Going out into the world with Vietnam in our hearts

The world is changing so fast. If more than 20 years ago - at the beginning of the 21st century - "Global Citizen" was still a new concept that Vietnamese youth learned about and took as a dream, an aspiration to strive to go further than their country, then now, for generation Z, global citizen has become an inevitable part of life.

The world is open to welcome from the first steps to adulthood, the story for today's generation of global citizens is different: tell the world "I am Vietnam".

Tuoi Tre Xuan At Ty 2025 organized an online cross-border roundtable "We are Vietnam" between 13 Gen Z students studying and working in many fields from the country to faraway places such as the US, Russia, Cuba... to listen to the Vietnamese story that they are bringing to the world, to listen to their awareness of the responsibility of being the masters of Vietnam in 20 years.

We were able to participate in a very vibrant and profound Vietnamese story.

The story begins on the online screen of Doan Quoc Huy, 24 years old, a software testing engineer at the technology giant Apple - USA. Having studied abroad for 8 years, Huy said that the Vietnamese trait in him that is highly appreciated by international friends is first and foremost his friendliness.

"Foreign friends and colleagues who have met Vietnamese people or traveled to Vietnam all said they were impressed by the friendliness of Vietnamese people.

Personally, I realize that Vietnamese culture has given me many opportunities to connect with international friends: cuisine, music , culture, rich history. The process of introducing Vietnam to foreigners is also the process of me rediscovering Vietnam within myself.

When I was in Vietnam, I would pass a pho restaurant every few blocks of the street, so I was surprised to find out how moved I was when an American colleague asked me during lunch: "Wanna go get some pho?". From that day on, pho gave me a new sense of pride in Vietnam.

Even in studying and working, when I came to America, I discovered that I had a great deal of diligence and effort in myself, which is typical of Vietnamese people. When I was in Vietnam, I was considered capable, so my studies were more comfortable, and achieving this or that seemed normal. When I went abroad, I realized that I needed to put in much more effort and be proactive to achieve the desired results.

I threw myself into studying and working, not afraid of difficulties, not afraid to ask questions to learn more, work extra even if I was not paid fairly, not afraid of failure, willing to try many times to achieve my goals... I think that I was able to do so because the Vietnamese character in me had emerged."

Huy's story was a great inspiration to the participants. Dang Quynh Anh, 22 years old, a student majoring in Social Communication at the University of La Habana - Cuba, excitedly shared that she always beams with pride every time she says the two words "Vietnam" when introducing herself to international friends.

When Cubans hear about Vietnam, they all greet her as if they were welcoming a long-lost relative.

"I am very proud to come to a country that always considers Vietnam as a blood brother. Although there are not many Vietnamese people living in Cuba, and young Cubans do not know as much about Vietnam as previous generations, to everyone, Vietnam is still something very good. So I must be worthy.

I take advantage of every opportunity such as presentations, cultural activities, festivals, and fairs organized by the school to introduce my country: wearing ao dai, making spring rolls to invite friends, telling cultural and historical stories related to Vietnamese food and customs, introducing Vietnamese tourist attractions...

You guys listened and said: "I've heard about Vietnam before but I don't know what Vietnam has. After listening to the sharing, they know that Vietnam is a country with beautiful nature and a very rich cuisine."

Dinh Thi Phuong Mai, a final year student majoring in Professional Communication at RMIT University Vietnam, is doing an internship in editing - production and supporting foreigners participating at Cat Tien Sa Company. She believes that the most unique feature of Vietnamese people in the eyes of international friends is the spirit of national pride and patriotism that is clearly expressed.

"Many foreigners told me that although they had learned about the typical features of Vietnamese culture such as pho, banh mi or ao dai before, when interacting and talking with Vietnamese people, they felt inspired to learn more.

Through our conversations, they saw how proud Vietnamese people are of their homeland. My international friends discovered for themselves the different regional “versions” of pho, and the irresistible appeal of spring rolls.

Besides, Vietnamese people are also considered to be very skillful in communication instead of being too straightforward and direct like Western culture.

Thanks to the community spirit, Vietnamese people tend to build together, connect, and create a harmonious working environment that makes international friends feel warm and friendly. That is also a characteristic that they see in Vietnamese people in any other country in the world."

Love and pride will surely lead to action. Dang Hai Loan, a Vietnamese student studying in the Russian Federation and head of the communications department of the Vietnam - Russia Volunteer Club, said that thanks to their friendliness and ability to connect, young Vietnamese people have been doing very well in their role as global citizens, always tending to contribute to action and solve problems of the international community.

"Currently, our volunteer club organizes many charity activities related to healthcare, education, the elderly, children and the homeless, contributing not only in Russia but also in Vietnam such as building classrooms in Cao Bang, donating to support people affected by the COVID-19 epidemic or recently typhoon Yagi...

"Wherever I am, I see the youthfulness and dynamism of Vietnamese people in asserting themselves as global citizens, participating in common world issues.

Besides, with community spirit and friendliness, young Vietnamese people are always the connecting factor among members of a group, while also listening, being dedicated, tolerant and connected.

For Pham Quang Vinh, leader of Zám Media, the motivation to act out of passion and pride is even stronger:

"Our generation's advantage is that we have enjoyed a more open education, have the opportunity to interact with the outside world, and can leave Vietnam's borders more easily than previous generations.

Studying advertising and passionate about doing big projects, my teachers advised me to study and work abroad to develop and go far in the industry. That motivated me to explore and be more creative, to find ways to prove that the ability and talent of Vietnamese people can flourish in Vietnam today."

Having represented Vietnam to attend the Lead The Change exchange program in Thailand, Nguyen Ly Yen Nhi, 24 years old, a former student of the Faculty of International Relations, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ho Chi Minh City, opened her hands enthusiastically to participate:

"I have a summary of my global citizen mindset in three H's:

And the core "Vietnamese" is the beginning and also the destination of a global citizen. Culture will remain after all technology has disappeared or faded away. Recently, the country experienced Typhoon Yagi with extremely heavy damage, and what remained after the storm was the Vietnamese people supporting each other to return to normal life."

21 years old, currently an English teacher student at Hue University, Pham Tran Hoai An has already had experience as an English teacher in remote Tanzania (East Africa) as part of a volunteer program. Before leaving, she packed an ao dai in her suitcase.

"The ao dai gives me a very different position when I stand in class. The classroom in Tanzania does not have a podium, the ao dai helps me introduce to students and people in a very far away land the image of a serious but very gentle Vietnamese teacher. The African students are both curious and excited: "The ao dai you wear is very beautiful!", I explained to the students and their parents that the ao dai is the national costume of Vietnam, and in Vietnam teachers always wear ao dai.

In addition to the image of a teacher who is always open and promotes your autonomy in learning, I also want you to understand that the relationship between teachers and students in Vietnamese tradition is 'respecting teachers and valuing education', not equal like in some Western countries.

The Ao Dai has been a powerful tool to help me express that. The Ao Dai is already very beautiful in Vietnam, and stands out even more in a strange setting. Teaching in Africa has many differences, but it is an opportunity for the quintessence of Vietnamese culture to be exchanged and received, the cultural exchange can be felt very clearly and for me, there is nothing but a feeling of pride."

Talking about Ao Dai, Nguyen Ly Yen Nhi, 24 years old, a former student of the Faculty of International Relations, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ho Chi Minh City with a lot of experience in international exchange, excitedly participated and said:

"When young Vietnamese delegates have the opportunity to exchange culture, they often choose Ao Dai and are not afraid to wear Ao Dai in any situation. Our Ao Dai, whether modern or traditional, are very beautiful and make everyone very curious about Vietnamese culture."

Phan Ngoc Tue Nguyen, 20 years old, a third-year student majoring in Social Studies at Fulbright University Vietnam and a native of the ancient capital of Hue, shared: the ao dai is very popular in Hue, but the image of the ao dai is not ordinary at all, but is still very special every time it appears.

"Coming to Hue, you will easily see tourists waiting at the gate of Quoc Hoc School to take pictures of female students wearing Ao Dai. And in their turn, tourists and Hue people, of all ages, both male and female, also wear Ao Dai to take pictures in Hue.

White Ao Dai, purple Ao Dai for Hue people is a deep sentiment, showing the connection between the long-standing traditional values ​​of Vietnam with the modern spirit, with the people of the present, like a door, a connecting object between two times and spaces.

In Hue, male and female civil servants wear Ao Dai to work on a day. Young men and women in many cities are forming groups to recreate ancient costumes and perform Ao Dai from different periods…

This is not only a step forward in gender equality in clothing, but also shows that Vietnamese people, regardless of gender or age, love and are proud of the ao dai, one of the national heritages."

Proud and loving Vietnamese culture, Tue Nguyen said that she is participating with the Center for Vietnamese Studies (Fulbright University) in projects such as preserving and promoting the music of the late musician Trinh Cong Son, applying AI to revive the film Kim Van Kieu, the first Vietnamese film released 100 years ago.

"If it is called heritage, then surely some part of it will always exist. There must be a reason why heritage existed thousands of years ago, continues to exist until now and continues to be recorded.

As Trinh's music is still very popular with young people, who enjoy it not only for its melodies and lyrics but also as a "healing" therapy, the values ​​and emotions contained in the cultural products are eternal to humanity.

People of all ages have lives of love, love, desire, hope and pain. The ancient heritages will therefore still have values ​​for the present and the future to discover."

And not only does it need to be preserved, culture also needs to be explored and promoted appropriately by young people to reveal new values ​​that attract their generation. Do Hoai Nam, Vice President of the Vietnam Student Association of the University of Technology (VNU-HCM), leader of Ho Chi Minh City Students in 2024, cited the achievements of young singer Phuong My Chi as a typical example.

"From the roots of folk songs and classic literary works, Phuong My Chi has transformed the melodies to become very attractive to young people. When young people see the sparkle of cultural values ​​from many angles, they will be more willing to accept those values. If there is acceptance, there will be recognition, and if there is recognition, the values ​​will continue to be transmitted.

Vietnam Military Museum, night tour to Hoa Lo with new storytelling, new media are attracting many young people to learn about history. 'Loving history and culture again' is also a trend among young people today. With many approaches, they will experience more, from there they will be closer, love Vietnam more".

Pham Quang Vinh and Nguyen Ngoc Thuy Vy - two young founders of Zam Media - the unit that implemented the project to change the identity of the Ho Chi Minh City Museum of History, shared that they both see and believe in the potential of relics and types of tangible and intangible culture.

"We see each type of culture as a brand. We have to understand what the core of the brand is, what audiences and goals it is aiming at, then we will know how to expand our customer base, how to attract young people.

When we chose museums and monuments as our advertising target, some of our friends thought we were crazy. But we chose them because we believe that museums and monuments are the core and root of culture, the starting point for the spread of everything.

We want to go from the roots, calling for more people to come to museums. The name Zám represents the spirit of daring to be passionate, daring to think, daring to do, committing, and being determined of Gen Z."

Content:

PHAM VU - BINH MINH - NGHI VU - MINH DUC - HOAI PHUONG

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/ra-the-gioi-voi-viet-nam-trong-tim-20250125135211797.htm