Youth Square Launched "Dunhuang Youth Internship Programme 2019" 16 Hong Kong Youths Serve as Guides at Dunhuang Mogao Caves after Passing the Assessment Successfully

HONG KONG, July 18, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Youth Square's "Hong Kong Youth Dunhuang Internship Programme 2019" has been launched from 16 June to 27 July, with 16 students from tertiary institutions in Hong Kong currently participating in a six-week internship programme in Dunhuang, during which they are benefited from direct exchange with local experts and scholars to learn history, culture and conservation works of Dunhuang, a significant town along the Silk Road. They will also serve as internship guides to practice what they have learnt. After almost three weeks of trainings, all interns successfully passed the assessment on giving explanation to tourists at Mogao Caves. They started their internships on last Monday (8 July 2019) and officially serve as internship guides at Dunhuang Mogao Caves.

Interns who passed the assessment officially started internship on 5 July to explain mystery of the Caves. Ms Agnes Sung Pui Yee (1st from left), an intern, believed that the most difficulty in serving as guides of Dunhuang Mogao Craves was not to recite all kinds of historical materials, but to touch audience through elaboration.

After the arrival to Dunhuang on 16 June, the 16 interns from different tertiary institutions in Hong Kong received a series of trainings covering humanities, geography and various special studies of Dunhuang, as well as trainings on reception etiquette and visiting routes of Mogao Caves, preparing for their works as guides.

The interns sat for assessment on giving explanation to tourists at Mogao Caves on 5 July, with which Ms Han Wenjun and Mr Liu Wenshan, representatives from the Culture Promotion Department of Dunhuang Academy, served as the examiners. Interns explained to the examiners and classmates on site the history of Mogao Caves and even the allusions of murals in the Caves, which were evaluated by the examiners. Eventually, all 16 interns passed the assessment and started internship at once, during which the 16 interns will take turns to serve as guides to explain for visitors the past and present of Mogao Caves by fixed points or moving around.

Ms Agnes Sung Pui Yee, an intern of the "Hong Kong Dunhuang Youth Internship Programme" who passed the assessment, said that the trainings for almost three weeks benefited her much by allowing her to understand Mogao Caves in depth, with exploration of the true colours of such thousand-year-old caves closely and digging into the history and artistic value of Dunhuang, as well as its significance as an intersection of Chinese and Western cultures. Through the learning in the Caves, she has more profound experience in its conservation difficulty and effectiveness. Agnes said that she and her classmates are grateful for the pass of assessment and to be internship guides at Mogao Craves. She hoped to practice what she has learnt in the programme to share the essence and stories of Dunhuang with tourists, unveiling for them the mystery of such thousand-year-old caves at Dunhuang.

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Youth Square's "Dunhuang Youth Internship Programme"

The "Dunhuang Youth Internship Programme" is organized by the Home Affairs Bureau in conjunction with Youth Square and fully supported by Dunhuang Academy since 2018. It is a six-week programme which offer 16 Dunhuang internship positions for local tertiary institution students. The programme delves into areas such as Dunhuang's humanities, geography, and other specific subjects. Interns will also get to engage in field work to polish up their explanation skills and work together as a group on a creative project to promote Dunhuang. They will have a chance to personally experience and understand Dunhuang's conservation efforts for rock caves, murals, and the environment. By this opportunity, interns can interact with Dunhuang researchers and learn from professional guides on how to better introduce the facts and details about places of interest to tourists, and develop themselves into bona fide Mogao Caves guides. To date, more than 30 Hong Kong youths have travelled to Dunhuang through the programme.

Since 2016, Youth Square has launched a series of "Discover Dunhuang" activities, including exhibitions, tour guide training, art creation, sharing sessions, and many others in order to increase awareness among the younger generation about Dunhuang's cultural and conservation efforts. Besides these avenues, youths who have proven to be interested in Dunhuang are selected as "Dunhuang Art and Cultural Ambassadors" and get to personally travel there to interact with the locals. Youth Square has successfully organized three "Art and Culture Learning Trips" and led over 60 young and aspiring Dunhuang Art and Cultural Ambassadors to Dunhuang for visits. Through close contact with researchers from Dunhuang Research Academy and other young tour guides, these ambassadors have learned more about Dunhuang's history, arts, and culture through invaluable hands-on experience. The "Dunhuang Youth Internship Programme" was first introduced in 2018 with the goal of encouraging youths to experience the culture and conservation of the long-established Silk Road up-close from its starting point both in times past and the present - Dunhuang.

New World Facilities Management Company Limited

New World Facilities Management Company Limited is a non-profit making company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of New World Group (HK Stock Code: 00017). Embracing the mission of youth development and supporting youth to contribute to society, we strive to develop Youth Square as the platform for youth to exchange knowledge and experience and to develop and discover their potential.

Youth Square

The Youth Square, which came into full operation in 2010, is a youth development project of the Home Affairs Bureau of the HKSAR Government, with an aim to be the hub of diversified youth development activities for youth to develop their potential. Youth Square facilities include the 643-seat Y Theatre, Y Studio, multi-function areas and the Y Loft which has 148 guest rooms. Youth Square has been conducting over 180 themed events under "Music & Dance", "Arts & Culture" and "Community Engagement". Youth Square has been holding over 9,700 youth events and served for more than 1.8 million participants since 2010. In addition, with participants came from more than 80 countries or regions, Y Loft has been providing accommodations for more than 260,000 youths who participated in various exchange programmes in Hong Kong. Youth Square is located in Chai Wan and is managed and operated by New World Facilities Management Company Limited on a non-profit making basis.

6G model is Youth Square's guiding principle. 6G refers to Groom, Grow, Glow, Green, Global Vision and Give Back.

Official web site: http://www.youthsquare.hk

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