More youth involvement necessary in making policies: seminar

Hanoi (VNA) – More youth involvement is necessary in making policies that affect young people’s life, participants said at a seminar on August 18 on a draft plan to implement the national strategy on youth development, second phase (2016-2020).

UNFPA Deputy Representative Ritsu Nacken urged the Ministry of Home Affairs to do more to encourage young people to join in the policy making process.

She emphasized that young people play an important role and can create a difference in national development, thus investment in young people in terms of health, education and their involvement in politics is needed in order to achieve equal and sustainable social development.

Participants also called for giving more power to young people and ensuring their rights and interests in order to successfully carry out the youth development strategy.

Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Nguyen Trong Thua, who leads the steering committee for implementing the Vietnam National Youth Development Strategy in 2016-2020, said based on the six targets set by the strategy, the draft plan of action will comprise 28 sub-targets.

The draft will aim to have 80 percent of young people nationwide attend senior high schools and 70 percent receive vocational training.

Priority will be given to foster and use young talents, as seen in the goals of 15 percent of young people holding senior positions in the government apparatus and 10 percent serving as key officials in socio-political organisations.

The draft plan also envisions reducing unemployment rate among young people in urban areas to under 7 percent and in rural areas to under 6 percent.

Another target is to raise average height of 18-year-old men to 1.67m and women to 1.56m.

At the seminar, representatives of different youth groups voiced their opinions on issues of importance to young people, particularly education, vocational training, reproductive and sexual health and spiritual life.-VNA