Innovation in the way the union operates

Building “soft” power

We arrived at Khe Lanh hill in Chom Muong village (Mau Duc commune, Con Cuong district) when it was past noon, but Mr. Lo Van Vong (born in 1986) and his wife, Ngan Thi Hanh (born in 1987), were still diligently tending each newly planted acacia tree on an area of ​​nearly 6 hectares. They are one of the typical examples of overcoming difficulties to build an economic model of the Chom Muong village's youth union members. In addition to their own efforts, the success of their family is also partly due to the joint efforts and support of the youth union members in the village through the local Young Family Club model.

Talking about the process of starting a business on this difficult land, Mr. Lo Van Vong said that Chom Muong village has more than 190 households of Thai ethnic people with a poverty rate of up to 25%. Although the village has more than 120 young people, most of them have chosen to leave their homeland to find jobs, now only nearly 40 young people remain. Human resources are limited while the hilly land is difficult to cultivate, the members of the village are struggling to find ways to develop the economy but always encounter problems of capital and human resources.

19 young couples of the Young Family Club of Chom Muong village (Mau Duc commune, Con Cuong district). Photo: Thanh Quynh

Until the idea of ​​establishing a Young Family Club was approved by the higher-level Youth Union, 19 couples of the village unanimously built a model to help each other develop production and find a business direction. The beginning of the series of meaningful activities that the youth union members of the club have done is the project to rent nearly 4 hectares of community land of the village to build a model of growing acacia and cassava. The money earned from the model, together with the contribution of more than 400 thousand VND per member/month, has created a stable fund of over 60 million VND, from which many union members in difficult circumstances have had the opportunity to borrow capital to develop production. The establishment of the club also created the premise for 19 young families to help each other solve the problem of human resources in expanding the scale and nature of the models. Thanks to that, families like Mr. Lo Van Vong and Ms. Ngan Thi Hanh have enough human and material resources to develop the economy together, making the face of Chom Muong increasingly prosperous. The number of poor households in 2019 thus decreased to only 20%.

Sharing about the creative ways of grassroots youth organizations to enhance their fighting capacity in the current period, Secretary of Con Cuong District Youth Union Vi Thi Phuong Thao said that the Young Family Club in Chom Muong village is just one of six typical examples in the whole district with a total of 216 members/108 young couples of union age. Villages that previously faced many difficulties such as: Hoc Bon, Lang Yen (Mon Son commune); Hua Na (Luc Da commune); Khe Ran (Bong Khe commune); Chom Boi, Chom Muong (Mau Duc commune) now have many dynamic economic models with increasingly improved production efficiency. More importantly, the harmonious combination of youth union and club activities has made it easier to gather young people in mountainous areas, and the propaganda work of the Party's guidelines and policies, and the State's policies and laws has made it easier for union members to understand.

Training for Youth Union members on economic development in Que Phong district. Photo: Phuong Thuy

In addition to efforts to strengthen solidarity at the grassroots level to help each other develop the economy and find ways to escape poverty, many grassroots youth organizations also play a pioneering role in implementing movements and campaigns in their localities. That spirit is clearly demonstrated through the meaningful activities of the Youth Union of Quanh village in the mountainous commune of Chau Thon (Que Phong district).

Leading us on a walk on the village road of more than 1km long, comrade Quang Van Thin - Secretary of Chau Thon Commune Youth Union happily informed that over the years, the youth of the village have contributed many working days and resources to join hands in promoting the local new rural construction movement. One of the outstanding activities is the restoration and reconstruction of degraded village roads. Thanks to that, people travel more conveniently, and the transportation of agricultural products for consumption is also less difficult. In addition, the youth force of the village also takes advantage of the abandoned land area in Na Can field to build a wet rice growing model. The money from selling rice has become a meaningful source of income for the youth union members and young people here to continue contributing to the development of the locality, taking care of poor households, policy households and improving the quality of union activities.

By utilizing the communal area for rice cultivation, the members of the Youth Union of Quanh village (Chau Thon commune, Que Phong) have created a meaningful source of income to improve the quality of Youth Union activities in the locality. Photo: Chau Thon Commune Youth Union

Many solutions to improve the quality of grassroots unions

If you follow the Facebook page of the Hoa Hieu Ward Youth Union (Thai Hoa Town), many people will notice the lively interactions between union members about political events in the area as well as in the country. The implementation of the campaign to Study and follow the example, morality and lifestyle of Ho Chi Minh, integrating political and ideological activities with propaganda, dissemination and study of the Party's guidelines and policies and the State's policies and laws has really become close, familiar and effective.

Secretary of the Hoa Hieu Ward Youth Union (Thai Hoa Town) Nguyen Van Quynh shared that in order to find outstanding members to introduce to the Party for consideration and admission, the Ward Youth Union Executive Committee has jointly developed a set of criteria for selection and issued a process for training resources. Thanks to that, members with enthusiasm for dedication, a cultured life, solidarity and friendship for the community as well as confidence in the integration period have been trained and selected to join the Party. In the past 5 years, the Ward Youth Union has opened 15 training classes for more than 600 members; introduced 32 members to the Party for admission, accounting for 91.4% of the total number of admitted members in the entire Party Committee.

Sharing about the innovative efforts in political ideology education, ethics and lifestyle for the young generation in the whole town, Secretary of Thai Hoa Town Youth Union Nguyen Dau Que Huong said that there have been many good practices and creative models in the area. The first effort was to build a separate radio channel for Hoa Hieu Ward Youth Union. Accordingly, each week, members of the Ward Youth Union Executive Committee develop propaganda content related to policies and guidelines that have a direct impact on local people to transmit through the radio system. From the success of Hoa Hieu Ward Youth Union, many units in Thai Hoa Town have learned and replicated, creating a vibrant atmosphere in the educational and political work of union members and young people living in the locality.

Thanks to good political and ideological education, over the years Thai Hoa town has had many outstanding members joining the Party. Photo: Thanh Quynh

Next, the activities of the branches are also increasingly "softened" with new, attractive content that is close to local cultural and social activities. Field trips to the source associated with each activity topic of the whole Union are also regularly deployed, creating inspiration for exploration and discovery of history in the young generation.

Looking at the Youth Union chapters at all levels in the province, many outstanding and typical youth union members have emerged in recent times. In 2019 alone, 2 youth union members from Nghe An province won the Ly Tu Trong award at the central level; 10 outstanding young party members and 635 progressive youths following Uncle Ho's teachings were commended and rewarded. These are typical nuclei to strengthen the strength of the Youth Union organization.

Recognizing this excellent result, at the forum "The Party in the hearts of young people" organized by the Provincial Youth Union last February, comrade Le Hong Vinh - Member of the Provincial Party Standing Committee, Permanent Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee affirmed: "With the attention, care and great expectations of the Party, Nghe An youth have always been pioneers and pioneers on all fronts to contribute to maintaining national defense - security, building and developing the province's socio-economy. Many specific models and solutions at the forefront of protecting the Party's ideological foundation, fighting against wrong and hostile views in the new situation have been effectively implemented, thereby consolidating the strength of gathering youth union members to turn this into an "extended arm of the Party", ready to inherit and develop the increasingly victorious revolutionary cause".

Thanh Quynh