Solutions to gather youth in religious areas

(Baonghean) - Nghe An has nearly 45,000 religious youth (mainly Catholic) distributed in 14 districts, cities and towns. In recent years, the work of gathering religious youth to participate in activities of youth organizations and associations in the province has had positive changes. Youth organizations at all levels have had many activities to expand and strengthen solidarity work, gather youth, and improve the quality of grassroots movements in religious areas...

Diversify the form of gathering

Since the district Youth Union supported the construction of a volleyball court, the sports movement of the youth in hamlets 9B and 5 of Bui Ngoa parish (Hung Trung commune, Hung Nguyen) has become more active. On average, every afternoon, there are more than 20 youth union members participating in playing volleyball after working and studying hours. This activity also attracts a large number of parishioners in the area. Mr. Cao Anh Duc - Chairman of the Hung Nguyen district Youth Union said: In 2013, the district Youth Union launched a campaign for youth union members of agencies and schools to donate to build playgrounds and sports equipment (balls, nets) for disadvantaged units, mainly the youth union branches of hamlets in the parish communes. Up to now, this activity has been deployed in 9 branches, creating many improvements for the grassroots movement.

Young people in Nam Loc (Nam Dan) parish do irrigation work in the fields.

Regarding Nam Loc - a Catholic commune of Nam Dan district with 93.7% of the population following Catholicism with 7/10 religious branches, the youth gathering rate is about 65%. Mr. Tran Van Khang - Secretary of the Youth Union of Nam Loc commune said: Due to the characteristics of being a Catholic area, religious activities have a significant influence on the ideological and emotional life of young people and teenagers. Besides, some young people, due to lack of jobs in the locality, often have to go to work far away, so the work of uniting and gathering Catholic youth faces many difficulties. To expand the solidarity front to gather young people, the Youth Union Executive Committee and the Youth Union Committee of the commune have organized many superficial activities such as: football, volleyball, cultural and artistic exchanges between the village branches.

The contents of the Youth Union - Association activities are integrated by the secretaries of the parishioners' Youth Union branches into the youth's catechism activities. With the support of the Party Committee, the government, the Youth Union Executive Committee, the Commune Youth Union has built a number of projects to raise funds and create more income for local youth. In 2013 alone, the Commune Youth Union carried out 4 projects to level the communal cultural house, kindergarten grounds, and dredge irrigation canals and Ba Khe canals worth 28 million VND, and directed 10 volunteer youth teams at the Youth Union branches and associations to complete 6 projects worth about 11 million VND.

The new feature of the Youth Union of Nam Loc commune is that it has established a Youth Union team of 15 members in the religious areas as the core of movements and activities. According to the leaders of the Youth Union and Association in Nam Loc, in order to unite and gather youth in religious areas, it is necessary to truly immerse themselves in youth activities and make them understand the benefits of participating in the Youth Union and Association movement. The whole Nam Dan district currently has a total of 2,464 religious youth union members of age, including 1,904 Catholics, currently 1,482 have been gathered into the organization, reaching 60.18%, with 20 secretaries of the Youth Union branches being Catholics. The experience of attracting and gathering youth in religious areas of the district Youth Union is to actively direct the Youth Union and Association bases in religious areas to organize inter-branch and inter-branch activities to create solidarity between Catholic and non-Catholic youth.

In many localities, Youth Union and Association officials pay special attention to creating close relationships and gaining the support of priests, dignitaries, and officials so that they can create conditions for the Youth Union and Association to deeply approach and organize many activities to attract Catholic youth to participate. Integrating Youth Union and Association activities in religious areas into major holidays such as Christmas and New Year. Mr. Bui Van Thanh - Secretary of the Youth Union of Quynh Thanh commune, Quynh Luu said: "That integration will help Catholic youth see the harmony between religion and life, the strength of solidarity and friendship that the Youth Union aims for."

Mr. Pham Ngoc Canh - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Youth Union, Chairman of the Provincial Youth Union said: Every year, the Provincial Youth Union Executive Committee organizes training courses on professional work of the Youth Union - Association - Team for key cadres in religious areas to improve skills and professional work of youth mobilization, solidarity and gathering of youth and propaganda of policies, laws, ordinances on religious beliefs, legal documents on religion to young people. In addition, the Provincial Youth Union Executive Committee and the Provincial Youth Union strengthen the direction of building, consolidating and improving the quality of activities and activities of youth union branches and associations; creating a source for developing union members and members in religious areas. Thanks to that, up to now, the whole province has developed 677 youth union branches and associations in religious areas, 235 core movement members at the grassroots level. The Youth Union at all levels has also actively mobilized Catholic youth with similar interests to establish and participate in branches, clubs, groups, teams, and groups such as: Volleyball Club, Cultural and Arts Club, Youth Business Club; actively supported loan capital from the Youth Entrepreneurship Fund, Youth Employment Fund. Thereby promoting the youth movement to compete in entrepreneurship, economic development, and legitimate enrichment for themselves, their families, and society.

In 2013, the Provincial Youth Union built a model of solidarity to gather youth in specific areas, including the model in Quynh Thanh - a Catholic commune of Quynh Luu district, where the youth gathering rate is still low (under 10%), the regime of youth union and association activities is not guaranteed. In addition to supporting the construction of a youth bookcase with 250 books on the application of livestock breeding techniques, production, economic development and documents serving youth union and association activities; giving disadvantaged youth union branches in the area equipment for physical exercise and sports, giving gifts to poor students who overcome difficulties, sending youth teams to summer activities in the locality to stir up the movement; sending cadres to attend activities with youth union branches and associations in Catholic areas, seeking the support of priests and parish pastoral councils... creating a change to attract young people to actively participate in Youth Union and Association activities.

Building a "nucleus" from the movement

One of the issues that the Youth Union and Association at all levels are very concerned about is to discover and nurture the core of the grassroots movement into core cadres who play the role of a bridge between religion and life, between the Youth Union and Association organizations and dignitaries, officials and young Catholics. Up to now, the whole province has 2 core movement leaders at the district level, and 235 core leaders at the grassroots level. Many of them are dynamic and enthusiastic Youth Union and Association cadres who have made great contributions to uniting and gathering youth at the grassroots level, advising the Youth Union and Association organizations on many activities that are suitable to the thoughts and aspirations of young Catholics in religious areas.

Typically, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Thach, member of the District Youth Union Executive Committee, member of the Commune Youth Union Executive Committee, member of the Commune Youth Union, Head of the Youth Committee of Bui Ngoa Parish (Hung Trung, Hung Nguyen) has established a group to collect scrap and treat waste for 4 hamlets in the Bui Ngoa area, creating a source of funds for youth activities with a total annual fund of over 10 million VND. In Van Loc parish (Nam Loc), Ms. Nguyen Thi Tuyet, Secretary of the Youth Union, Captain of the Volunteer Team of Hamlet 4, with her dynamism, creativity and spirit of "living a good life, living a good religion", has organized many meaningful movements and activities to attract young parishioners to participate. Mr. Bui Van Thanh - a parishioner, Secretary of the Youth Union of Quynh Thanh commune (Quynh Luu) is one of two faces of Nghe An province to attend the ceremony "Recognizing outstanding ethnic minority and Catholic youth" nationwide, and is also one of 82 outstanding youth union secretaries nationwide in 2013.

Through the movements launched by the Youth Union - Association, many outstanding young people of religious origin have emerged, with pure moral qualities, strong political will, aspiration, dedication and enrichment right in their homeland. A typical example is Mr. Nguyen Tri Chuong, Hien Son commune, Do Luong, from two empty hands, thanks to borrowing capital from the "Youth Entrepreneurship" Fund, he built a wooden furniture business with an area of ​​450m2, not only enriching himself with an income of 150 million VND/year but also creating regular jobs for 3-5 young workers with an income of 3-5 million VND/person/month...

In order to honor the most outstanding representatives of the religious youth force who live a "good life, good religion", have many outstanding achievements in the fields of study, labor, production, socio-economic development, maintaining security and order, protecting the Fatherland and the work of the Youth Union - Association - Pioneers, in the past time, the Provincial Youth Union has organized 4 ceremonies to honor typical religious youth at the provincial level. These are also the core nuclei actively participating in mobilizing, uniting and gathering religious youth to well implement the Party's guidelines and policies, the State's policies and laws, and building solidarity between religions and non-religious people. This activity has great significance in encouraging, motivating and expanding the solidarity front to gather youth, replicating models and typical examples among religious youth. As a long-time leader of the Youth Union and Association, and one of the 31 typical examples of religious youth honored in 2013, Mr. Nguyen Ba Thao - Chairman of the Youth Union of Nghi Kieu Commune, Nghi Loc excitedly expressed: "I feel very proud because the contributions of religious youth have been paid attention to by the Provincial Youth Union Executive Committee and the Provincial Youth Union. That is the motivation for me in particular and religious youth in general to contribute their best to complete the assigned tasks in the coming time."

However, according to general assessment, the work of uniting and gathering religious youth is still facing many difficulties, the current rate of gathering youth in religious areas is only over 50%. The reason is that young people are religious followers under the control of the church and dignitaries; the activities of the Youth Union - Young Pioneers in religious areas are greatly affected by ceremonies and catechism studies. A part of the youth in religious areas still has a strong ideology of separating religion from life, not enthusiastically participating in activities organized by the Youth Union and Association. Besides, the capacity, qualifications, ability to propagate and mobilize of cadres doing Youth Union and Association work in religious areas are still limited, the activities of the Youth Union and Association organizations are not really deep enough to attract youth in religious areas to participate, so the efficiency and quality are not high.

From the above reality, the Provincial Youth Union determined to focus on building and consolidating strong grassroots Youth Union and Association organizations in religious areas, truly being the political core of the youth movement. In addition, it is necessary to pay attention to discovering and nurturing young people with progressive ideas to supplement the core cadres with professional skills to organize activities at the grassroots level. Actively coordinate with local political organizations, seek the support of religious dignitaries, families and clans to socialize youth mobilization work. Strengthen forms of gathering youth through replicating forms of youth groups, teams and clubs suitable for specific regions. In addition, many opinions recommended paying attention to and raising the allowance level for Youth Union and Association branch cadres who are religious and cadres working in religious areas to encourage and motivate them to contribute to the work of the Youth Union and Association and the youth movement.

Khanh Ly