The three-day event is jointly held by the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (HCMYU)’s Central Committee, the National Committee on Youth of Vietnam, and the Asia-Pacific Regional Office of the International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF).
In his opening remarks, First Secretary of the HCMYU Central Committee Bui Quang Huy reviewed Vietnam’s engagement in the Francophone community since 1979, with marked contributions to advancing the community’s position in the international arena.
With its foreign policy of diversification and multilateralisation, Vietnam attaches great importance to cooperation with the Francophone community, he said, stressing the important role of youths in promoting relations among member countries, as well as cooperation between the HCMYU and the National Committee on Youth of Vietnam and the Conference of Ministers of Youth and Sports of La Francophonie (CONFEJES).
According to Huy, the theme of the forum suits the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the sharing economy and the booming trend of innovation and startups. He said HCMYU and other youth organisations in Vietnam have implemented multiple programmes and solutions to promote startup and innovation among young people.
Huy expressed his belief that the forum will offer a chance for the participants to exchange experience in employment and startup in the French-speaking environment, as well as in sustainable development, digital technology, and information and communication technology, thus creating new values for the community.
Following the opening ceremony, the delegates attended a plenary session themed “Francophone community in Asia-Pacific: cross-cutting perspectives”, and workshops on various topics such as startup and career integration of young French-speakers in the Asia-Pacific, sustainable tourism, and employment opportunities in digital technology.
