The Education and Youth Development Bureau (DSEDJ) vowed yesterday to strengthen education about the “Loving the Country, Loving Macau” principle at different levels, in which the upcoming 2024/2025 academic year will see the launch of a set of national security education supplementary teaching materials, as well as a patriotic education camp for Form 1 students.
The government-appointed Youth Affairs Committee, chaired by Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Elsie Ao Ieong U, held its first plenary meeting for this year at the bureau yesterday morning on topics including preparations for events celebrating the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the 25th anniversary of Macau’s return to the motherland, as well as the status of the selection of applications for the “2023 Youth Awards”, the “International Anti-drugs Ambassador Training Programme for Macau Youth 2024”, and the “The Macau Youth Professional Development Programme”.
The meeting took place behind closed doors.
DSEDJ Non-Tertiary Education Department Chief Choi Man Chi said during a post-meeting press briefing that the set of national security education supplementary teaching materials will be divided into six volumes for preschool, primary and secondary education, as well as for tertiary education.
Choi said: “The bureau promotes education about the ‘Loving the Country, Loving Macau’ principle at different levels, including a further revision of the Education Curriculum Framework regulations, the publication of teaching materials, and the hosting of a number of local, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA) and international events to foster an atmosphere of patriotism and love for Macau.”
In terms of the Patriotic Education Camp for Form 1 students, DSEDJ Youth Department Chief Cheong Man Fai said that the planning process for the camp was still underway, aiming to “give our students a better understanding of our country and knowledge of our traditional culture”.
According to the plan, Cheong said, the camp will last two or three days, with the main accommodation to be provided in Macau.
Several accommodation sites suitable for the camp will be included in the plan, Cheong was quick to add, underlining that the bureau will mobilise all its resources to provide the participants in the camp with accommodation, while launching a host of activities, including site visits to the Guangdong-Macau In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin and the Greater Bay Area.
The existing National Defence Education Experience Camp for Form 2 students, Outdoor Education Camp for Form 3 students, and the Military Summer Camp for local youths will remain unchanged, Cheong stressed.
Meanwhile, the bureau’s “Social Research on Youth Indicators in Macao 2024” will be carried out from May to August for youths from all walks of life.
Yesterday’s press briefing was also addressed by Chio Pou Wai, acting chief of the bureau’s Youth Development Division.
The Education and Youth Development Bureau’s (DSEDJ) Youth Department Chief Cheong Man Fai (left) and Non-Tertiary Education Department Chief Choi Man Chi (centre), as well as Youth Development Division Acting Chief Chio Pou Wai host a press briefing after yesterday’s closed-door plenary meeting of the government-appointed Youth Affairs Committee at the bureau.
– Photo: Yuki Lei
