Young Parliamentarians’ Global Conference – A Chance to Foster International Unity

The 9th Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians opened on September 14 in Hanoi. 500 delegates, including about 200 young parliamentarians from around the world, participated in many activities around the theme “The Role of Young People in Promoting the Realization of Sustainable Development Goals via Digital Transformation and Innovations.”

On this occasion, Associate Professor Dr. Bui Hoai Son, a standing committee member of the National Assembly’s Education and Culture Committee, expressed his hope that this is an opportunity for Vietnam to demonstrate its cultural identity and promote international cooperation and exchange.

Opportunity to promote Vietnam’s image

How do you evaluate the meaning and importance of the 9th Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians of which Vietnam is the host country?

The 9th Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians will help Vietnam strengthen its position and reputation in the international arena and promote the image of the country, culture, and people of Vietnam while fostering international partnerships and contributing to national development.

The conference will attract the participation of many young parliamentarians from countries around the world. This is an opportunity for young Vietnamese parliamentarians to interact and exchange experiences, especially in legislative work and country-building.

In addition, the conference is a platform for young parliamentarians around the world to discuss and propose solutions to important issues affecting the world. Vietnam’s hosting and declaration will present Vietnam’s proposals and views on international issues, contributing to enhancing its role and voice globally.

Vietnam and the whole world just experienced the Covid-19 pandemic. The current world context is also complicated. Therefore, we need to organize international events and forums to motivate, inspire, and enhance solidarity to overcome difficulties. This conference also has similar purposes.

What advantages and challenges does Vietnam have when hosting this big event for the first time? This is also the first time that a declaration will also be adopted.

Although this is the first time Vietnam has hosted the Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians, we have a lot of experience in organizing major events, including events organized by the National Assembly, such as the 132nd IPU Assembly in 2015.

We have the support of the Party and State leaders and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).

In terms of challenges, for an international event, effective communication and respect for the countries’ cultures are extremely important.

We need to pay close attention to the details of foreign cultures, need to train staff and volunteers to ensure appropriate communication, and demonstrate respect for the cultural diversity of delegates.

Besides, other factors such as smooth infrastructure, especially transportation infrastructure, hotels, Internet connection, or the need to ensure the best security of a large number of participating delegates also need to be taken into account.

Next, we need to ensure our staff and volunteers have the skills and knowledge to meet the needs of the event. They pay more attention to media campaigns to increase the promotion of the event and attract international delegates to participate.

Respecting cultural diversity

In the discussion, the session on culture, specifically “Promoting respect for cultural diversity for sustainable development” took up more time than the other two sessions, showing the importance of culture in development as well as the National Assembly’s interest in culture. What are your thoughts on this topic?

Culture is increasingly important in the world’s development. After we have basically overcome basic human needs, spiritual life gradually determines the quality of life, human happiness, and national prosperity. Because of that importance, we have seen a shift in the world’s focus on culture.

In the current context, the rapid development of the Fourth Technological Revolution caused all countries to face a digital society, digital economy, digital citizenship, and digital culture.

There are both opportunities and advantages, as well as challenges and difficulties for protecting diverse cultural expressions.

This is why the National Assembly of all countries wants to establish a policy and legal system to create conditions and an environment for cultural development, bringing advantages to the country’s development in the new context.

Young parliamentarians are the ones who play an important role in the process of discussing and creating these policies and laws.

Therefore, the topic “Promoting respect for cultural diversity for sustainable development” is consistent with the common priorities of the National Assembly of Vietnam and other countries.

What are your expectations for the conference’s success? Will Vietnam be able to learn and exchange experiences with young global parliamentarians in the field of culture to solve global problems and promote the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals?

I have full confidence in the success of the conference. This comes not only from the thoughtful and enthusiastic preparation of Vietnam but also from the topic, discussion method, and participants.

On the Vietnamese side, we will share the experience of our Party and State, especially of the Vietnamese National Assembly, in offering specific viewpoints, policies, and actions to protect and promote diverse cultural expressions so that culture becomes the endogenous strength of the nation, especially in the period of digital transformation and international integration.

We also want young parliamentarians from other countries to exchange experiences on digital cooperation, promoting the role of culture in development policies.

We want to know more experiences about the commitment to protect and promote cultural diversity, the role of culture in sustainable development, in solving problems such as climate change, preventing illegal trafficking, and transportation of cultural assets.

This is also an opportunity to emphasize the role of the creative economy and cultural industries and develop a system of cities under the UNESCO Creative Cities Network.