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The fifth cohort of the Leadership Institute on Narcotics (L.I.O.N.) kicked off on March 7, marking the official beginning of this year’s Youth Anti-drug Leadership Training Programme.
Speaking at the kick-off ceremony, the Commissioner Chow Yat-ming, said that the abuse of etomidate in recent years has posed challenges to anti-drug efforts, reflecting the ever-changing drug scene. As such, the programme curriculum of L.I.O.N. must keep abreast of the times. In addition to training courses covering leadership skills, drug-related legal and medical knowledge, publicity and media response techniques, and adventure-based training, L.I.O.N. has also incorporated generative artificial intelligence training this year to equip mentees with skills to apply innovative technologies for creating impactful anti-drug projects. The Chinese Mainland exchange tour will also be extended to three days and two nights this year, enabling mentees to engage in in-depth exchanges in the Greater Bay Area and broaden their horizons.
The Commissioner expressed his appreciation to the Hong Kong Youth Development Alliance, executive committee members of the past cohorts, professional trainers, as well as school principals and teachers for their support and contributions to L.I.O.N.. He encouraged mentees of the new cohort to cherish every learning opportunity, and work together with all sectors to build a drug-free society.
At the ceremony, awardees from the fourth cohort shared their valuable insights from the exchange tour to New Zealand in February. They said that the trip deepened their understanding of how anti-drug messages were disseminated there through publicity, education and community involvement, which would help them continue to fulfill their mission as anti-drug leaders in the future.
Established by the Narcotics Bureau in 2021, L.I.O.N. brings together various community sectors and annually recruits 80 secondary students and 20 undergraduates as mentees. Through various training activities, visits, as well as exchange tours, L.I.O.N. nurtures young people as anti-drug leaders to disseminate anti-drug messages in the community.
Mentees visit Shek Kwu Chau to learn about the journey of rehabilitation
The training programme for the new cohort has already commenced. On January 27, the mentees participated in ice-breaking activities, and Mr Leung Kwok-shing, an awardee of the Hong Kong Ten Outstanding Young Persons Selection 2015, provided coaching and debriefing training for the new cohort of professional trainers and university mentees to enhance their group mentoring skills. Subsequently, on February 7, the mentees visited the Shek Kwu Chau Treatment and Rehabilitation Centre of the Society for the Aid and Rehabilitation of Drug Abusers. In addition to touring the facilities, they engaged in conversations with residents undergoing drug treatment. The residents shared their journeys of rehabilitation and how they rebuilt healthy lifestyles through job skills training on the island. The mentees contributed by helping to renovate the Center’s facilities, and extended their best wishes to the residents for successful rehabilitation and a new beginning.
L.I.O.N. celebrates its upcoming fifth anniversary with a series of activities to promote a drug-free culture
Approaching its fifth anniversary, L.I.O.N. will launch a series of large-scale celebration and promotion activities, including “L.I.O.N. - mobile”, an anti-drug short video competition, and the large-scale annual anti-drug carnival, to showcase the achievements over the past five years and bring the healthy, drug-free culture to every corner of the community.
