Background
To encourage young people to assist peers in overcoming the difficulties they face in their development and to resist temptation of drugs, the Narcotics Bureau of the Hong Kong Police Force founded the “Leadership Institute on Narcotics” (L.I.O.N.) in 2021 with the support of various sectors of the community and recruited 100 secondary and university students over the territory as mentees each year. Through providing systematic training by expertise from different professions and offering guidance on design and implementation of anti-drug activities by mentors, L.I.O.N. aims to foster mentees’ sense of social responsibility and nurtured them into outstanding young anti-drug leaders.
L.I.O.N. aims to serve as an effective platform to gather different parties from various sectors. It is hoped that through their joint effort in different roles, we can promote anti-drug message in a more innovative and welcoming approach among the younger generation and the public.
L.I.O.N. aspires to nurture energetic young leaders with moral responsibilities and civic awareness to promote drug-free culture in schools and society. It is hoped that the programme can benefit more local young people, helping them broaden their peers’ horizons and cultivate positive values, and allowing them to learn to appreciate and care about others and contribute to the well-being of the community in various ways.
On top of the originally planned series of local training sessions, the upcoming 2023/24 L.I.O.N. will be continue to organinze a field trip to the Mainland which aims to deepen mentees’ understanding on the national anti-drug strategies and latest developments in the Mainland. An overseas trip will also be offered to outstanding mentees.
Building on the first two cohorts’ stellar success and invaluable experiences, with 200 young anti-drug leaders nurtured and over 50 000 people reached with anti-drug messages, the Leadership Institute on Narcotics (L.I.O.N.) is supercharging its third cohort’s programme. New modules on stress management, digital media publicity and video shooting offer mentees richer learning experiences, while further sharpening their leadership and event planning skills, as well as broadening their horizons.
2024-02-24 Visit to Shek Kwu Chau Treatment and Rehabilitation Centre
The visit to Shek Kwu Chau Treatment and Rehabilitation Centre marked the first activity for the third cohort. Beyond learning about the residents’ daily lives, mentees also heard unbearable drug abuse stories and formidable quitting journeys from former drug addicts, deepening their understanding of how drug abuse harms addicts and their families. Ending the day, mentees even rolled up their sleeves and pitched in to renovate the centre, leaving behind uplifting wishes for all residents’ success in quitting drugs and staying drug-free!
2024-03-09 Training Day I
On the incredibly rewarding first training day, mentees gained a wealth of insights, ranging from drug-related knowledge, drug trends, criminal liabilities for drug trafficking, takeaways from case sharing to the application of big data in anti-drug strategies. What’s more, right after an eye-opening exploration of drug identification methods in labs, they also mastered emotional and stress management skills, greatly enhancing their resilience!
2024-04-06 Third Cohort Ice-breaking Day cum Opening Ceremony
The ice-breaking day cum opening ceremony for the third cohort of L.I.O.N. was held at the Police Headquarters on 6 April. Following morning team tasks by mentees, including the site’s first-ever high-element challenge, Commissioner Siu Chak-yee, the officiating guest at the afternoon ceremony, presented certificates of appreciation to sponsoring body and certificates of appointment to L.I.O.N.’s Executive Committee members, professional trainers and mentors, officially kicking off the third cohort.
During the ceremony, mentees from the second cohort shared their valuable insights gained from an overseas exchange tour in New Zealand. They broadened their horizons by telling good stories of Hong Kong’s anti-drug efforts and learnt about drug harm and anti-drug policies of different countries.
By galvanising community efforts, L.I.O.N. will continue to nurture anti-drug leaders, spread anti-drug messages within the community, protect the youth from drug harm and build a society embracing a “Drugs? Never, Ever!” culture.
2024-05-11 Training Day II
During Training Day II, star instructors were invited to impart knowledge about drug harm and media handling skills to mentees. This year, a new module on video shooting and editing was also added to empower mentees with production skills, further unleashing their full creative potential.
2024-07-13 Training Day III
For Training Day III, L.I.O.N. elevated mentees’ learning experience by introducing new features in digital media publicity and creative thinking, along with highlights on drug knowledge, leadership capabilities and public speaking skills, all aimed at meeting their diverse needs, while enabling them to apply their newfound skills and prepare for the upcoming on-campus anti-drug exhibitions.
2024-07-27&28 Leadership Training Camp
Amidst the two-day, one-night Leadership Training Camp at JPC@Pat Heung, mentees accomplished a suite of training tasks, including the Pat Heung Race, an adventure competition and a night exploration, successfully pushing their limits, sharpening their leadership skills and fostering team spirit!
2024-08-15&16 Mainland Exchange Programme
L.I.O.N. launched “Together, We Fight Against Drugs” cultural exchange programme for youths from Hong Kong and Shenzhen on August 15 and 16, opening the way for them to exchange views on anti-drug developments of both places, while encouraging Hong Kong young people to co-opt anti-drug approaches from the Mainland.
Starting at the Shenzhen drug education base, mentees exchanged insights with local anti-drug pioneers to draw upon anti-drug experiences and strategies from the Mainland. During their subsequent visits at the HighGreat Innovation’s school-enterprise collaborative education base in Shenzhen, as well as the Songshan Lake Science City Exhibition Hall and Materials Laboratory in Dongguan, mentees experienced our country’s rapid and cutting-edge technological advancements and strong capabilities in scientific research, which inspired their innovative thinking and broadened their horizons, while encouraging them to maximise preventive effectiveness by leveraging innovative technology in anti-drug efforts.
Marking the 185th anniversary of Humen’s opium destruction this year, the exchange programme concluded with a visit to the Opium War Museum in Humen, Dongguan. Featuring diverse and innovative exhibitions, the visit facilitated mentees in recapturing heroic accomplishments of Lin Zexu, the anti-drug pioneer, passing on the spirits of Humen’s opium destruction, and becoming key players in the anti-drug era.
2024-11-16&17 ”Let's T.A.L.K. LOL Party"
The Narcotics Bureau (NB) and the Family Conflict and Sexual Violence Policy Unit of the Hong Kong Police Force have collaborated for the first time to stage a large-scale carnival, "Let's T.A.L.K. LOL Party", which will run for two consecutive days from November 16-17 at the West Kowloon Cultural District. The event will combine elements of sports, music and art to promote anti-drug and child protection messages to the public.
This first collaborative anti-drug and child protection carnival by the Police carries triple significance: sustaining the efforts in the "Love Our Life - LOL Party" large-scale anti-drug exhibitions over the past two years to offer L.I.O.N. mentees a platform to showcase their learning outcomes; serving as the finale of NB's Anti-Drug Campaign; and marking the launch of the "Let's T.A.L.K. Child Protection Campaign 2024".
Looking back at the first cohort of the Leadership Institute on Narcotics (L.I.O.N.), the success was not easy to come by. In face of the pandemic, it was only through concerted efforts of the community and schools that L.I.O.N. could be held smoothly. This year, a Mainland exchange programme was included to enhance mentees’ understanding of the national anti-drug strategies as well as visiting high-tech companies to train them to be anti-drug leaders so that they could organise anti-drug campaigns on campus and promote anti-drug message.
2023-02-04 Visiting Shek Kwu Chau Treatment and Rehabilitation Centre
To experience the hardships ex-drug addicts faced in the course of drug rehabilitation first-hand, mentees made their first L.I.O.N. visit to Shek Kwu Chau Treatment and Rehabilitation Centre where ex-drug addicts shared their story and showed mentees their self-sufficient living facilities, such as the aquaponics system and water storage facility. Mentees assisted in coastal cleanup and left their blessing message to ex-drug addicts.
2023-03-05 Sai Kung Outdoor Training Camp
Beyond acquiring drugs knowledge, leadership training is also one of the vital training elements of L.I.O.N.. 100 L.I.O.N. mentees attended the team training held at the Jockey Club Sai Kung Outdoor Training Camp on 5 March for strengthening their team spirit. Commissioner Siu Chak-yee also joined mentees for the training led by the Hong Kong Federation of Youth. Mentees demonstrated their wisdom and strength in the morning through accomplishing various tasks within time limit and striving for the best result. The burning sun in the afternoon did not slightly damage the morale among mentees, they built bamboo rafts together to cross the sea and kept achieving breakthroughs.
2023-04-01 Second Cohort ice-breaking day cum opening ceremony
The ice-breaking day cum opening ceremony of the second cohort of L.I.O.N. was held at the Police Tactical Unit Headquarters on 1 April. In the morning, over 100 mentees and mentors took part in some challenge oneself games, problem-solving games including the high event training organised by Force Rope Access Cadre in order to enhance their problem-solving skills and breakthrough themselves. Commissioner Siu Chak-yee officiated at the ceremony in the afternoon and presented certificates of appreciation to the sponsoring body and certificates of appointment to L.I.O.N.’s Executive Committee members, professional trainers and mentors, marking the beginning of the second cohort of L.I.O.N..
2023-04-29 Training Day I
The first training day was held at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, where mentees learned about drugs, including drug types, harms and trends, criminal liability for drug trafficking, and case sharing, as well as how to apply big data to anti-drug strategies. In addition, the mentees visited the laboratories to learn how to identify drugs, thus enhancing their drug knowledge in all aspects.
2023-05-27 Training Day II
The training day was held at the Hong Kong Jockey Club Anti-Drug Info Centre, where mentees were able to learn more about drugs and their harmful effects through interactive games. L.I.O.N. also invited doctors and professors to give in-depth lectures on the harmful effects of drugs on mental health and body and invited ex-drug addicts to share their experience with the mentees, to warn them to stay away from drugs. A drug knowledge assessment was also conducted on the same day to test the knowledge of the participants.
2023-06-26 Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macau Youth Anti-Drug Program
To promote International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, graduates of LION and fresh university mentees were invited to attend the Guangdong, Hong Kong,and Macao Youth Anti-Drug Program in Humen, Dongguan, to exchange anti-drug experiences with the local youths. The mentees visited the Humen Opium War Museum in Dongguan, the former site of Lin Zexu Smoking Pond and the Lin Zexu Memorial Hall to learn more about the history of the country's anti-drug efforts and the anti-drug education policy. The mentees also distributed anti-drug publicity souvenirs to local students and citizens and exchanged views on anti-drug publicity in the Greater Bay Area.
2023-07-15 Training Day III
Star instructors were invited to coach the mentees on human resource management and presentation skills, and to understand the attributes of leaders, which would help them to lead the team design and implementation of anti-drug programs in the future.
2023-07-29&30 Leadership Training Camp
A group of mentees started a two-day and one-night leadership and teamwork training at Pat Heung Youth Services Center. The camp challenged the mentees to step out of their comfort zone and to develop their leadership skills and team spirit.
2023-08-10 Correctional Facility Visits
The mentees visited Stanley Prison and Ma Hang Prison to experience first-hand the process of being arrested, including court trials, prison admission procedures, prison cell life, and the daily work of inmates so the mentees would have a better understanding of the consequences of committing drug-related criminal offenses.
2023-08-12 Training Day IV
The training is conducted by event planning experts and university professors, imparting knowledge of event planning and skills for dealing with the media. Enhance participants' skills in organizing events and promoting anti-drug activities to the media.
2023-08-18&19 Mainland Exchange Program
A group of students visits Shenzhen to explore the anti-drug education base experiential museum and gain insights into the national history of anti-drug efforts. Shenzhen youth engage in discussions on drug trends analysis and cross-border anti-drug cooperation between the two regions. Students also visit various high-tech enterprises to learn about the country's cutting-edge technology, including large electric vehicle manufacturers, internet technology companies, and drone technology. Through the exchange tour, students can broaden their horizons.
2023-08-26 Training Day V
Prepare students with knowledge of creative thinking, team communication, and management for the campus anti-drug program scheduled from September to October.
Anti-drug Campaign in School Campus
After the training, 100 students planned and organized creative anti-drug activities in 20 local secondary schools from September to October 2023. They utilized the power of peer influence to promote a drug-free culture on campuses.
2023-11-18&19 “Love Our Life - LOL Party” Anti-drugs Exhibition
100 students had attended the one-year programme to equip themselves with drug knowledge as well as nurture their leadership skills for them to promote anti-drug culture in schools and community. On November 18-19, students set up booths at a large anti-drug exhibition Love Our Life – LOL Party in the West Kowloon Cultural District, using innovative methods to disseminate anti-drug message to over 11,000 members of the public.
2023-12-08 L.I.O.N Graduation Ceremony
The Graduation Ceremony cum High Table Dinner for the second cohort of "Leadership Institute on Narcotics" were successfully held in December 2023. The 100 students have achieved remarkable progress, transforming into outstanding youth leaders. They actively promoted the message "Say No to Drugs" to over 30,000 people. Commissioner of Police Siu Chak-yee and renowned artist Andy Lau presented prizes and outstanding achievement certificates, as well as scholarships to the outstanding students during the Graduation Ceremony. Ten exceptional students were selected for an exchange tour to New Zealand for sharing their experience on delivering anti-drug message to local stakeholders and youths. Graduate of L.I.O.N. will continue to shine and carry the mission of the "Leadership Institute on Narcotics" spreading the drug-free culture in schools and society.
The mentees of the first cohort of L.I.O.N. has participated in various anti-drugs events and trainings in the first half of 2022, let’s take a look at some highlights of the past events. The mentees of L.I.O.N. will continue to engage in different trainings. Between September and November, they will organise their own anti-drugs publicity campaign in schools and community with an aim to publicise correct information on drug harms to their peers and the public.
2022-04-20 Anti-Cannabis Social Media Posts
Mentees of L.I.O.N. composed a series of anti-cannabis social media posts to promote anti-drugs messages across their peers in April 2022. Part of the posts were published on the Force’s social media platforms. Not only could mentees unleash their creativity through the activities, their anti-drugs awareness was also greatly enhanced.
2022-05-07 Dawn Island Visit
Participants of L.I.O.N. went on a guided tour to Dawn Island and visited the Dawn Island Gospel Drug Addiction Treatment Centre, an anti-drugs organization run by Operation Dawn, where they participated in a VR experience, visited the drug rehabilitation facilities on the island and took part in a sharing session by rehabilitated drug abusers from the centre. The mentees expressed that the experiences of the ex-drug addict allowed them to understand the serious consequences of drug abuse.
2022-06-11 Leadership Institute on Narcotics Ice-breaking Day cum Launching Ceremony
“Leadership Institute on Narcotics” was officially launched with an ice-breaking day cum launching ceremony at the Police Tactical Unit Headquarters. The hundred mentees were fully engaged in a series of ice-breaking activities and built rapport through the games. They also challenged themselves to push the limit through abseiling and zip lines training. During the launching ceremony, the Commissioner Mr. Siu Chak-yee officiated the event and exchanged thoughts with school principals and mentees. There were also performances by Police Dog Unit with their dog handlers and drug detector dogs.
2022-06-12 Drug Knowledge Workshop
The Drug Knowledge Workshop was held at the Hong Kong Baptist University in June. NB officers, professors from urology and chemistry department, a lawyer specializing in criminal law, an experienced social worker and an ex-drug abuser who succeeded in rehabilitating explained the harmful effects of drug abuse and drug-related offences to alarm the mentees that they should stay away from drugs. The mentees also learned about thin layer chromatography for identifying drugs and experienced the smells of stimulated drugs in the university laboratory. The workshop helped clarifying the mentees’ misunderstanding about drugs.
2022-06-18 Leadership Workshop
L.I.O.N. will hold a series of leadership and creativity workshops for the mentees. Professional trainers are invited to boost the mentees’ capabilities in event planning and skills in team management through innovative means to inspire their creativity and promote their personal development so that they could plan their own anti-drugs publicity programmes in the future.
Leadership Workshops
L.I.O.N. is committed to enhancing mentees’ presentation and communication skills by inviting trainers from different professions to provide mentees with trainings in team communication, media relations strategy and promotion techniques, thereby facilitating the team management and promotion of their anti-drug campaigns to the public.
Leadership Training Camp
Mentees will participate in a series of outdoor trainings during summer holidays to strengthen their team spirit as well as communication and problem-solving skills. This helped to enhance their leadership skills and execution power in planning their own anti-drugs publicity programmes.
Anti-drugs Campaign in school campus
Between September and November of 2022, mentees of L.I.O.N. organised a series of creative anti-drugs campaigns in 20 respective secondary schools where they disseminated anti-drugs messages through their peer power and instilled a drug-free culture onto campuses.
“Love Our Life - LOL Party” Anti-drugs Exhibition
Mentees made use of their knowledge in art and technology to set up 20 exhibition booths, where they adopted a more approachable and innovative way to promote anti-drug messages to the public and youths.
L.I.O.N. Graduation Ceremony
The first cohort of L.I.O.N. Graduation Ceremony cum High Table Dinner was successfully held on 16 December 2022. 100 mentees of L.I.O.N. have officially turned to anti-drug leaders. The Commissioner of Police Siu Chak-yee presented the gold, silver, bronze, merit awards and scholarships were presented to the outstanding graduates and ten of them were selected to attend an overseas exchange trip to Singapore. The graduates would continue to foster the drugs free culture as a Graduate of L.I.O.N. (G.O. L.I.O.N.)
L.I.O.N. is grateful for the widespread support from stakeholders within the community and the extensive media coverage received.
