Final article: To ensure young people have "firm ideology and sound understanding"
New challenges on the ideological front in the digital age require Party committees and Youth Union/Association organizations at all levels to implement synchronized solutions to more effectively promote the role and responsibility of young people in protecting the Party's ideological foundation; and to combat and refute erroneous and hostile viewpoints in many aspects, especially in cyberspace.
Authors: Khanh Ly - Thanh Quynh
New challenges on the ideological front in the digital age require Party committees and Youth Union/Association organizations at all levels to implement synchronized solutions to more effectively promote the role and responsibility of young people in protecting the Party's ideological foundation; and to combat and refute erroneous and hostile viewpoints in many aspects, especially in cyberspace.
Resolution No. 29-NQ/TW of the Politburo on the Strategy for National Defense in Cyberspace stated: “The explosive development of groundbreaking technologies has profoundly changed cyberspace both qualitatively and quantitatively, and is predicted to bring unprecedented benefits to human society, but also to create immense potential risks and challenges for all nations.”
In reality, social media is currently dominating the media landscape, and digital technology has become a world that attracts the attention of young people, particularly those aged 16 to 30 (approximately 30% of the country's population). In Nghe An province alone, according to the Statistical Yearbook, the most common age group for social media users is 18 to 34 years old. Approximately 95% of their time is spent browsing social media, searching for information, and reading news. Facebook and Zalo are the two most used platforms, with 100% usage, followed by YouTube (92.7%) and TikTok (91.7%). This group possesses significant potential in terms of health, intelligence, and the ability to apply technology and adapt to the rapidly changing domestic and international environment.
However, as Comrade To Lam, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, pointed out in his article "The Future for a Generation to Flourish": "The widespread use of international media, social networks, and entertainment is causing many young people to increasingly distance themselves from the distinctive cultural values of the nation, such as traditional art forms, folk festivals, traditional cuisine, and even the moral values and spirit of community solidarity that are unique to the Vietnamese people. Social evils and the crime rate among young people are becoming increasingly complex and are infiltrating the lives of a significant portion of young people, weakening the nation's lineage."
Furthermore, taking advantage of the characteristics of young people's psychology—being receptive to new things, liking freedom, and wanting to assert themselves, but having limited awareness of socio-political issues—hostile forces have used many sophisticated tactics, thoroughly exploiting social media to infiltrate and promote the process of "self-evolution" among young people. They establish websites, blogs, Facebook pages, YouTube channels, open "forums," "clubs," and form online groups to disseminate information, documents, images, and video clips with harmful, toxic, and false content aimed at attacking and denying the country's achievements; slandering Party and State leaders; distorting the Party and State's policies; and denying the path to socialism in Vietnam. Many young people are lured and incited by distorted, harmful, and toxic information from hostile forces, showing signs of fading faith and ideals, losing direction in their endeavors, pursuing a pragmatic lifestyle, lacking responsibility towards their families and society, and falling into vices…
These are negative phenomena and manifestations that require timely and accurate identification in order to take effective preventive measures. Because they not only directly threaten the lives and futures of young people, but also directly threaten the future of the country.
Resolution No. 35-NQ/TW dated October 22, 2018, of the Politburo clearly stated: It is necessary to strengthen propaganda and education work for all strata of the people, especially the younger generation, in order to enhance their resistance and ability to proactively combat and refute false and hostile viewpoints on the Internet.
To effectively carry out this task in the digital age, Party committees, government agencies, and Youth Union and Association organizations at all levels need to diversify their forms of propaganda and strengthen the application of digital transformation in political theory education to achieve practical results.
Comrade Nguyen Hong Soa - Head of the Student Political Affairs Department (Vinh University) stated that: Digital transformation in political and ideological education for students is not simply about digitizing lectures or applying software to educational activities, but also about transforming the entire way of interacting with students in the digital space; in line with the context of the booming Industry 4.0 revolution. For example, Vinh University is currently applying a hybrid form of in-person and online education, expanding the scale of classes, seminars, programs, and events to thousands of people through specialized software such as Facebook, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Google Meet… or the Learning Management System (LMS). These digital platforms increase two-way interaction, helping those involved in propaganda work easily receive feedback and suggestions… thereby enabling them to respond promptly to students.
Regarding solutions to improve the effectiveness of educating young people and teenagers on revolutionary ideals, ethics, and cultural lifestyles in the online space, Comrade Nguyen Thi Phuong Thuy - Secretary of the Provincial Youth Union - affirmed: Youth Union branches at all levels always consider digital technology platforms as an important bridge to bring the Youth Union closer to the younger generation. These platforms are also convenient tools for understanding thoughts and increasing the effectiveness of educating young people on revolutionary ethics, and are a sharp tool in protecting the Party's ideological foundation.
Currently, over 80% of the Youth Union's social media pages from the provincial to the grassroots level are connected and sharing information in a unified manner; 90% of Youth Union, Youth Association, and Young Pioneer cadres, members, and 80% of young people and teenagers are informed about and actively implement the code of conduct on social media; and 80% of Youth Union cadres and members study new directives, resolutions, and policies of the Party and the Youth Union through the Youth Union's digital platforms.
Comrade Nguyen Manh Phong - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Youth Union, added that the Standing Committee of the Nghe An Provincial Youth Union has changed its propaganda methods and interactive environment from "monologue" to "dialogue," and from traditional to online. At the same time, it continues to strengthen and improve the quality and quantity of volunteers, rapid response teams on the internet, provincial-level speakers; the Provincial Young Theorists Club and the Provincial Steering Committee 35. This force possesses strong political acumen, unwavering ideological stance, and excellent digital skills. They both produce news articles refuting the distorted narratives of hostile forces and carry out propaganda and ideological guidance for Youth Union members and young people on sensitive issues and hot events, helping young people have "correct information and sufficient understanding" of the nature of events. From there, they adhere to the 5K rule: "Don't believe immediately - Don't rush to click the like button - Don't add embellishments - Don't incite - Don't rush to share."
At the 12th National Congress of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, the late General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong instructed: “Participating in building and protecting the Party and the political system is the responsibility and political right of Youth Union members, young people, and the Youth Union organization; it is a crucial and ongoing task of all levels of the Youth Union. The Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union must constantly replenish the Party with young vitality by recruiting Party members from outstanding Youth Union members and high-quality young cadres…”
In recent times, the campaign "Youth Union members strive to become members of the Communist Party of Vietnam" has been widely implemented by Youth Union branches at all levels in Nghe An province. Notably, in Nam Dan district, in 2024, Youth Union organizations introduced 127 outstanding members, of whom 111 were admitted to the Party. At Vinh University, on average, the Youth Union introduces more than 250-300 outstanding members to the Party each year. The entire university currently has over 1,000 student Party members. Thanks to a favorable environment, many student Party members at the university have matured in theory and awareness, becoming a core force in the work of nurturing outstanding individuals for Party membership. A prime example is young Party member Nguyen Nhu Mai Chi - a student in class 16A2, majoring in Literature Education, and Deputy Secretary of the Social Sciences Education Student Party Branch at the Faculty of Education (Vinh University). With the belief that "young people joining the Party is also a way to protect the Party's ideological foundation," in addition to promoting pioneering and exemplary behavior in learning and training, Mai Chi actively propagates and encourages fellow students to strive to become Party members. Currently, Mai Chi's class 16A2, majoring in Literature Education, has 13 student Party members; the Social Sciences Education student Party branch has 150 student Party members.
Meanwhile, in youth organizations within the military sector, such as the Nghe An Border Guard Youth Force, the training and development of new Party members is concretized through the implementation of Political Bureau Directive No. 05 and Central Military Commission Directive No. 87 on "Studying and following the thoughts, ethics, and style of Ho Chi Minh," linked with the campaign "Promoting traditions, contributing talents, and living up to the name of Ho Chi Minh's soldiers"... From there, outstanding individuals who are "standard in awareness, firm in politics," and absolutely loyal to the Fatherland and the people are selected and introduced to the Party for consideration and admission. In the past five years, 171 youth members from the Border Guard Force have attended political theory training courses to prepare for Party membership; of which, 155 outstanding youth members have been admitted to the Party.
According to statistics from the Provincial Youth Union's Organizing Committee, from 2017 to the end of 2024, more than 18,700 Youth Union members in Nghe An province were admitted to the Party. In 2024 alone, out of 6,204 newly admitted Party members, 3,718 were from the pool of outstanding Youth Union members, accounting for over 60%.
In the article "The Future for a Generation to Flourish," Comrade To Lam, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, emphasized: "The Youth Union needs to promote the spirit of dedication and the pioneering role of young people in socio-economic development, ensuring national defense and security, international integration; developing science and technology; entrepreneurship and innovation; digital transformation; protecting the Party's ideological foundation, combating and refuting erroneous and hostile viewpoints; and participating in preventing, combating, and reducing the crime rate among young people."
During her visit to congratulate the Nghe An Provincial Youth Union on the occasion of its 94th anniversary (March 26, 1931 - 2025), Ms. Vo Thi Minh Sinh, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairwoman of the Provincial Fatherland Front Committee, and Head of the Nghe An Provincial National Assembly Delegation, also requested the Standing Committee of the Provincial Youth Union to continue improving the quality of the Youth Union organization; strongly promote the pioneering, volunteer, and creative role of young people in professional work; especially in the task of advising, applying digital transformation, participating in promoting social welfare, ensuring national defense and security, and resolving difficult and new issues in agencies and units.
Imbued with these guiding principles, and alongside doing a good job of political and ideological education to ensure a strong foundation, the Standing Committee of the Nghe An Provincial Youth Union, the Provincial Federation of Youth Associations, and the Provincial Student Association have determined: To continue implementing solutions to build strong Youth Union and Student Association organizations in terms of ideology and action; to focus on applying technology, building new models and effective methods to improve the quality of Youth Union activities, creating attractiveness and attracting a large number of members and young people to voluntarily participate. Through this, they will build a foundation for uniting, gathering, and educating young people, leading the younger generation to develop their roles and responsibilities, and shoulder the mission in the era of national progress; participating in building a strong Party and political system; and fighting against hostile forces that infringe upon the ideological foundation of the Communist Party of Vietnam.
