We made an appointment to meet the Secretary of the Youth Union and Chairman of the Youth Union of Nghi Thuy Ward on a sunny summer day in June when he and the management board of Yen Dinh and Yen Son blocks were supervising the concreting of the 93m long, 3m wide internal road. With a tanned face and sweaty green youth shirt, Nguyen Dac Tuan happily said: This road is inherently low-lying, every time it rains it floods, water overflows into people's houses, now the block and the youth union are mobilizing people to contribute 5 million VND per household along with sand, gravel, and cement supported by the People's Committee of the ward to build the road, both beautifying the landscape and creating favorable conditions for people to travel.
Having said that, the “leader” of the Youth Union, born in 1990, was busy returning to direct the drum teams, the art troupe, the procession team, and the folk games of the youth union to prepare for the “Phuc Luc Ngoat” festival, which will take place in the middle of the sixth lunar month. This is a large-scale traditional festival with many cultural activities expressing unique beliefs and cultural identities. Through that, it is the spiritual support of fishermen in the region to pray for each trip to the sea to be calm, the boat full of fish and shrimp… attracting a large number of people in the region and visitors from all over to attend.
Born and raised in a coastal fishing village, the lower reaches of the Cam River with a rich and ancient cultural heritage, with winding alleys surrounding the craft village imbued with the flavor of the sea, ancient temples, moss-covered with unique festivals, ancient village wells, markets and fishing ports with bustling boats coming and going... Nguyen Dac Tuan, like many other people, always hopes that Nghi Thuy will truly become a destination for tourists when they come to the coastal town of Cua Lo. Therefore, in his role as both a cultural officer and a "leader" of the local youth union, he has actively advised the Party Committee and the People's Committee of the ward to organize many projects and tasks to contribute to promoting the beautiful images of the land, culture and people of Nghi Thuy. Typical examples include the project to digitize cultural relics and historical sites such as Yen Luong and Mai Bang temples. These are ancient temples that have been recognized as provincial and national historical relics, with both historical value and unique architecture, playing an important role in the spiritual life of people in the Cua Lo river region.
In particular, Mai Bang Temple holds two major festivals every year on February 12 (lunar calendar) and May 3 (lunar calendar) with a fishing ceremony and many unique festival activities. Yen Luong Temple makes its mark with the "Phuc Luc Ngoat" festival taking place in mid-June of the lunar calendar, attracting many tourists. Therefore, digitization will help visitors easily access general information about the history of the temples and related festival activities. In addition, the Ward Youth Union also coordinates with the Temple Relic Management Board to organize many exciting activities such as stick pushing competitions, folk game festivals, etc., attracting a large number of tourists. In particular, two drum teams consisting of 15-30 youth union members established by the Ward Youth Union have been invited to participate in many cultural and tourism activities in the area.
The propaganda work on awareness and responsibility in environmental protection, building a civilized behavior style, open and sincere attitude towards tourists has also been paid attention to by Secretary Nguyen Dac Tuan and the Executive Committee of Nghi Thuy Ward Youth Union, actively implemented with many rich and diverse activities. Notably, the creative design of infographics to carry out the propaganda campaign for people not to litter on the streets, rivers, and ditches, contributing to building a green, clean, and beautiful residential area. Or the campaigns to launch a general cleaning of Nghi Thuy Ward's beach area, Lan Chau Island, fishing port area, bus station; attaching nameplates of rows of youth trees, self-managed youth routes; national flag road works; mural fence works; coordination activities with the ward's civil defense committee and ward police to organize line marking and lane division to prevent re-encroachment and violations of traffic safety corridors on main roads; Organize households and businesses to sign a commitment not to encroach on or illegally use roadsides, sidewalks, and traffic safety corridors.
The youth of Nghi Thuy ward also left their mark with the voluntary Saturday and Green Sunday campaigns, organizing the removal of illegal leaflets and advertisements that affect the beauty; planting, preserving and developing sea daisies - a typical flower of the coastal tourist town in the area of the road to Nghi Thuy ward beach and public areas. The youth union is also the core force in organizing activities of the fishing village thanking the Party, building check-in points at the cultural center and in front of the ward People's Committee headquarters... every time Tet comes, Spring comes.
In addition, according to the "leader" of Nghi Thuy ward's youth, with the motto "each youth union member is a tour guide", the ward's youth union has established a Tour Guide Club, gathering talented and knowledgeable members to attend training courses to introduce and promote the image of tourist destinations and historical sites in the area. In addition, it participates in organizing competitions for good tour guides and interpreters to improve, share experiences, and practice skills to better serve the propaganda and promotion of Nghi Thuy fishing village in particular and Cua Lo town in general.
The application of technology in propaganda activities has also been flexibly deployed by Secretary Nguyen Dac Tuan on the ward union's facebook page, Nghi Thuy Fishing Village page, Nghi Thuy Propaganda page and through the union's regular radio program to spread beautiful images of people, landscapes and specialties of Cua Lo beach to tourists inside and outside the province.
Starting out as a youth union officer in the hamlet, after graduating from Nghe An College of Culture and Arts, in 2014, Nguyen Dac Tuan was elected to the position of Deputy Secretary of the Ward Youth Union. In 2018, he was elected to hold the position of Secretary of the Nghi Thuy Ward Youth Union until now. Growing up from the grassroots, grasping the general situation of difficulties in youth union work and the current youth movement due to the special characteristics of the coastal area, young workers often go fishing on boats for long days, some are often present in the locality, some are busy with school, some are struggling to make a living so it is very difficult to gather, "leader" Nguyen Dac Tuan always struggles to choose suitable programs and activities to mobilize young people in the area.
For example, in collaboration with the Provincial Youth Union, the Youth Union of Nghe An province, and the Youth Union of Cua Lo town, the "Young fishermen going out to sea" Club with 20 members who are union members and young fishermen. This is a model of linking activities between teams and groups of ships when participating in fishing at fishing grounds to improve production efficiency and ensure safety during offshore trips and protect the sovereignty of the sea and islands of the Fatherland. In addition, the Youth Union of Nghi Thuy ward also actively coordinates with the Ward Military Command, the Border Guard Station of Cua Lo - Ben Thuy port to distribute leaflets, propagate the prevention of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing of seafood of IUU, give national flags to offshore fishing fleets to spread the love for the sea and islands of the Fatherland...
“Funds for union activities, especially at the ward level, are very limited, but if we find it difficult and do not do it, we cannot promote the movement. Therefore, I and the ward Youth Union Executive Committee always strive to utilize resources and implement projects and tasks that both ensure practicality and demonstrate the spirit of “wherever needed, there are youth, where there is difficulty, there are youth”. For example, the playground and exercise ground project in Yen Dinh block. Previously, this area was a garbage dump causing pollution. The youth union coordinated with the block executive committee to propagate and mobilize people to clean up, calling for funding for 50 chairs, 1 volleyball court, 1 badminton court. In addition, the ward union also mobilized youth union members to pull electricity for lighting, design swings, and slides for children. After 3 years, the project was completed and became a place for people in the area to exercise, exercise, and have fun with a total value of 200 million VND. Similarly, the volleyball court project and the first phase of the youth playground for the people of Thanh Cong block worth 50 million VND. Up to now, the Youth Union and the Youth Union of the ward have undertaken 16 youth projects at the city and ward levels" - Secretary of the Youth Union of Nghi Thuy ward Nguyen Dac Tuan said.
In addition, through fundraising car wash activities, organizing football matches, and calling for sponsorship, every year Nghi Thuy Ward Youth Union has implemented many tasks to support and encourage disadvantaged families of youth union members and students in the area. Especially from 2017 to now, the ward Youth Union has organized 8 Warm Winter and Spring volunteer programs to give gifts to students and poor households in the Western districts of Nghe An with a budget of over 500 million VND.
In addition to common activities, "leader" Nguyen Dac Tuan and the Nghi Thuy Ward Youth Union Executive Committee also directed and guided the Youth Union branches of the blocks to maintain the order of the Youth Union activities, thereby implementing many movements that left their mark at the grassroots level such as: The bright - green - clean - beautiful - safe and civilized road project of the Yen Son Block Youth Union, the safe tire project of the Dong Tien Block Youth Union, the schoolyard flower garden project, the green library, the mural school gate of the primary school Youth Union... In order to gather the strength of the Youth Union members in common movements, Nguyen Dac Tuan himself and the Nghi Thuy Ward Youth Union Executive Committee are always pioneers and exemplary in activities; close and sociable with the youth to promptly discover and nurture the core factors, creating a widespread influence on the youth of the whole ward.
The creativity and dedication of coastal youth "leader" Nguyen Dac Tuan have been recognized by the Youth Union and local Party Committees and authorities through many awards, certificates of merit, and certificates of merit. Typical examples include the Ly Tu Trong Award for outstanding Youth Union officials from the Central Youth Union; Certificate of Merit for Outstanding Young Party Members, Certificate of Merit for Outstanding Achievements in Implementing Directive 05 on Studying and Following Ho Chi Minh's Thought, Ethics, and Lifestyle in the 2016-2021 Period of Nghe An Provincial Youth Union. The Nghi Thuy Ward Youth Union also won many certificates of merit, certificates of merit, and emulation flags from the Central Youth Union, Provincial Youth Union, and Youth Unions at all levels.
Commenting on the "leader" of the group Nguyen Dac Tuan, comrade Hoang Van Hai - Secretary of the Nghi Thuy Ward Party Committee said: "Over the years, the Nghi Thuy Ward Youth Union has always been the leading flag in the work of the Youth Union and the youth movement with many practical projects and tasks. Among them is the mark of Secretary of the Ward Youth Union Nguyen Dac Tuan. As a leading, exemplary young cadre, not afraid of difficulties and hardships, in 2022, comrade Tuan was awarded a Certificate of Merit by the Ward Party Committee for outstanding performance of his duties, and the Ward People's Committee classified him as an excellent performance of his duties".
Despite this recognition, Nguyen Dac Tuan is still modest in saying that it is a common mark showing the spirit of solidarity and unanimity of the union members and youth in the ward.
