In response to the call of the country, Vietnamese young people continue to act a shock force in the battle in the spirit of “be ready to scarifice for the country.” Movements namely “Three readiness,” and “Youth volunteer movement in five fields,” encouraged generations of Vietnamese young people to volunteer, join shock force and devote to the country to wrest back independence and freedom. That spirit has been handed down and continued in national reconstruction, building and renovation along other movements, namely “Young people start career,” “Young people safeguard the country,” “Emulation for voluntary construction and defense of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam.”

In the process of industrialization, modernization and international integration, the young people’s vanguard role, voluntarism and creativity have ben strengthened through two movements of “Upholding the vanguard role and voluntarism for developing socio-economy and national defense,” and “Accompanying young people to make career.” These movements have been ramified into relevant sub-movements for different target groups with concrete and practical themes.

The movement of “Young people join hands to build new rural areas” among rural youth has made practical achievements. It has mobilized young people to build infrastructure, landscape and protection of rural environment, actively develop rural economy, voluntarily maintain security and order in rural areas, and contribute to build cultural life, Party organizations and administrations. (1) The movement of “Young people take part in building urban civilization” has initially triggered positive social response, attracting youth union members, and young people, generating positive changes in awareness and behavior of youth union members, young people and people in practicing urban civilized lifestyle and healthy and cultural environment as well as strengthening your organization in their areas. (2) The emulation movement of “Four best things” among young workers has been actively responded to. As a result national target programs were completed in time or ahead of time with best quality. The movement of “Three responsibilities” among young public employees and civil servants has made active contribution to state administration reform and work improvement. The movement of “Young creative people” has created an environment and driving force for students, young workers, public employees and civil servants, and young people in the armed forces to emulate for new initiatives, creative thinking, improved productivity, quality, efficiency in production. (3) Movements among young people in the armed forces have affirmed their major role in national defense, and maintenance of political and social order. Young business people, workers, intellectuals and laborers in enterprises and spearhead economic sectors have proactively studied, invested in new technologies to raise product quality, enhance competitiveness in domestic and foreign markets, organized trade promotion and branding activities. Youth union members, young people, first and foremost students, young intellectuals and business people are the vanguards in proactive and active international integration.

The “Young volunteers” movement has expanded and spread voluntarism and positive values to other social forces. The movement has brought into play knowledge of young people in socio-economic development, solving difficulties of community, and creating a lively environment for young people to train themselves, make contribution and grow up. It is also a school environment to practice knowledge, life and social skills for young people. The movement has projected a beautiful image of a young generation with patriotism who brave difficulties and hardships and contribute their might and main to national construction and defense.

The Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union has paid attention to care for legitimate rights and interests of young people, considering it a basis, foundation and conditions to play up the vanguard role, voluntarism, creativeness of young people in national construction and defense. Most prominent are movements, namely “Providing assistance during examination period,” and “Provide assistance for continued education” to students in difficult situation. Vocational consultancy, guidance and job introduction for young people have been stepped up. Youth organizations at all levels have sought loans, programs, projects to support young people to engage in economic activities and provide mutual assistance for career development. Cultural, literature, sports and physical activities have been inclusively organized among young people. Youth union cadres have designed and organized useful and beneficial activities to train young people’s skills.

Through its program of actions, especially the two big movements and sub-movements for target groups, the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union and young people have made practical contribution to socio-economic development, consolidation of national defense, security, social order, especially in remote, out-of-the-way, and border areas and islands. (4) These movements are also an enabling environment for youth union cadres, members and young people to train themselves, experience, contribute, grow and improve the quality of young human resource for the country and train young potential cadres for the Party and political system.

Viet Nam is accelerating industrialization, modernization and international integration in the last year of the socio-economic development plan 2011-2015, and in anticipation of the socio-economic development plan 2016-2020. These do not only bring about opportunities, advantages, and changes for young people to train, contribute, develop but also a practical environment for them to realize their dreams and aspirations and solve difficulties and challenges. Advantages and difficulties, opportunities and challenges have intermingled and transformed each other, demanding correct understanding and relevant solutions to advance forward. To promote achievements, affirm and uphold the vanguard role, voluntarism and creativity of more than 25 million young people in the process of industrialization, modernization and international integration in addition to the implementations of tasks set out in Conclusion 80-KL/TW dated December 25, 2013 of the Politburo on continuing to implement Resolution 25-NQ/W dated July 25, 2008 of the Party Central Committee on “Strengthening the leadership of the Party over young people work in the period of industrialization and modernization,” Decision 2474/QD-TTg dated December 30,2011 of the Prime Minister on approval of the Strategy on development of young people of Viet Nam in the period of 2011-2020, tasks to implement three breakthrough strategies identified at the 11th National Congress of the Party and the Socio-economic Development Strategy for the period of 2011-2020, in the coming time, the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union should focus on the following tasks:

First, uphold the vanguard role, voluntarism and creativity of young people through widely expediting two movements of “Promoting the vanguard role and voluntarism for socio-economic development and national defense” and “Accompanying young people in career development.” Pursuing the standpoint of sustainable development, accelerating industrialization and modernization, and stepping up transforming economic structure and three strategic breakthrough, the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union has concentrated on emulation movements among target groups in close association with programs and projects approved by the Prime Minister and authorities at all levels.

While carrying out emulation movement of “The whole country join force to build new rural area” and program “The Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union takes part in building new rural area in the period of 2013-2020,” all levels of the Union have applied “four new elements” in agricultural production and building of new rural areas (New way of thinking, new techniques, new products and new way of life), participated in constructing infrastructure in rural areas particularly rural roads and bridges, environment protection, building political system, and grassroots cultural mechanism. Within the program of “The Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union takes part in maintaining traffic order and safety in the period of 2012-2017”, the youth unions at all levels have embarked on national youth projects, organized communication activities, and develop models to ensure traffic order and safety. (5) The Project “Plan on building villages of young people starting careers in conjunction with building new rural areas in the period of 2013-2020” has been implemented, aiming at setting up 15 villages of young people starting careers in keeping with new rural criteria along the Ho Chi Minh road, border and especially difficult areas. The Project of “Building national youth islands in the period of 2013-2020” focusses on building 5 islands of young people which are synchronously planned to live up to each island’s potentiality and advantages in implementation of the national Strategy for Viet Nam’s Seas toward 2020. The Project “Constructing rural bridges in mountainous provinces in the north and central regions and Central Highlands in the period of 2014-2020” has invested in 32 projects to build 450 rural bridges in difficult communes of 32 provinces and cities. Youth unions at all levels have also implemented the Decision of the Prime Minister on policies to support poor households in building houses to prevent storms and floods in the central region in response to climate change.

Participating in ensuring social security, the youth unions at all levels have organized and led wide voluntary activities for social security and community with orientation and activities for aiming at ethnic minority people and children in mountainous, remote and difficult regions. They have also implemented Program of Action of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union in realizing the Resolution of the 9th Plenum of the 11th Party Central Committee on “Building and developing culture and people of Viet Nam for sustainable development,” and accelerated socio-cultural development, sports, physical training and improved the spiritual life of young people.

Second, proactively take part in improving quality of young human resources, generating jobs, enhancing living conditions of young people, especially young workers, and people in remote, ethnic minority, and difficult regions. It is necessary to continue mobilizing social resources and providing sufficient budget investment, realizing effective strategies in vocational training, guidance and orientation, and supporting young people in production and businesses. Step up training of high quality scientific and technological human resources, particularly in information technology, new technology to meet demands of knowledge economy, generating sources for developing spearhead economy, industrialization and modernization. Currently, the youth unions at all levels are actively implementing the Decision of the Prime Minister on projects, such as “Training and fostering cadres of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union in the period of 2015-2020,” “Pilot project on selecting 600 university-graduated intellectuals for the posts of vice chairmen of people’s committees of 62 poor districts.” Continue implementing the movements of “Excellent students in five fields,” “Students training themselves in three fields,” and “When I’m 18 years old” appropriate to school students to renovate radically and comprehensively education and training. In addition, continue expanding programs of “Providing assistance during examination period,” and “Providing assistance for continued education” and effectively implementing credit policy towards students in difficult situation. Continue the movement of “Young creative people” to create an environment and a driving force for young people in developing initiatives and creation, improving outputs, quality and efficiency in production.

The youth unions at all levels focus efforts on providing vocational guidance and job consultancy to students, supporting them in vocational training and job generation. Promote its role in companions in assisting youth organizations and associations at all levels in communicating, encouraging and supporting young people to start their careers and get rich. Expand the program of “Creatively start career,” scale up the model of “Nursery of young entrepreneurs,” as well as activities to connect with community, build career ecosystem, provide initial capital for young people to start their careers, and apply science and technology in production and businesses. Step up mobilization of loans for young people, give priority to young loan seekers to develop their production and businesses with loans from the National Fund for Employment Assistance and Trust Fund from the Social Policy Bank.

In addition, it is necessary to develop policy on young talents, making a breakthrough in using young cadres in all fields. The Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union in coordination with ministries and branches concerned should contribute to develop mechanism and policies to identify, training, foster, assign and give attention to young people inside the country and those return to Viet Nam after studying, working and living abroad; develop priority policies and create environment to encourage university graduates to work in socially and economically difficult, remote, mountainous and border areas and islands; develop policies to train young leaders and managers who have been working in organizations within the political system; and develop policies to identify, select, train, foster, use and give incentives to young leaders and managers. Successfully implement Conclusion 86-KL/TW dated 24 January, 2014 of the Politburo on policies to attract and pool resources from with university students who graduate with distinction and young scientists; the Conclusion on “Measures to step up the work on young talents during the period of 2014-2017” of the Standing Committee of Youth Union Central Committee.

Third, build and strengthen the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, turning it into a comprehensively strong and a real “socialist school of young people” to implement above-mention tasks. Consider building and consolidating a strong youth union as contribution to building Party and the political system; create premise for oversight and social criticism of the union and contribute opinions to building the Party and administrations; while participating in the state administration reform. By doing so, contribute to build socialist democracy, and develop the socialist State governed by law of the people, by the people and for the people.

Fourth, enhance young people’s capacity for international integration to enable their core and proactive role in the process. As globalization is becoming one of major development trends in the current time, Viet Nam is integrating deeply in international affairs, prepared for the ASEAN Community and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) which has brought about opportunities as well and urgent demands to strengthen capacity of young people in international integration, first of all for students, young business people and intellectuals. Capacity means mental preparedness, wisdom, culture, foreign languages and skills in that process which are relatively low and uneven among young people. Beside communication, awareness raising, playing fields, exchange and friendship programs, international cooperation, enabling environment for young people to train their skills, acumen, knowledge, understanding for international integration, the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union should set store by and work harder to unite and rally young overseas Vietnamese and facilitate their contribution to the country and act as a bridge with the world.

Proudly advancing under the banner of the Party, upholding the tradition of 84 years of construction, fighting and growth, the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union and young Vietnamese unceasingly study, train themselves, heighten their ability and capacity, play up their vanguard role and creativity, contribute to successfully implementing industrialization, modernization, international integration to be worthy of the trust and love of the Party, Uncle Ho and people of Viet Nam.

(1) After two years of implementation, the youth union built 10,907 km of new rural roads, 89,205 km of irrigation system, 2.820 communal culture houses, 5.255 compassion houses and people-catering semi-boarding houses, 80,753 standard water closets, 45,132 standard animal raising farms and coups.

(2) Some models and best practices of movements such as “Three building,” “ Civilized roads,” “Clean street corner and pavement,” “Young people’s green road,” “The living quarter I take care of,” “Young people-manage green road.”

(3) By the end of 2014, 6,627 projects, and creative products were commended in the movement of “Young Creators” which brought about a benefit worth 6,200 billion dong.

(4) At present, the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union are working on programs, project and plans on socio-economic development, namely “The Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union participates in building new rural areas in the period of 2013-2020,” “The Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union participates in maintaining traffic order and safety in the period of 2012-2017,” “ The Plan on building villages of young people starting careers in association with building new rural areas in the period of 2013-2020,” “National Program on building young people’s islands in the period of 2013-2020.” “Building rural bridges in mountainous provinces of the north and central regions and Central Highlands in the period of 2014-2020,” “Pilot project to select 600 meritorious and young university graduated intellectuals to work as vice chairmen of communes in 62 poor districts,” implement the Decision of the Prime Minister on policies to assist poor households in building houses to prevent storms and floods in central Viet Nam.

(5) The National Project “The Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union participates in ensuring traffic order and safety in projects to upgrade and expand National Highway 1A and the portion of Ho Chi Minh trail running through the Central Highlands in the period of 2013-2016.”

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This article was published on Communist Review No 869 (March 2015)