Clarion call for NGO internships

Young people should pay more attention to non-governmental organizations for internships, Hong Kong Red Cross chairman Philip Tsai Wing-chung said.

In an exclusive interview with The Standard, the former Deloitte China chairman said: "In Deloitte, we deal with a small number of people.

"But in an NGO, the work covers people at various levels, so people [joining] can gain great exposure. Apart from serving the vulnerable, their horizons will also be widened."

Taking the helm of Red Cross in September as it celebrated its 70th anniversary, Tsai noted that some 20 fresh graduates have joined the society through a six-month humanitarian trainee scheme.

"Besides getting humanitarian work experience and learning values, they can also give us new ideas," Tsai said.

Having met many young people over his career, Tsai said young people are the future. "Our future depends on young people's innovation, adaptability and leadership."

Echoing his view, the Red Cross has implemented a youth engagement policy since 2018 to bring more young people into areas such as planning, leadership, organization and humanitarian work.

The veteran accountant also said his 35-year experience in Deloitte helps his work in the Red Cross as both establishments aim to provide quality professional services despite limited resources.

"I always believe that clarity of purpose, commitment to quality and consistency of effort are important, no matter whether in Deloitte or the Red Cross," he said.

Like many others, the Red Cross is facing many challenges and uncertainties amid the pandemic and the unstable social and economic situation, so Tsai says it has to be innovative and agile.

"We may not know how to cope with the future, so we need to be well prepared and react accordingly. Our agility and flexibility are very important."

He also said more people are needing help while service provisions had changed.

"We need to think if we can use technologies like Zoom in providing services like community health. We hope we can meet our service targets through these kinds of avenues, as well as facilitate communications among our volunteers and service partners."