General Secretary, President: Each Youth Union official must be a role model for learning, innovating, and dedicating themselves

Dear leaders and former leaders of the Party, State, and Vietnam Fatherland Front,

Dear Presidium of the Congress and delegates attending the Congress,

Dear distinguished delegates,

Dear comrades, Youth Union officials, union members, youth, teenagers, and children.

Today, in the atmosphere of excitement, confidence and full of enthusiasm of youth across the country, I am very happy to attend the 13th National Congress of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union - an important political event, a great festival of Vietnamese youth.

On behalf of the Party and State leaders, I send to the delegates, generations of Youth Union officials and all union members, youth, teenagers, and children of Vietnam my warm greetings, warm regards and the best feelings.

Dear comrades,

Over 95 years of building, studying, working, fighting, contributing and growing under the leadership of the Party and beloved Uncle Ho, the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union has continuously grown stronger, worthy of being a reliable reserve team of the Party, a socialist school of youth, a revolutionary shock force, a close companion of Vietnamese youth.

The glorious history of the Union is in harmony with the heroic history of the nation, every stage of the country's development has a deep mark of young people who know how to put the Fatherland first, turn patriotism into action, into aspiration to rise up, into practical actions to serve the people, build and develop the country.

In the past term, Youth Union work and youth and children's movements have had many innovations, are more practical, more modern, and closer to young people. The work of educating revolutionary ideals, morality, lifestyle, historical traditions, and national culture has been richly implemented, focusing on digital space, and spreading many good values.

The movements "Youth Volunteers", "Creative Youth", "Youth Volunteers for National Protection" continue to strongly focus on grassroots levels, borders, islands, industrial parks, residential areas, and areas with many difficulties. Programs accompanying youth are increasingly closer to practical needs. The work of building the Youth Union, expanding the solidarity front to gather youth, taking care of teenagers and children, and introducing outstanding union members to the Party has achieved many remarkable results.

On behalf of the Party and State leaders, I warmly commend, acknowledge and congratulate the results and very commendable achievements of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union and the youth of the whole country in the past term.

Besides those results, we also need to frankly recognize the limitations and inadequacies. The work of educating revolutionary ideals in some places is still slow to innovate, not really touching the thoughts, concerns and aspirations of young people. The gathering of young people outside the traditional sector, especially young workers, freelancers, young people in non-state enterprises, and young people on digital platforms, still has some difficulties. Some movements are still spread out, heavily focused on the surface, lacking clear products. The quality of Youth Union officials, digital capacity, policy advisory capacity, dialogue and youth action organization are not uniform.

These limitations require the Youth Union to innovate more strongly, more drastically, and more substantively; innovate to improve political bravery, methods of action, to better implement the Party's requirements, be closer to youth, closer to grassroots levels, and more effective in operation; more worthy of the trust of the Party, State, people and the young generation in the Youth Union organization.

Comrades,

This Congress takes place when the country is facing new development opportunities. Over nearly a century under the leadership of the Party, after 40 years of renovation, Vietnam's foundation, potential, position and international prestige have been increasingly enhanced.

At the same time, the goals ahead are even higher, requiring faster and more sustainable development. Science and technology, innovation, digital transformation, artificial intelligence, green economy, digital economy open up great opportunities, but also pose challenges in jobs, skills, cultural bravery, network security and national autonomy capacity.

After this Congress, it is necessary to clearly transform the actions of the youth of the whole country: more courage in ideals, more self-reliance in learning and working, more pioneering in creativity, stronger in the desire to contribute and more proactive in mastering the future of themselves and the country.

I basically agree with the direction, goals, tasks, and solutions stated in the draft Political Report submitted to the Congress. I would like to emphasize a number of issues for the Congress and comrades to pay attention to discuss and agree on implementation:

First, it is necessary to deepen the work of educating revolutionary ideals, fostering patriotism, political bravery, moral lifestyle and the aspiration to contribute of young people. Ideological education for young people is not just about conveying resolutions, organizing political activities, and it cannot stop at slogans. The important thing is to make young people understand correctly, strongly believe, and act consciously; understand the value of independence and freedom, understand the path of national independence associated with socialism, understand why the Party's leadership is the decisive factor in all victories of the Vietnamese revolution.

Understanding that patriotism today must first of all live responsibly, study seriously, work creatively, comply with the law, preserve personality, and serve the people. The Youth Union must educate with correct reason, convincing truth, close examples, sincere dialogue and a practical training environment.

In cyberspace, the Youth Union must be present strongly, intelligently, humanely, know how to listen, speak the right things that young people need, speak by young people understanding, spreading good things, protecting the Party's ideological foundation, fighting against bad and toxic information, fake news, pragmatic, distorted, and insensitive lifestyles. Each Youth Union official must be an inspiration, each Youth Union branch is a fulcrum of faith, and each union member is a positive nucleus in the community.

Second, it is necessary to build a generation of Vietnamese youth who study for life, master science and technology, and be pioneers in innovation, digital transformation and international integration.

In the new era, knowledge, technology, data, innovation and human quality determine national competitiveness. Investing in youth is investing in the country's long-term competitiveness. A country that wants to develop quickly, sustainably, self-reliantly and successfully integrate must have a class of young people who are good at their profession, have solid skills, are culturally bright, have lasting bravery and social responsibility.

Young people cannot only study to get a degree but must study to be human, to work, to be creative, to be in control of life and to serve the Fatherland. Each young person needs to form the habit of self-study, foreign language practice, practice digital skills, professional skills, critical thinking, cooperative ability and adaptability to the rapid changes of society and the labor market.

The delegation must strongly encourage the spirit of "Vietnamese youth master the future with knowledge, bravery and creativity". Create an environment for young people to research science, start innovative businesses, apply artificial intelligence, develop green economy, digital economy, circular economy; connect young people with schools, research institutes, businesses, experts, markets and young Vietnamese intellectuals globally. It is necessary to help young people turn dreams into capacity, turn capacity into products, and turn products into value for the country.

Third, it is necessary to strongly innovate revolutionary action movements in a practical, in-depth direction, with specific products and clear social impacts. The Youth Union's movement must closely follow the political tasks of the country, the needs of the people and the legitimate aspirations of youth.

The youth movement must not only create momentum but also create value, not only have many participants but also have measurable results, not only do it in one time but must leave a model, experience, capacity and team.

Each movement needs to clearly answer: Who to serve, what to solve, what products to create, what models to leave behind, which cadres to discover, and which outstanding union members to train.

Volunteer youth must go into difficult tasks, new tasks, tasks at the grassroots level, participate in digital transformation, community, build civilized rural and urban areas, protect the environment, prevent and combat natural disasters, care for social security, and the border and island movement.

Creative youth must be associated with improving labor productivity, administrative reform, developing science and technology, and solving practical problems.

Youth in charge of protecting the Fatherland must contribute to protecting sovereignty, network security, cultural security, human security, maintaining social order and safety, right from the grassroots level.

Fourth, it is necessary to accompany young people more practically in studying, working, establishing themselves, starting a career, starting a business and comprehensive development.

Today's youth have great aspirations but also face many specific pressures: what to study, what to do, where to start a career, how to compete, how to keep themselves, how to live usefully in a rapidly changing world.

Therefore, the Youth Union must truly be a close, reliable friend, understand young people, listen to young people, speak the voice of young people and work with young people to find solutions to essential and practical problems.

The Youth Union needs to take better care of career guidance, skills training, job support, entrepreneurship, housing, cultural life, physical and mental health of young people.

It is necessary to pay more attention to young workers, rural areas, post-demobilization, ethnic minorities, religions, vulnerable people, disabled people, reformers, and Vietnamese youth abroad. Do not let the legitimate dreams of youth be left behind due to lack of information, lack of opportunities, lack of support and lack of belief.

Accompanying young people is opening the way, contacting, entrusting trust, assigning tasks, creating an environment for young people to be confident and mature.

Fifth, it is necessary to build a comprehensively strong Youth Union, truly a reliable reserve team of the Party, a training environment for young officials for the political system.

Building the Youth Union must contribute to building the Party among young people. The Youth Union organization must be strong in politics, ideology, ethics, organization and action.

Must be close to youth, understand youth, trust youth, assign tasks and lead youth to maturity.

Youth Union officials in the new period must have firm political bravery, pure ethics, good mass mobilization methods, capacity to organize movements, digital capacity, policy advisory capacity, ability to dialogue and handle new issues arising among young people.

Each Youth Union official must be a role model in learning, innovating, engaging, saying and doing, not bureaucratizing, not far from the grassroots level, not only good at organizing events but also weak in youth organization and action.

The Youth Union needs to improve the quality of union members, youth union branches, and grassroots Youth Union organizations.

Youth Union activities must avoid formality, increase dialogue, training, and specific work.

The introduction of outstanding union members to the Party must value quality, based on political bravery, ethics, action capacity, prestige among young people and the results of training through practice.

The Youth Union must truly be an environment for discovering, fostering, testing, and providing a source of high-quality young cadres for the Party, the State, the Fatherland Front and the political system.

Dear General Congress, dear comrades.

In order for the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union to successfully complete its tasks in the new period, I propose that Party committees, Party organizations, authorities, the Fatherland Front, departments, ministries, branches, and localities continue to lead, direct, and coordinate to create favorable conditions for Youth Union work and youth movements. Youth work is the responsibility of the Party, the State, the entire political system, families, schools and society, not the sole task of the Youth Union.

Party committees at all levels need to lead, orient, assign tasks, inspect, and evaluate Youth Union work with practical results.

Authorities at all levels need to concretize policies on education, employment, housing, entrepreneurship, cultural and sports institutions, mental health, and creative environment for young people.

The Fatherland Front and socio-political organizations need to closely coordinate with the Youth Union in gathering, educating, caring for, and protecting the legitimate rights and interests of young people.

Dear union members and young people, the country needs a new spirit from young people: Thinking broader, learning faster, working better, living more beautifully, being more responsible and contributing more.

The Party, State and people place deep faith in the young generation of Vietnam. That belief must be expressed through specific actions.

I hope that every Vietnamese youth will nurture great ambitions but need to start from daily activities. Study seriously, work creatively, live honestly, disciplinedly, compassionately, responsibly, be proud of the nation, love compatriots, respect the law, protect justice, and dedicate themselves to the common good.

Every Vietnamese youth when stepping out into the world must be a beautiful image of the country, confident in knowledge, dignified in character, deep in culture, responsible to the Fatherland and friendly to international friends.

Each youth union member should ask themselves: What have I done to be worthy of the beloved Fatherland? What have I contributed to make my family, relatives, homeland, agency, unit, school, and community better? What have I prepared to not fall behind the times?

How should I live, study, work, and contribute so that when I look back at my youth, I can be proud that I have lived worthyly?

With the glorious tradition of the Youth Union, with the bravery, intelligence, aspirations and creativity of Vietnamese youth, with the leadership of the Party and State and the companionship of the whole society, I believe that the Resolution of the 13th Youth Union Congress will soon come into life, the Youth Union work and the youth and children's movement will develop more substantively, strongly, and creatively, making worthy contributions to the cause of building and protecting the socialist Vietnamese Fatherland.

Wishing the leaders, former leaders of the Party, State, Vietnam Fatherland Front and distinguished delegates good health and happiness.

Wishing comrades union members and Vietnamese youth to always keep the flame of revolutionary ideals, patriotism, belief, aspiration to contribute and responsibility to the Fatherland and the people. Constantly training, dedicating themselves, creating, contributing to continuing the glorious pages of history of young people and the Vietnamese nation.

Wishing the Congress a great success.

Thank you very much.