Becoming an ambassador for reading culture through critical thinking and questioning.

Having won awards twice in the National Reading Culture Ambassador competition, not to mention his many academic achievements and extracurricular activities at school, Van Duy Phuc, a public relations student at Van Lang University, hopes to spread his passion for reading to even more people.

Van Duy Phuc, a K29 student majoring in Public Relations at Van Lang University, recently won third prize in the national finals of the 2024 Reading Culture Ambassador competition organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Prior to this, Phuc also excelled in the university-level Reading Culture Ambassador competition, winning first prize.

We want to connect and spread the reading culture.

Perhaps that result is a continuation of Phuc's fascinating reading "journey," as he won a national-level honorable mention in the Reading Culture Ambassador competition since 11th grade.

Phuc said that to participate in this year's national competition, he invested more time and effort into preparing thoroughly, from brainstorming content ideas to designing the layout.

Duy Phuc views reading as a journey, and for it to be effective, reading should be followed by discussion and critical analysis.

"I chose exam topic number 1. In question 1, I presented my impressions of the book "Think Equal, Live Equal" by the group of authors from the Multi-Pillar House campaign. The book is about gender equality - a highly topical issue."

In question 2, Phuc presented an initiative to develop a reading culture called "The Culture of Sharing - Sharing Good Books with Friends".

As a member of the Chinese community, Phuc hopes to promote reading culture among his fellow ethnic minorities, especially in disadvantaged areas. However, this reading culture ambassador does not want it to be a one-way, purely "procedural" exchange, as many people have often done in the past.

Inspired by highland markets, Phuc wanted to create a two-way initiative where both sides are givers and receivers. "When you give books, you simultaneously receive handcrafted products that reflect the unique cultural identity of the local people: hand-embroidered scarves, local specialties, embroidered bookmarks… This truly creates an interesting connection and achieves a more widespread impact," Phuc stated.

Reading is a journey.

Duy Phuc shared that reading is a journey, a place where he can explore, exchange ideas, and spread them to the community. For Phuc, reading culture is not actually something grand; it originates from each individual and then gradually spreads to form a reading culture.

Sharing his thoughts on young people's reading habits today, Phuc said: "Looking at myself and those around me, I feel that we are lacking in maintaining a beneficial activity, the activity of 'reading'. We don't have much interest in reading, in reflecting, questioning, and critically analyzing through the reading process."

The student was delighted to have won the award twice and wanted to spread the culture of reading to more people.

From then on, Phuc tried to change his approach by reading and sharing his thoughts with friends. "At that time, I felt that reading was truly a journey. A journey of discovery, exchange, and spreading thoughts to those close to me. It might just be a poem, an argument, or an idea, but it truly sustained my reading habits and those of my friends," Phuc said.

According to Phuc, reading contributes to the well-being of everyone, regardless of their field. As a public relations student, developing critical thinking skills through reading, or reading any form of information, helps Phuc learn to see things more deeply, broadly, and strategically when approaching problems.

"Reading also helps me understand myself and the people around me. And this is even more important for public relations students who have to interact with many people and different groups," Phuc shared.

It is known that Phuc received the Van Lang Talent Scholarship, covering 100% of tuition fees for the entire course in 2023, and was the top student (GPA: 3.76/4.0 - valedictorian) of the 29th cohort in the 2023-2024 academic year of the Faculty of Public Relations - Communication. Phuc also received the "Outstanding Ethnic Minority Student, Youth and Young Person" award for the 10th time in 2023 from the Minister and Chairman of the Committee for Ethnic Minorities.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/tro-thanh-dai-su-van-hoa-doc-nho-co-tu-duy-phan-bien-chat-van-185241104151246817.htm