Youth@ASEAN

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Vietnam

Country Profile



Capital	Hanoi2
Administrative divisions	61 provinces (tinh, singular and plural), 3 municipalities* (thu do, singular and plural); An Giang, Bac Giang, Bac Kan, Bac Lieu, Bac Ninh, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Ben Tre, Binh Dinh, Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc, Binh Thuan, Ca Mau, Can Tho, Cao Bang, Dac Lac, Da Nang, Dong Nai, Dong Thap, Gia Lai, Ha Giang, Hai Duong, Hai Phong, Ha Nam, Ha Noi, Ha Tay, Ha Tinh, Hoa Binh, Ho Chi Minh, Hung Yen, Khanh Hoa, Kien Giang, Kon Tum, Lai Chau, Lam Dong, Lang Son, Lao Cai, Long An, Nam Dinh, Nghe An, Ninh Binh, Ninh Thuan, Phu Tho, Phu Yen, Quang Binh, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Quang Ninh, Quang Tri, Soc Trang, Son La, Tay Ninh, Thai Binh, Thai Nguyen, Thanh Hoa, Thua Thien-Hue, Tien Giang, Tra Vinh, Tuyen Quang, Vinh Long, Vinh Phuc, Yen Bai, Dien Bien, Dac Nong, Hau Giang
Independence	2 September 1945 (from France)
Location	Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, Gulf of Tonkin, and South China Sea, alongside China, Laos, and Cambodia

Area
Total area	331,690 sq km sq km

Land boundaries
Total	4,610 km
Border Countries	Cambodia 1,137 km, China 1,406 km, Laos 2,067 km
Coastline	3,260 km
Climate	Tropical in south; monsoonal in north with hot, rainy season (mid-May to mid-September) and warm, dry season (mid-October to mid-March)
Terrain	Low, flat delta in south and north; central highlands; hilly, mountainous in far north and northwest
Natural resources	Phosphates, coal, manganese, bauxite, chromate, offshore oil and gas deposits, forests

Land Use
Arable land	7%
Permanent crops	4%
Meadows and pasture	1%
Forest and woodland	30%
Other	48%

People and Culture



Age structure
Life expectancy at birth
Nationality
Literacy (age 15 and over can read and write)

Youth Focal Point

The National Committee on Youth of Vietnam (NCYV) is an inter-sectoral agency that assists the Prime Minister in working out policies and identifying important issues on youth and in the co-ordination for their realisation.

Tasks and competence of NCYV

To make proposals and recommendations to State agencies in drafting normative legal writings and policies on youth.

To ensure the co-ordination with the relevant bodies in directing, supervising and monitoring the implementation of youth-related policies and laws by ministries, ministry-equivalent agencies, bodies under the Government, People’s Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities, social and economic organisations.

To carry out international co-operation on youth at government level.

Organisational structure of NCYV

Chairman: First Secretary of the Central Executive Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union.

Vice-Chairmen:

-	Vice-Minister of Education and Training.
-	Vice-Minister of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs.

Members: representatives at Vice-Ministerial level of Ministries of Investment and Planning, Finance, National Defence, Culture and Information, Public Health, Government Organisation - Personnel Committee, Sports and Physical Training Committee, National Assembly’s Committee for Culture, Education, Youths, Adolescents and Children, Vietnam Women’s Union, Vietnam Peasants’ Association, Vietnam General Labour Confederation.

The Chairman of the Committee is responsible for all of its activities before the Premier. Heads of the ministries, the ministry-equivalent agencies, the bodies under the Government and the mass organisations whose representatives are members of the Committee are responsible for appointing such representatives and provide guidance for their subordinates to fulfil the tasks assigned by the Committee.

The NCYV works out regulations on its operation to be submitted to the Premier for approval.

The daily work of the NCYV is carried out by NCYU Secretariat led by NCYU Chairman as Secretary General.

Some current action programmes of NCYV

To make proposals and jointly work out normative legal writings and policies on youth.

-	To devise a national strategy for youth development
-	To set up programmes for the government regarding works on youth in different periods.
-	To participate in presiding over the drafting of laws on youth.

To supervise and investigate the implementation of youth-related laws and policies and the youth situation.

-	To establish working groups under the Committee for supervising and investigating the youth situation, the implementation of youth-related laws and policies by localities, ministries and branches.
-	To organise scientific symposiums on “youth policy”.

To carry out State external activities in the field of youth.

-	To take part in regional and international conferences and forums on youth.
-	To take part in exchange activities between ASEAN youths and those in some other countries in this region.
-	To co-operate with UN agencies, international organisations, NGOs in realising the projects of human resource development, environmental protection, social evil prevention and humane projects for youth and adolescents.

Polices on youth

The Vietnam Communist Party and Government always considers the younger generation as important. Training, fostering and bringing into full play the youth force are the decisive factors for ensuring the success of the cause of national industrialization and modernisation.

Greatly concerned about the work with youth, the Vietnamese Government has laid down many lines and policies on youth as follows:

-	The policy on job generation and income raising for youth.
-	The policy on stimulating youths to actively study so as to enhance their educational and professional standards.
-	The policy on fostering and bringing into play youth talent.
-	The policy on educating youths in the citizens' consciousness, cultural and life-style development, preservation of the identity of our national culture, building a healthy social environment and dealing with social evils.
-	The policy on meeting the demands of the youth culturally and for their spiritual and physical development.
-	The policy on attracting and utilizing the youth force; the policy on motivating the youth and creating favorable conditions for them to take part in our political regime, to become deputies to the people's councils at different levels and to the National Assembly.
-	The policy on special groups of youth.
-	The policy on helping youth integrate into the world community.

The above policies on youth are the institutionalization of the standpoints and lines of our Party and Government with regard to youth in the legal institutions and systems of programs and plans with goals, tasks and solutions to the mechanism and resources. The policies aim to bring into full play the youths' potential and creativity, and creating the most favorable conditions for them to develop themselves fully to make the greatest contributions to the country.

Some characteristics of policies on youth of Vietnam

The policies on youth constitute an important content of the work with youth.

The work concerning youth is part of the work with the masses. This work includes all the activities of our Party. State and society which are aimed to educate and foster the youth for the sake of their development and bring into play their potential and advantages. Therefore, the works concerning youths also includes the policy-making and implementation of policies on youth. This is a process of creating a legal and social environment for youth to encourage their ability and to self-drill for further development and perfection

Youths themseleves are the object for the impact and regulation of the policies on youth. At the same time, they also constitute the subject of the implementation of such policies.

The policies on youth is part of the social policies and at the same time the motive force for youth development.

The social policies at service of human's happiness is always a great impetus to bringing into play people's potential and creativity for national construction. The major orientation of our social policies is to promote the human factor on the basis of ensuring equality and equity in citizens' rights and obligations to closely combine economic growth with social advancement, material with spiritual life. meeting short-term demands with attending to long term interests, individuals with collectives and with social community. As part of our social policy. The policies on youth have some peculiar features: the principal object subjected to their impact and regulation is the youth; Its comprehensive contents and goals are towrd the development of youths, their interests and rights in the close connection between individuals and community, between youth and other social strata; And at the same time, they constitute a great impetus to tapping the youth's potential and creativity in our cause of national construction and defense.

The policies on youth must based and be conformable to the socio-economic conditions of the country

Policies on youth must not only originate from reality, the actual state and legitimate demands of youth and youth-related problems, but also from the requirements posed by our society and nation for the youth. At the same time, the policies on youth must be in conformity with the socio-economic conditions in each period to ensure their feasibility.

Information on Youth



Youth Programmes	I. Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union II. Vietnam Youth Federation III. Vietnam Association of Students IV. Vietnam Young Entrepreneurs Organisation I. The Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (HCYU) The Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union is the socio-political organisation of the Vietnamese youth and is established, led and trained by the Communist Party of Vietnam and President Ho Chi Minh. The HCYU has a legal status, an account and a seal of its own. 1. Ideal and purpose of the HCYU The HCYU gathers progressive youths aged 15-30, irrespective of their ethnicity, religion and social background, who voluntarily strive for building Vietnam into an independent, democratic and prosperous country following the socialist path and Ho Chi Minhs ideal, as well as for the sake of the youths civilized life-style and happiness. 2. Function of the HCYU The HCYU has three functions as follows : - It is the reliable reserve force for the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) - It is the socialist school for the youth; generating good conditions for them to take part in beneficial activities of the country and helping them grow full-fledged and make contributions to the nation. - It is the representative and protector of the legitimate and lawful rights of the youth. 3. The role, position and relationship of the HCYU in society The HCYU is a member in the Partys political system, under the framework of the Constitution and other laws. In this system, the CPV is the leader and HCYU is one of its members. - In relation with the CPV: Operating under the direct leadership of the CPV, the HCYU is the reliable reserve force for the Party, supplying it with personnel to the requirements of its political tasks. - In relation with the State: The HCYU is the reliable mainstay of the State in the course of building socialism and defending the socialist country. The HCYU associates and co-ordinates with other agencies and mass organisations so as to achieve an aggregate synergy in educating, training, protecting and forging the younger generations. - In relation with youth social organisations and movements: The HCYU plays the core role in the organisation and operation of Vietnam Youth Federation (VYF), Vietnam Association of Students (VAS) and other collective members of the VYF. - In relation with the Ho Chi Minh Young Pioneers Organisation (HYPO): Being in charge of the HYPO, the Union undertakes of building this organisation, selecting, training and fostering the cadres working with small children, and assisting financial and other facilities to the HYPOs operation. 4. Brief history of the HCYU The HCYU was established on the 26th March 1931. Initially called the Indochinese Communist Youth Union, it was later renamed several times : - Indochina Democratic Youth Union (1936 - 1939) - Indochina Anti-Imperialist Youth Union (1939 - 1941) - Youth Union for National Salvation (1941 - 1956) - Vietnam Labour Youth Union (1956 - 1970) - Ho Chi Minh Labour Youth Union (1970 - 1976) - Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (1976 up to now) With a small membership at birth, the HCYU has rapidly grown attracting lots of young people who have made brilliant contributions to the course of national liberation, unification, as well as of building and defending the socialist motherland of Vietnam. Nowadays, with 5.369.485 members, the HCYU continues to mobilize the youth all over the country and to organise them into the vanguard in the course of doi moi (renovation) to strive for the objectives of a wealthy people, a powerful nation, a civilised and equitable society, and for the youths happiness and future. 5. The major action programmes of the HCYU To welcome the 21st century, many action programmes have been devised by the HCYU and are being carried out. Following are some main programmes in brief : 1. To provide youths with ideological education and engage them in building an advanced culture imbued with national identity. 2. To have youths study creatively and master science and technology. 3. To have youths volunteer in the implementation of key national programmes and projects. 4. To have youths help each other in self-establishment and participate in socio-economic development. 5. To have youths carry out national defence duty. 6. To protect, care for and educate children. 7. To integrate with the international youth and strengthen international relations of the youth union. 6. Organisational structure of HCYU The top leading body of the HCYU is the Nation-wide congress which convenes every five years. The Congress elects the Central Executive Committee of the Union (CEC). The plenum of the CEC elects the first secretary, other secretaries and members of the standing committee, and the central inspection committee. Organisational Chart of HCYU : Central Executive Committee (CEC) Provincial / city / branch CEC District CEC Village / commune CEC Cells of HCYU The CEC is assisted by 13 functional and technical departments, 7 newspapers and magazines, two publishing houses, one TV centre and one radio programme for children, three operational and tourist centres, two cadre-training schools, one research institute, and seven youth economic enterprises. The Youth Union Committees of cities, provinces, districts and equivalent units are assisted by respective functional and technical boards. II Vietnam Youth Federation (VYF) The VYF is a broad social organisation of Vietnamese youths and youth organisations. All Vietnamese youths aged from 15 to 30 regardless of sex, ethnicity, religion, social background, personal records, place of residence or membership in other Vietnamese youth organisations, who accept the Constitutions of the Youth Union, can be members of VYF. The VYF has a legal state, an account and a seal of its own. 1. Brief history of VYF The 15th of October 1956 is the Traditional Day of the VYF. It has both individual and collective members. The VYF has two types of membership: collective and individual. At present, the Vietnam Youth Federation has more than 6,000,000 individual members and a lot of collective members (individual members are not included in the collective members). - The Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union - The Vietnam Association of Students - The National Council of Young Entrepreneurs The individual members are those young people, who are not associated with other youth organisations but adopt VYF statute and voluntarily join the VYF. At present, the VYF has more than 6,000, 000 individual members. The principles of VYFs operation are volunteerism, democratic consultation, self-management, co-ordinated and united action for common objectives with the key role played by the HCYU. These principles also constitute the basis for the VYFs consolidation and development. 2. Objectives of VYF The objectives of VYF are to unite and bring together different strata of Vietnamese youths, both inside and outside Vietnam, in an effort to alleviate the countrys poverty and to achieve an equitable and civilised society, for the sake of the happiness and progress of youths. 3. Functions and tasks of VYF Following are the main functions and tasks of the VYF: - To provide guidance and facilities for its members to develop and perfect their personality to become good citizens, and to motivate them and other youths to participate in activities beneficial to the country, to families and to all those who can benefit from them. - To represent and protect its members legitimate interests; to co-operate with state agencies and social organisations to ensure the youths legitimate rights; to organise practical activities aimed to meet reasonable needs of its members and the youth in general. - To achieve solidarity and co-operation with international and national youth organisations in promoting friendship, mutual understanding and co-operation for the sake of peace, national independence, democracy, social progress, and for the happy future of youths. 4. Major action programmes of VYF during 2000-2005: - The campaign on Youth in the vanguard of the learning society". - The campaign on Youth doing business, actively participating in the hunger alleviation & poverty reduction". - The campaign on Youth voluntarism for the country - The campaign on For the sovereignty of the Fatherland and for a peaceful l life - The campaign on Youth for a peaceful life, the sovereignty of the Fatherland 5. Organisational structure of VYF The highest leading body of VYF is the National Congress which is held every five years and where the Central Committee is elected. At its plenum, the Central Committee elects the President, Vice-Presidents and members of the presidium. Organisational Chart of VYF: Central Committee Committees of cities, provinces Committees of districts Committees of villages, precincts The city wards /commune Cell The Federation and its members possess a system of press, publishing houses, television and radio for adolescents and small children, cadres training schools, a youth-research institute, clubs, cultural houses, centres for tourism, culture, education, vocational training, and other youth economic units. III Vietnam Association of Students (VAS) The VAS is a socio-political organisation of Vietnamese students. It acts as a bridge linking the Vietnam Communist Party - the Government - other organisations with students, and as an education force at colleges and universities. Its members include the students of Vietnamese citizenship from domestic and foreign universities and colleges, who have volunteered to join it with its adoption and with the knowledge of its statutes. The VAS has a legal status, an account and a seal of its own. 1. Brief history of VAS The VAS was founded on 9th January 1955 (this date is the traditional day of VAS). Since its establishment, the VAS has held 7 Congresses, the latest one took place in Hanoi in December 2003. At present, the Association has two provincial-level unions of students, 178 grass-roots unions with 700,000 members. 2. Objectives and activities of VAS The VAS unites and brings together all the Vietnamese students in an effort to promote their earning and drill and to contribute to building Vietnam into a socialist-oriented country of peace, independence, democracy, prosperity, equality and civilisation for the sake of students legitimate interests. The VAS promotes solidarity and co-operation on an equal basis with students of other countries world-wide for peace, national independence, democracy and social progress. 3. Tasks of VAS - To unite, encourage and assist its members and students in study and self-training to fulfil their duties thus contributing to the consolidation of universities and colleges. - To educate its members and other students about revolutionary ideal, traditional morality and healthy life, as well as on the citizen consciousness on Laws. - To reflect students needs and aspirations; to contribute their opinions on policies related to students; to organise and involve them in activities aimed at promoting the material and spiritual life of students and protecting their legitimate rights and interests. - To develop solidarity, friendship and co-operation with students organisations in the world for peace, national independence, democracy and social progress. 4. List of current action programmes of VAS 1. Education and self-training of students 2. Students study and research in science and technology and development of their ability 3. Students involvement in physical education and in building a rich and wholesome spiritual and cultural life 4. Students participation in building an educational environment and struggling with social evils 5. Students in co-ordination with the community 6. Building the Vietnam Association of Students 5. Organisational structure of VAS The top leading body of the VAS is its National Congress that is held every five years. The Congress elects the Central Committee that, at its plenum, elects a secretariat composed of a President, Vice Presidents and other members. Organisational Chart of VAS: Central Committee The VAS of cities, provinces The VAS of universities, colleges, Institutions of college and university The Cells Its Office, centres, clubs, cultural houses, economic bases and press assist the Central Committee. IV. National Council of Young Entrepreneurs (NCYE) The NCYE is a social and professional organisation which rallies Vietnamese entrepreneurs under 40 years of age - regardless of their economic and social background, ethnicity, religion - who strive for the development and success of one another and for turning Vietnam into a wealthy nation, a powerful country with an equitable and civilised society. The NCYE has a legal status, an account and a seal of its own. 1. Objectives of NCYE The NCYE aims to unite and rally young Vietnamese entrepreneurs, to strive for the prosperity of this circle, for the cause of making our people wealthy, country powerful and society equitable and civilised. 2. Functions of NCYE - To represent the circle of young Vietnamese entrepreneurs in internal and external relations to facilitate the development and protection of their legitimate rights and interests. - To set forth conditions and orientations for the activity of young Vietnamese entrepreneurs and to work out common action programmes for them. - To organise activities aimed at gathering young Vietnamese entrepreneurs in helping each other for their business development. 3. Tasks of NCYE - To organise activities involving young entrepreneurs such as meetings, seminars, information supply, qualification enhancement. - To accord facilities and guidance to young entrepreneurs to enable them to take part in social activities. -To organise supporting activities and to create favourable conditions for young Vietnamese entrepreneurs to integrate into the world community. - To reflect and protect the legitimate rights of young entrepreneurs, to create favourable conditions for their further development. 4. Legitimate activities of NCYE -Meetings and exchanges between enterprises and entrepreneurs. - Dialogues between young entrepreneurs and administration authorities at different levels and the relevant state management bodies. - Training courses and workshops for enhancing the skills of business management, for grasping new legal writings concerning enterprises (the Law on Enterprises, the new Law on VAT). - Social activities such as charity actions and taking care of Vietnamese heroic mothers and street children, etc. 5. Organisational structure of NCYE The National Council is elected by the National Congress of Young Entrepreneurs. The Council selects its Chairman, Vice Chairman and Secretariat. Organisational Chart of NCYE: National Council of Young Entrepreneurs Associations or Clubs of Young Entrepreneurs The local clubs of Young Entrepreneurs The Association is assisted by the Secretariat and its functional units.