At the youth programme organized by the Sir Edward Youde Scholars Association (SEYSA), Yuxin Hou was invited to share his vision on the topic of “Tailor-make Your Life” with a cohort of young scholars selected from around Hong Kong to receive the award from the Sir Edward Youde Memorial Fund.

The Sir Edward Youde Memorial Prize is to award outstanding young scholars for their social awareness and social responsibility. By sharing his experiences in working with GIFT and the YLP, Yuxin opened doors for the awardees to a whole new approach to tackle social problems, and a different level of thinking towards social issues and social development. The recent YLP projects were highlighted as examples for the awardees to understand the thinking involved in putting a business touch on social projects and making them scalable as well as sustainable.

Yuxin also shared his personal experience of looking for the fire in his heart and working to make his life different. He challenged the conventional stereotype of what the “successful youth” should do as a career and asked the audience to think for themselves. “What you do defines who you are,” Yuxin said. He encouraged the young scholars to find their true passion saying, “if you haven’t found it, keep looking, don’t settle.”

Known for taking no rule or assumption for granted, Yuxin believes this is what makes one’s life unique. He encouraged everyone to think differently and to challenge the system and the status quo. “Being ready to challenge, is like when everyone else is trying to be cozy, you are out there seeking for thrills; is like when everyone else is looking for a faster horse, you are working on a jet engine; is like when everyone else is OK with the status quo, you are trying to change it. And this is what pushes the human race forward.”

Challenging the statue quo and thinking beyond the conventional, this is also the vision of GIFT. This very vision drives us to find innovative solutions to build sustainable social business and a better living environment for all communities, and this is what makes us unique. As Yuxin addressed at the end, “life is short and your time is precious. So don't waste your time living someone else’s life.” He left them with the opportunity to tailor-make their own career, encouraging them to get involved in an up coming YLP!