Over 1,000 young people gathered at a ceremony in Ho Chi Minh City on March 23 to open the Vietnamese Youth Festival 2014, with a focus on building urban civilisation.

On this occasion, the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union’s chapter in the city introduced three groups of young volunteers. One of the groups will engage in activities contributing to inner city development.

A second group specialising in building new-style rural areas will visit suburban districts to offer advice and teach advanced agricultural techniques to local farmers.

Meanwhile, the third collection of volunteers will run social welfare activities, such as helping disadvantaged families repair power lines, offering fire prevention guidance and providing free medical check-ups.

Following the festival opening ceremony, a forum was opened for young people to discuss the ways of building a clean and civilised city./.