HONG KONG: Internet gang bullying and online recruitment for a mass suicide among young people have set off a movement which sees social workers going online in an all-out effort to identify youth in distress. The workers also have formed a working group to lobby the government to fund Internet outreaching and counseling.

The group, calling itself Cyber Youth Work, will meet Saturday to establish a consensus on a model for online youth services. The model will be proposed to the Social Welfare Department (SWD) at the end of the month, with an application for funding.

Cyber Youth Work was formed last month after a round table hosted by legislator Cheung Kwok-che, the Hong Kong Council of Social Services (HKCSS), social work academic Yeung Ka-ching and a handful of online youth work operators.

Ken Chan Kam-ming, HKCSS's chief officer of service development, said Saturday's meeting will discuss a summary paper on various online youth services and make suggestions on possible delivery models.

"We hope the department can provide a subsidy for the development of the models. It will probably start with pilot projects and if proved effective, we hope that the department can provide sustainable funding source," said Chan.

Cheung, who initiated the round table, said initial discussions came to a consensus that online youth services could be provided by three to four groups using different approaches.

A veteran youth worker, Cheung said there can be two types of online youth work approaches. One is "problem oriented", in which youth workers will intervene when they are confronted by emergencies such as last months' mass suicide call and a marked increase in the prevalence of so-called compensated dating among young women.

"The second approach can be a 'net youth center', which sets up a lot of Facebook or Twitter accounts to outreach teens and spread positive and critical thinking," said Cheung.

Adopted widely in the United States, online outreach and counseling sprung up in Hong Kong only in recent months.

(HK Edition 01/16/2010 page1)