The first-ever Great National Unity Day in Europe, scheduled for October 31–November 1 in Prague, is to showcase solidarity and take stock of a 10-year effort to build a Europe-wide Vietnamese community.
Hoang Dinh Thang, President of the Union of Vietnamese Associations in Europe and a member of the Presidium of the Viet Nam Fatherland Front Central Committee. Photo: Viet Thang/VNA
Hoang Dinh Thang, Chairman of the Union of Vietnamese Associations in Europe and member of the Presidium of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee, told Vietnam News Agency reporters in Prague that the festival coincides with the union’s 10th anniversary and its third Congress.
The event is also meant to project Vietnamese cultural values, national pride and attachment to the homeland across generations abroad. He expressed his wish that it will become a genuine solidarity festival where Vietnamese anywhere feel tied to their roots and the broader national unity bloc.
Over the past decade, Thang said the union’s biggest achievement has been building a network of Vietnamese associations across Europe, a common roof for the community.
Founded in Prague in 2016, the union now connects 23 countries and has run cultural, sports, scholarship, charity and homeland-oriented activities. Youth, student, women’s, business and cultural groups have enriched community life and linked generations.
To keep the community together, preserve cultural identity and uphold the role of younger Vietnamese in Europe, Thang said associations need new operating models, a stronger grassroots focus and more practical attention to members’ needs, especially the youth.
He cast Vietnamese language, culture and family tradition as the base for maintaining identity across generations, and urged more cultural, sports and networking platforms for young people, students and professionals. The key, he said, is to let the younger generation not just join but lead.
The younger generation is the bridge between tradition and modernity, between the Vietnamese homeland and European society. Keeping them attached to their roots is also ensuring the vitality and long-term future of the community, he said.
For the next term, he expected a tighter organisation, a wider network and better-run activities, with the union acting as a trusted bridge between Vietnamese associations and communities in Europe and Vietnam.
He saw untapped assets in the Vietnamese community in Europe, including knowledge, management experience, science-technology, economic resources and international connections. Linked effectively, he said, they could contribute more directly to Vietnam’s development, and the community can keep serving as a friendship bridge between Vietnam and European countries./.