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The Macao Youth Indicators Profile and Macao’s Youth Policies
In formulating plans for youth or talent development, the first step must be to obtain a clear picture, i.e. to understand the current situation of young people and their needs. This requires a youth indicators profile which enables practical and feasible analysis and comparison. The lack of indicators (i.e. actual statistics which reflects the situation of the youth and systematic research tool) or the lack of a systematic consolidation of indicators (i.e. without successive measurements using the same research tool or follow-up survey) would result in difficulty to obtain a clear, precise and comprehensive picture of the youth situation, and policy makers will in turn find it hard to formulate appropriate youth policies.
In a word, the information presented by the youth indicators profile is neutral. It provides the society with certain reference data which can become the basis for evaluating the needs and situations of young people, and hence the basis for formulation of relevant policies to ensure healthy development of youth. However, it must be emphasised that a youth indicators profile plays a role only in the preliminary stage in the entire process of the formulation of youth policies. That is to say, it only provides policy-makers with basic information on the needs of young people and their future development trends, and can serve only to facilitate the setting of direction and goals of youth work and policy initiatives. There are other aspects which require active participation of every young person, such as supporting the implementation of specific policies and making good use of opportunities and resources made available by the society, so as to effectively assimilate knowledge and develop their own potential. The youth indicators also provide parents, educators and those taking part in the policy making process with information on external factors outside of school that influence learning, thus enabling better planning of policies in education, employment and other cultural activities. (Fox, Connolly & Snyder 2005). |