The government believes that young people in Ho Chi Minh City will play a valuable role in digital transformation. According to the Deputy Director of the province’s Department of Information and Communication, Nguyen Gia Phong, community-based digital technology groups have been set up across the province with key members being young people. The groups have been giving guidance to each people in their community on how to use digital platforms.
He was speaking at a recent forum organised by the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (HCYU), which aimed to help local youth adapt to and develop in a world where social life is undergoing strong digital transformation. It also looked to promote the key and pioneering role of HCYU chapters at all levels in the process of digital transformation and application of modern technology.
Participants at the event assessed the implementation of the Creative Youth initiative, which focuses on encouraging digital transformation, the development of the digital economy, and activities supporting start-ups by young people. They also shared experiences and good practices in the movement.
Currently, there are 209 community-based digital technology groups at communal levels and 1,891 groups at the village level, with a total of 9,950 members. The establishment of those groups was inspired by the community-based anti-COVID-19 groups, Phong noted. He said the Department of Information and Communication has asked the provincial HCYU committee to work together with local administrations in setting up and maintaining the operation of community-based digital technology groups.
A representative from the HCYU committee of Luc Ngan district shared the results of the application of digital technology to selling farm produce amid the complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic in Bac Giang in 2021. The committee coordinated with the provincial HCYU committee to conduct a programme, under which HCYU members volunteered to help local farmers sell lychees through digital trade platforms or business matching activities. This year, the Luc Ngan HCYU committee has continued to work with digital trade platforms like state-run Postmart and Voso for lychee selling. 823 tonnes of lychee have been sold through this channel.
Regarding young people’s role in community-based digital technology groups, they face problems such as local farmers not having smartphones or computers, and limited access to an Internet connection in remote areas. Delegates proposed that relevant agencies should invest more in digital infrastructure for public use such as Internet transmission lines, Wi-Fi networks, and computers serving digital transformation in localities.
A crucial task to recover and develop its local economy in the post-pandemic era is to promote all-around digital transformation. Ho Chi Minh City’s digitisation programme, issued in July 2020, aims for the digital economy to contribute 25% to its gross regional domestic product (GRDP) by 2025, and 40% by 2030. This year, the city wants to raise the digital economy’s proportion in the GRDP to 15%. It has prioritised ten sectors for digitisation: healthcare, education, transport, finance/banking, tourism, agriculture, logistics, environment, energy, and human resources training.
