

When asked about a final message she would like to share with the youths, she said: “Never give up – just never, never give up."

Be it difficulties, challenges, or dreams, this motto is what she believes can motivate people to achieve their objectives. Sometimes people will desperate you from what you believe in; but the more you tell yourself you can succeed, the more you will try, and the more likely you will get to the place you want to be.


We also look forward to the day that Anna, a strong, inspiring young woman who never gives up, establishes her therapeutic arts centre that brings more people to realize the strengths they have within themselves.

勇舞動仁心 - 2016「展望」畢業晚宴主講嘉賓 Anna Amy Ho

By Zita Lau


畢業典禮主講嘉賓是多倫多警隊罪案受害人服務組的Anna Amy Ho小姐

Anna Amy Ho是一名特約空中舞蹈員、一名危機輔導員,也是一名致力於宣揚兒童福利的演講者。作為Vision Gala 2016的主講嘉賓,她分享了如何透過面對自己的恐懼,來建立希望、勇氣及適應能力,也介紹了她如何運用她的「黑盒子」(black box)。這次的訪問,我們將繼續分享她的經驗、理念與未來的計劃。

Anna並不吝嗇於和她的聽眾分享她在八年級畢業那天遇到的可怕經歷──那天,她親眼目睹自己的母親和外婆被後父殺害。要和陌生人分享自己的故事從來不易,更何況是心裡面的傷疤?Anna形容自己剛開始作公眾演講時「非常害羞,也不想和別人分享太多自己的心感受。」但當她發現自己的故事能為其他人帶來勇氣和力量,便感到非常鼓舞,也認為這是她可以回饋社會的一種方法。
本文作者在訪問後與Anna Amy Ho合照

雖然傷痛不會消失,但Anna堅信每個人都能運用自身的力量讓自己變得堅強,只是人們經常會低估自己的能力。她的經歷讓她從小明白,不管身邊的人如何努力去幫助自己,惟有自己能選擇是否要接受別人的幫忙,亦惟有自己相信自己的能力,才能克服困難、達成目標。Anna也透露自己一直以來視母親為推動力和榜樣,因為她雖然是一位單親母親,但她非常堅強、盡心盡力撫養她和哥哥成長。

作為一位危機輔導員,Anna認為自己的首要職責,是為尋求協助的人提供正面的方式去處理傷痛,並激發他們心擁有的力量。透過工作,Anna學會了 sympathy(同情心)、empathy(同理心)及compassion(側隱心)的分別。Sympathy是憐憫、對他人的遭遇感到抱歉,但這並不是當事人想要的幫助;empathy是去感受當事人的痛苦──雖然聽著很理想,但卻可能成為提供幫助的障礙;而compassion則是去明白痛楚的根源,並推動自己採取行動。不管是作為危機輔導員還是受傷害的當事人,Anna深信compassion才能最有效解決危機。

Anna Amy Ho表演空中舞蹈
除了繼續在Victim Services的危機輔導員工作,Anna更希望在不久的將來完成舞動治療(Dance Movement Psychotherapy and Counselling)的碩士課程。中學時期的Anna家中適逢巨變,全賴舞蹈,讓她得以宣洩情感,通過肢體語言,訴不能以文字表達的故事。因此,Anna希望建立一所藝術治療中心,讓相信舞蹈可以治療創傷的人能聚在一起。

最後,Anna希望年輕人記著「永不放棄」的信念。不管是遇到困難還是面對自己的夢想,只要不斷告訴自己會成功,便會有動力更努力去嘗試,最終到達自己想要到達的目的地。而我們也期望著永不放棄的Anna能達成自己的目標,以舞動治療激發更多人成為堅強的人。

________________________________________________________________________________

「展望青年領袖培訓計劃由今天起開始招收2016-2017義工,有興趣參與當義工者請瀏覽網址www.visionyouth.ca 或電郵hr@visionyouth.ca

展望青年領袖培訓計劃」現正招收2016-2017銅章新學員,查詢及報名請到網址www.visionyouth.ca電郵info@visionyouth.ca,或致電 (416) 800-4040 報名截止日期為331日。
今年將舉辦兩場簡介會以介紹「展望青年領袖培訓計劃」。簡介會的詳情如下:

日期:三月十九日(星期六)
時間:下午 2:00 – 4:00 
地點:105 Gibson Centre, 105 Gibson Drive, Markham L3R 3K7

歡迎家長及中學同學參加。詳情請瀏覽 www.visionyouth.ca

有關“展望青年領袖培訓計畫”的過去活動,請瀏覽博客網址http://www.visionyouthblog.blogspot.ca/ YouTube http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgaLlgFUBMRGCNAQxwmtpYw