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 training and education 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 has 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 the goal and the driving force to ensure the stability and sustainable development of the country"[2].

As of 2014, Vietnam's youth (aged 16-30) had 25,078,764 people, accounting for 27.7% of the population, 34.6% of the social labor force, of which men accounted for 50.9% and women 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, a healthy and rich cultural and spiritual life, and a 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 large number of Vietnamese youth have been and are being affected. The most worrying thing is that "a number of young people live without ideals, have lost faith, pay little attention to 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 youth and ethnic minority youth, 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.

Student volunteers from 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, ethical and lifestyle education is on fundamental issues of Marxism-Leninism, Ho Chi Minh's 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 youth with a correct, fundamental and fundamental worldview and methodology, so that they can discuss practical issues. On that basis, help youth understand more clearly, fully and accurately the role of Marxism-Leninism, Ho Chi Minh's 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 and intellectual strength for the young generation; encourage and motivate young people to nurture big dreams and ambitions, be proactive, creative, 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 deploy the study and following of Ho Chi Minh's ideology, ethics and style and other movements 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 Party has entrusted the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union with the task of being a "socialist school for youth", effectively carrying out the work of educating revolutionary ideals, ethics, and cultural lifestyles for teenagers and children. 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 active and self-conscious self-training and self-education of young people. Revolutionary action movements launched by the Union have created a lively practical environment for young people to practice and contribute. The Union's press and publishing agencies have grown steadily, making important contributions to the orientation and education of the younger generation. The Union's cultural institutions 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 team of reporters, propagandists and revolutionary song propaganda teams of the Youth Union have been and are being consolidated, improved and the quality of 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 country's development path; 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 deploy 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, 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 quarantine 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 young generation in many rich and diverse forms, with the participation and responsible coordination of the education sector, families, organizations and the whole society. Innovate the content and methods of studying 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 studying and following Ho Chi Minh's ideology, morality and style", in which the role of Youth Union cadres is highly appreciated, 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 young generation about revolutionary ideals, ethics, and cultural lifestyle is a strategic, long-term, and important task that requires appropriate attention and investment. Investing in education, including educating the young generation about revolutionary ideals, ethics, and cultural lifestyle, is investing in the future of the country. This is the task of the entire Party, all levels, sectors, organizations, families, and the whole society; creating the best conditions for the young 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 youth, strengthen education, training, and help union members and youth in all aspects, especially in 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 of all the leaders of the union and association, must strive to cultivate and train themselves to constantly improve their political capacity, 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 organization, there needs to be active and urgent participation of the entire political system to ensure the building of a generation of youth who are both "red" and "specialized", capable of shouldering the great tasks of the country's industrialization and modernization process.