The ASEAN and ASEAN+3 Youth Culture Forum (AYCF) is an annual event organized by the ASEAN University Network (AUN) in collaboration with its member universities, taking turns hosting it. It brings together young people from leading universities in ASEAN, China, Japan, and South Korea to exchange and share cultural values, aiming to strengthen and celebrate cultural diversity and similarities, promote deeper understanding between national cultures, and enhance friendship and cooperation among member universities.
In 2024, from June 23rd to 28th, the Faculty of Tourism Studies was proud to have student Le Minh Trang (K66 Hotel Management), the only female student representative from Northern Vietnam, attend the 19th ASEAN Youth Culture Forum and the 9th ASEAN+3 Forum in Brunei, hosted by the University of Brunei Darussalam. The Vietnamese delegation also included representatives from staff and students from the Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City and Can Tho University.
Within the framework of the forum themed “Futuring Together towards Preserving Art and Culture,” the Vietnamese delegation participated in and experienced many interesting and unique activities: performing cultural exchange art pieces, lectures on Bruneian culture and culture in the 4.0 era, decorating exhibition booths of various countries, visiting and learning about the customs and culture of ethnic villages in Brunei, visiting the Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque, and participating in workshops on traditional Bruneian art forms. Through the Forum, Vietnamese students presented a performance blending traditional and modern art (cup dance to the music of Hue royal court music, conical hat dance simulating life in the floating markets of the Mekong Delta, modern dance with the lively sounds of city life); The exhibition showcased traditional costumes, distinctive items, and local specialties such as coconut shells, conical hats, mung bean cakes, coconut candy, four-panel dresses, and ao dai (traditional Vietnamese dress), thereby promoting the unique values of Vietnamese cultural heritage and the image of Vietnamese students as confident, dynamic, and creative, reaching closer to other countries. During the Forum, the Vietnamese delegation had the opportunity to visit and interact with the Vietnamese Embassy in Brunei Darussalam and discuss several issues related to cooperation in education and training between the two countries. The students expressed their desire to seek and access scholarships at Brunei universities, as well as to learn about future cooperation and exchange mechanisms between educational institutions in the two countries.
After the trip, Minh Trang shared, “Participating in the Forum was a valuable opportunity for me to better understand the artistic beauty and cultural diversity of ASEAN and ASEAN+3 countries, while also conveying the rich and attractive Vietnamese culture and art to international friends. I felt very happy and proud to hear teachers and students from other countries share that Vietnamese students are very friendly, dynamic, and creative. After the program, I became even more aware of the role of the younger generation in preserving and developing culture and art in today's life because young people like us have the enthusiasm, talent, courage, and creativity to connect with each other to build a youth community that promotes sustainable development of culture and art for ASEAN and ASEAN+3 countries.”
