Political, ideological, ethical and lifestyle education for today's youth

Volunteer team of University of Social Sciences and Humanities "Supporting tourism in Thang Long - Hanoi in 2017"

1. Youth is the vanguard force in the cause of building and defending the Fatherland.

Youth is a great social force, the backbone of the nation, one of the important factors deciding the fate and future of the nation, the main force in many fields, undertaking tasks that require sacrifice, hardship, health and creativity. "Whether the cause of innovation is successful or not, whether the country enters the 21st century with a worthy position in the world community or not, whether the Vietnamese revolution firmly follows the path of socialism or not depends largely on the youth force, on the nurturing and training of the young generation."[1]. In the process of leading the country, the Party has always promoted the role and position of youth, identified youth as the vanguard force of the revolution, the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union as the Party's reliable reserve force and proposed many policies on education, training, fostering, and organizing youth into a strong, loyal force, continuing the revolutionary cause of the Party and the nation. At the same time, the Party also determined that youth work, especially youth education, always plays an important role. "Caring for and developing youth is both a goal and a driving force to ensure the stability and sustainable development of the country"[2].

As of 2014, Vietnam's youth (aged 16-30) numbered 25,078,764 people, accounting for 27.7% of the population, 34.6% of the social labor force, of which males accounted for 50.9% and females accounted for 49.1%.[3]. Thus, Vietnam today has a strong generation of young people, knowledgeable, healthy, dynamic and creative, not afraid of difficulties and hardships, with the will to excel in studying, working, establishing themselves, starting a business, getting rich legitimately, determined to help the country escape poverty and backwardness, wishing to contribute to the country, having jobs, stable income, healthy and rich cultural and spiritual life, safe living environment. "Although there are many different moods, the majority of young people always believe in the leadership of the Party and the development of the country"[4].

In addition to the positive aspects of the majority of young people, in the face of the negative impacts of the market mechanism, the complex polarization of rich and poor and social stratification, foreign cultural factors..., the awareness and actions of a significant number of Vietnamese young people have been and are being affected. The most worrying thing is that "a number of young people live without ideals, have lost faith, are less interested in the situation of the country, lack awareness of law enforcement, live pragmatically, and are far from national cultural traditions. The education of a number of young people, especially rural young people and ethnic minority young people, is still low; many young people lack knowledge and skills in international integration. The independence, initiative, creativity, and practical capacity after training of young people are still weak, not meeting the requirements of industrialization and modernization. The situation of crime and social evils among young people is increasing and becoming more and more complicated"[5].

One of the fundamental causes of this situation is that the work of political, ideological, moral and lifestyle education for the young generation is still limited, not meeting the requirements of the new situation, and sometimes, in some places, this issue is not really taken seriously. The forms of education are still rigid and lack appeal. The educational content is often unrealistic, not selected and streamlined in an easy-to-understand direction. The educational method has not paid attention to promoting and inspiring the initiative and self-discipline of young people - an important factor determining the effectiveness of educational work.

In that situation, more than ever, the work of educating union members and youth, focusing on political, ideological, moral and lifestyle education on the basis of innovative educational methods, is the issue that the Youth Union needs to pay top attention to today.

Volunteer students of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities participate in planting trees at the Friendship Garden

2. Basic content on political, ideological, ethical and lifestyle education for the young generation

The focus of political, ideological, moral and lifestyle education is on fundamental issues of Marxism-Leninism, Ho Chi Minh Thought, the Party's guidelines and policies, especially Directive No. 42-CT/TW of the Secretariat of the 11th Party Central Committee (March 24, 2015) and Resolution No. 4 of the 12th Party Central Committee (2016) to equip union members and young people with a correct, fundamental and fundamental worldview and methodology, so that they can discuss practical issues. On that basis, help young people understand more clearly, fully and accurately the role of Marxism-Leninism, Ho Chi Minh Thought, the Party's guidelines and viewpoints in building the country in the direction of socialism, maintain a firm stance against the plots, tricks and sabotage actions of hostile forces against our country's revolution, correctly perceive the values ​​of truth, goodness and beauty to strive to study, practice, work and be ready to contribute. Resolution of the 12th National Congress (2016) of the Party clearly stated: “Do a good job of political, ideological, traditional, ideal, moral and lifestyle education, create conditions for studying, working, entertaining, developing physical strength and intelligence for the young generation; encourage and motivate young people to nurture big dreams and ambitions, be proactive, creative, and master modern science and technology; form a class of elite youth in all fields, loyally and excellently continuing the revolutionary cause of the Party and the nation”[6].

However, the problem in the current educational content is to determine specific standards of revolutionary ideals, ethics and lifestyle to educate the youth. In this regard, we should continue to widely implement the study and follow of Ho Chi Minh's ideology, ethics and style and other campaigns to build core values ​​for the youth: Loyalty, creativity, aspiration, dedication, respect and responsibility, in order to bring about clearer and more widespread results, successfully implementing the Resolution of the 12th National Party Congress.

Zero-dong supermarket - Tuoi Tre Nhan Van accompanies students during the 2020 exam season

Youth education is the task of the entire political system, in which the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union plays an important role. The Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union is entrusted by the Party with the task of being a "socialist school for the youth", effectively carrying out the work of educating revolutionary ideals, ethics, and cultural lifestyles for young people. Over the years, the Union has gradually innovated the content and methods of education, focusing on discovering and setting examples of good people and good deeds, promoting the positivity and self-awareness in self-training and self-education of young people. The revolutionary action movements launched by the Union have created a vivid practical environment for young people to practice and contribute. The press and publishing agencies of the Union have grown steadily, making important contributions to the orientation and education of the younger generation. The cultural institutions of the Union have trained and nurtured many generations of outstanding young people, becoming the core of the movements. The viewpoints, guidelines and policies of the Party, the State and the Youth Union have been conveyed to the youth through many new methods such as dramatization and art. The Youth Union has initially approached and effectively exploited modern communication tools and new technologies to propagate and mobilize the youth. The Youth Union's team of reporters, propagandists and revolutionary song propaganda teams have been and are being consolidated, improved and the quality of their activities improved.

With the leadership of the Party, the State, all levels, sectors, and the whole society, and the efforts of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, the work of educating the young generation has achieved many positive results. Vietnamese youth increasingly have a better environment and conditions to practice and mature, contributing to the formation of revolutionary ideals, ethics, cultural lifestyle, law compliance, and gradually perfecting their personalities. The majority of young people believe in the leadership of the Party and the development path of the country; live responsibly towards the Fatherland, family, and themselves; have dreams and ambitions; have knowledge, skills, good health; dynamic and creative thinking, dare to think, know how to do.

To further contribute to improving the quality and effectiveness of youth education, the Party, the State and the entire political system need to invest properly in youth training and education; seriously and synchronously implement the solutions identified in Directive No. 42-CT/TW of the Secretariat of the 11th Party Central Committee on "Strengthening the Party's leadership in educating revolutionary ideals, ethics, and cultural lifestyles for the young generation in the 2015-2030 period", Resolution No. 4 of the 12th Party Central Committee on strengthening Party building and rectification; preventing and repelling the degradation of political ideology, ethics, and lifestyle, and manifestations of "self-evolution" and "self-transformation" within the Party.

USSH student volunteers participate in welcoming students back to school after a period of isolation due to the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic in 2021

3. Some experiences

Through the practice of educating revolutionary ideals, ethics, and lifestyle for the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, we can draw some of the following experiences:

Firstly, strengthen political, ideological and traditional education for the younger generation in many diverse and rich forms, with the participation and responsible coordination of the education sector, families, organizations and the whole society. Innovate the content and methods of learning political theory suitable for each group of union members. Combine moral education and cultural lifestyle with creative implementation of Directive 05 of the Politburo on "Promoting the study and following of Ho Chi Minh's ideology, morality and style", in which the role of Youth Union cadres is highly valued, orienting young people to practice according to the criteria of "Pure heart - Bright mind - Great ambition". The Communist Youth Union advises Party committees and authorities at all levels to periodically meet, exchange and dialogue with young people. Improve the quality and effectiveness of the team of reporters and propagandists, proactively grasp and forecast the ideological situation, orient public opinion among young people, especially in big cities and sensitive areas. Coordinate with all levels and sectors to propagate, disseminate legal education, combat, criticize, and correct distorted perceptions and wrongful manifestations among cadres, union members, and youth.

Second, educating the younger generation about revolutionary ideals, ethics, and cultural lifestyles is a strategic, long-term, and important task that requires appropriate attention and investment. Investing in education, including educating the younger generation about revolutionary ideals, ethics, and cultural lifestyles, is investing in the future of the country. This is the task of the entire Party, all levels, sectors, organizations, families, and the entire society; creating the best conditions for the younger generation to study, work, and contribute, to be the force that builds and protects the Fatherland, and to worthily continue the revolutionary cause of the Party and the nation.

Third, build a truly strong and comprehensive Youth Union organization at all levels in terms of politics, ideology, and organization, expand the gathering and solidarity of young people, strengthen education, training, and support for union members and young people in all aspects, especially building beliefs, revolutionary ideals, goals, and motivations.

Fourth, continue to implement and organize meaningful revolutionary action movements among the youth. Through these activities, each member and youth, first and foremost the leaders of the youth union and association, must strive to cultivate and train themselves to constantly improve their political qualities, moral qualities, beliefs and working capacity. At the same time, special attention must be paid to education and dissemination of laws; support for youth in studying and scientific research; and education of necessary social skills and life skills for youth.

Strengthening the education of revolutionary ideals, ethics and lifestyle for young people in the current period is one of the important requirements in the youth education work of the Union. In addition to the core role of the Union, there needs to be active and urgent participation of the entire political system to ensure the building of a generation of young people who are both "red" and "specialized", capable of shouldering the great tasks of the country's industrialization and modernization process.