The dialogue took place before the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Union Congress scheduled to take place at the end of October.

Join hands to build digital government

Many young delegates said that in recent times, digital transformation activities to support young people in improving their skills, applying technology to start-ups and career development have been promoted. In addition, young people also hope that the city's leaders will create conditions to improve digital capacity for young people and the elderly.

Mr. Phan Van Mai said that the city always welcomes young people's initiatives on building digital government, because digital transformation will promote the city's development. The entire city is preparing a digital platform for each neighborhood, gradually implementing digital government with the goal of handling 70% of public administrative procedures on the digital platform.

From the process of preparing steps to build a digital government, Mr. Mai suggested that young people participate in meeting the demand for digital human resources and contribute with initiatives. Many spaces and addresses to receive initiatives are available at the Ho Chi Minh City Digital Transformation Center. However, Mr. Mai also worried that we have not been proactive in proposing solutions.

Promoting startups and quality human resources

Ms. Dang Xuan Van (Phu Nhuan District, Director of Felix Zone Company Limited) believes that young startups often lack the knowledge and framework necessary for each startup and capital raising process. Therefore, synthesizing, selecting, and streamlining knowledge, then packaging and replicating knowledge packages as well as standard incubator models to popularize to the city's youth is extremely necessary.

Ms. Le Thi Tuong Vy (Deputy Director of the Youth Startup Support Center) shared that most startups do not have assets and currently have to access unofficial sources of capital with very high interest rates. Meanwhile, the youth startup support fund has long stopped issuing loans due to many objective conditions due to lack of capital.

Concerned about human resources for the public administration sector, Ms. Kieu Thi Kim Hang - member of the Vietnam Youth Union Committee of District 5, Secretary of the Youth Union of Hung Vuong High School - proposed that the city's leaders pay attention and direct units to organize programs and forums to promote and discuss job opportunities in the city's public sector.

"It is recommended that authorities at all levels and Youth Union and Association organizations should strengthen the propaganda work for this project No. 01 for high school students to orient their careers early so that they can approach, know and strive for it early. The treatment must be truly commensurate; the working environment must be truly professional for those recruited from this group" - Ms. Hang said.

Mr. Mai believes that young people starting a business is very good, very good, but it is not a movement. Not everyone can be an entrepreneur.

"The city and its units must organize skills classes for young people in startups. The city welcomes this and is ready to support it. Our city is building itself into a center for innovative startups, and we have many mechanisms to support young people's innovative startup projects," said Mr. Mai.

Discussing the issue of capital exploitation for startup projects that has been stuck in recent times, Ms. Tran Mai Phuong - Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Finance - said that the Union should connect and introduce capital sources from investment funds and banks.

"Supporting capital for young people is necessary, but we must go the right way. We should research and propose that the city support a part of the interest rate difference to support young people's start-up projects. The Department of Finance will accompany you in this process," said Ms. Phuong.

All for the purpose of event city

Ms. Nang Thi My Duyen (Thu Duc City) assessed that the form and quantity of cultural and artistic activities and programs in the city are still limited and proposed that the city's leaders continue to have cultural products and outdoor art performances to perform for the community. Especially programs with great artistic value, with systematic and large-scale investment to recreate the history and culture of the city. This can become a tourist highlight of the city, thereby helping to educate history, traditions and culture for young people.

Deputy Director of the Department of Culture and Sports of Ho Chi Minh City Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy expressed her agreement: "We together build the cultural and sports brand of Ho Chi Minh City, which is a diverse ethnic culture because the city is a convergence of 46 ethnic groups. But above all, it is the Southern culture and is closely associated with the spirit of patriotism, heroism, dynamism, creativity, and loyalty," Ms. Thuy expressed.

Ms. Thuy added that she agrees with the story of building a youth road - Pham Ngoc Thach road and on January 9, to celebrate the City's Students' Day, the City Department of Culture - Sports will work with the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Union to organize a musical program to convey the atmosphere of "Songs of sleepless nights", performed on the youth road.

Mr. Mai believes that the issue of developing more festivals and cultural programs is appropriate and should be accepted. All for the goal of making Ho Chi Minh City an event city, so that every month there are major activities of national and international scale.