The ASEAN and ASEAN+3 Youth Cultural Forum (AYCF) is an annual activity organized by the ASEAN University Network (AUN) in collaboration with member universities, taking turns to host young people from leading universities in the ASEAN region, China, Japan and Korea to exchange and share cultural values to strengthen and honor cultural diversity and similarities, promote deep understanding between cultures of countries as well as enhance friendship and cooperation between member universities.
In 2024, from June 23 to June 28, the Faculty of Tourism is proud to have student Le Minh Trang (K66 Hotel Management), the only female student representative from the North, attending the 19th ASEAN Youth Cultural Forum and the 9th ASEAN+3 in Brunei hosted by the University of Brunei Darussalam. The Vietnamese delegation also includes representatives from staff and students from Ho Chi Minh City National University and Can Tho University.
Within the framework of the forum with the theme "Futuring Together towards Preserving Art and Culture", the Vietnamese delegation participated in and experienced many interesting and unique activities: performing cultural exchange art performances, lectures on Brunei culture and culture in the 4.0 era, decorating exhibition booths of countries, visiting and learning about customs and culture of ethnic villages in Brunei, visiting Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque, participating in a workshop on traditional art forms of Brunei. Through the Forum, Vietnamese students brought a performance with a blend of traditional and modern art (cup dance art to the background of Hue royal court music, conical hat dance simulating the life of the floating market in the West, modern dance with the bustling sounds of urban life); Displaying traditional costumes, typical items, local specialties at the exhibition such as coconut shells, conical hats, green bean cakes, coconut candy, Ao Tu Than, Ao Dai, etc., thanks to which the unique values in Vietnamese cultural heritage and the image of Vietnamese students who are brave, dynamic, and creative are widely promoted and spread closer to other countries. On the occasion of attending the Forum, the Vietnamese delegation had the opportunity to visit and exchange with the Vietnamese Embassy in Brunei Darussalam and discuss some contents related to cooperation activities in education and training between the two countries. The students expressed their wishes about opportunities to seek and access scholarships at Brunei universities as well as learn about cooperation and exchange mechanisms between training institutions of the two countries in the future.
After the trip, Minh Trang shared, “Attending the Forum is a valuable opportunity for me to better understand the artistic beauty and cultural diversity of ASEAN and ASEAN+3 countries, and at the same time convey the valuable and attractive Vietnamese culture and art to international friends. I feel very happy and proud when listening to teachers and students from other countries share that Vietnamese students are very friendly, dynamic and creative. After the program, I am more aware of the role of the young generation in preserving and developing culture and art in today's life because we young people have enthusiasm, talent, courage and creativity, and can connect with each other to build a young community to promote sustainable development of culture and art for ASEAN and ASEAN+3 countries.
