Suggestions for attracting and gathering youth union members.

(Baonghean) - The 2016 Provincial Excellent Youth Union Secretary Competition, recently organized by the Provincial Youth Union, is considered a valuable platform for youth leaders to demonstrate their capabilities, hone their skills, exchange experiences, and thereby further develop strong grassroots Youth Union organizations.

Essentials for a grassroots youth leader.

Participating in the provincial-level competition were 21 outstanding youth union branch secretaries nominated by district, city, and town youth unions from the grassroots-level rounds. This was the first year the provincial-level competition was held, focusing on knowledge related to building youth union branches at the local and unit levels, as well as some skills and youth union work for young people. With their talent and understanding, the contestants competed in three parts: "Essentials for a Youth Union Branch Secretary," "Proposing Ideas for Building the Youth Union," and "Youth Leadership Skills."

The Provincial Youth Union leaders presented certificates of merit to the contestants.

Unlike the preliminary rounds at the grassroots level, the provincial-level final round features an innovation: a section for proposing ideas for building the Youth Union.

Among the entries, the most impressive and highly-rated by the judging panel was the presentation on "Improving the effectiveness of propaganda and educational guidance for youth union members through Facebook" by contestant Chu Thi Huyen, Secretary of the Youth Union branch in Hoa Hieu ward, Thai Hoa town. Her proposed solution reflected the reality and consequences of the misuse of social media by young people. From this, she suggested solutions to guide youth union members in effectively utilizing social media, especially Facebook.

“Currently, we are focusing on issues such as collaborating with other commune and ward youth unions to build pages to disseminate and introduce information about the activities of the Youth Union, the Vietnam Youth Federation, and the Young Pioneers. At the same time, we are encouraging youth union officials and all levels of youth unions to create media products on social media, such as photo sets and short videos showcasing youth union activities in their localities. This is also an innovative approach to branch activities that we are aiming for,” shared Chu Thi Huyen, Secretary of the Hoa Hieu Ward Youth Union, Thai Hoa Town.

Overcoming difficulties in gathering union members.

One of the topics that contestants proposed to the Youth Union was solutions for gathering young people. This stemmed from the reality of young people working far from home, especially those from rural and mountainous areas who go abroad through unofficial channels, making it very difficult to manage union members. For example, the Quang Phuc Youth Union branch in Tam Dinh commune, Tuong Duong district, has 64 members, of which 24 are students, 18 are working far from home, leaving only 22 members active in the branch. Furthermore, due to poverty and unemployment, young people have fallen into social vices, making the movement very difficult.

Awards were presented to the contestants who achieved high scores.

“Due to the difficulties in managing and attracting young people, the work of the Youth Union is increasingly at risk of declining in both quality and quantity. Young people are not enthusiastic about the Youth Union and therefore do not want to participate in branch activities anymore. As a branch secretary, I am very concerned about these issues,” shared Luong Van Hop, Secretary of the Quang Phuc Youth Union, Tam Dinh commune, Tuong Duong district.

Driven by this concern, Luong Dinh Hop presented a proposal to the competition on how to mobilize young people to participate in the Youth Union organization and its work in the most voluntary and practical way. Luong Dinh Hop hoped that through participating in the competition, he would learn from the methods of other branches and apply them creatively in his own branch. This included organizing activities in a joint branch format, combining Youth Union activities with cultural performances and games to avoid boredom and monotony... At the same time, he aimed to strengthen the understanding of the ideological situation of young people in his branch, especially monitoring and supervising members who work far from home and whose addresses are unknown.

The contestants answered questions in the section on the role of Youth Union Secretary.

Mr. Duong Hoang Vu, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Youth Union and Head of the Judging Panel for the 2016 Nghe An Province Excellent Branch Secretary Competition, stated: “The results of the competition serve as a basis for each level of the Youth Union, especially the Standing Committee of the Provincial Youth Union, to review and assess the leadership and implementation of Youth Union organization building work in the past, in order to propose more effective solutions for the future. The solutions, models, and ideas proposed by the branch secretaries will be compiled by the Organizing Committee and submitted to the Standing Committee of the Provincial Youth Union for research, replication, and implementation at the grassroots level. At the same time, the competition once again affirms the success of the methods of attracting and gathering young people that the Youth Union organization needs to promote and innovate.”

Le Thanh