People's happiness in the Party's renewed vision

For the first time in the history of the Party's National Congresses, the element of "happiness" has been officially and prominently defined in the theme of the 14th National Party Congress, marking a new stage of maturity in the Party's thinking on development goals and strategic vision over 95 years of leading the revolution. Bringing genuine happiness to people is identified as the "guiding principle" in the new era, and it also serves as a yardstick for measuring the effectiveness of translating resolutions into real life. This requires that every policy, guideline, and action aimed at shaping the future must be oriented toward this shared denominator.

What constitutes a happy life?

Happiness in society does not have an original definition, nor an immutable value. Each individual pursues life in different ways depending on personal circumstances and lived experiences, leading to diverse perceptions and feelings about a state of inner peace and personal contentment, knowing what is “enough” for oneself.

Many schools across the province are striving to build “happy schools”. In the photo: Pupils of Hai Ba Trung Primary School in Phu Nghia commune during a class session. Photo: Hai Yen.

Nguyen Thi Kieu Oanh, a worker currently employed by a small company in Trang Dai ward, said that her greatest wish is a stable job and regular orders for her company, so she can work overtime to earn extra income, save enough money to buy a house, and no longer live in rented accommodation after more than 15 years of settling down locally. She expressed hope that social housing policies would become more accessible and reasonably priced, enabling her to fulfil that dream, which she described as true happiness.

Dinh Van Sanh, a resident of Phuoc Long ward, said: “Farmers like us do not ask for much. We only hope that the State will help secure stable outlets for agricultural products and prevent the sale of counterfeit fertilisers. For our part, we will strive to produce safe, high-quality goods free from harmful residues, deliver them to consumers at good prices, pay taxes, and contribute to building a more prosperous and happier country.”

From his experience in the medical profession, Truong Quoc Thuong, Head of Thanh Son Commune Health Station, affirmed that nothing brings greater happiness to people than good health and freedom from illness. With good health, people possess the intellect, capacity, and strength to create wealth, thereby continuously improving their lives.

“The Politburo recently issued Resolution No. 72-NQ/TW on breakthrough solutions to strengthen the protection, care, and improvement of public health. The resolution is being widely implemented to ensure comprehensive healthcare for the people, starting from the grassroots level," said Dr. Truong Quoc Thuong.

Dinh Thi Quyen, a teacher at Quang Trung High School for the Gifted in Dong Xoai ward, confided that a teacher's happiness lies in witnessing students grow and mature day by day. After each lesson, students not only acquire knowledge and skills, but more importantly gain a foundation of learning, values, and character to help them pursue their dreams in life. A teacher’s happiness also comes from being able to contribute, even in a modest way, to fulfilling the Party and State's goals in education and training.”

As a community tourism manager in the ethnic village of Ta Lai commune, young guide Ka’ Thi Ngoc Huong said she felt fortunate to be born and raised in the village, in a family with a long tradition of preserving and passing down our national cultural identity, as well as benefiting from State policies. She was very pleased to recently attend the World Conservation Congress in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates), bringing her community’s traditional cultural values to the international stage, an experience she described as a shared happiness for the entire village. She added that if there were more new decisions and policies of the Party and the State applied in the cultural and spiritual life of ethnic minority communities, she would feel even happier.

According to Phan Van Lam, Secretary of the Party Cell and Head of An Lam hamlet in Long Thanh commune, happiness first and foremost means that people being able to live safely and peacefully on every road and in their neighbourhoods. Most importantly, maintaining public security and order is essential to ensuring a happy life.

The inclusion of “happiness” at the core of the national development philosophy in the draft documents submitted to the 14th National Party Congress represents a substantive step forward, reflecting the Party’s growing maturity in its thinking on development objectives. This can be affirmed as a powerful message of a people-centered development vision, creating new momentum to mobilise a broad social consensus in a new historical phase, the era of prosperous development for the Vietnamese nation.

Ha Anh Dung, Member of the Provincial Party Standing Committee and Standing Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Dong Nai province

The late Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong once concluded: “Human happiness is not only based on having a lot of money or possessions, good food and nice clothes, but also being rich in soul, living in the midst of love, compassion, righteousness and fairness.” In short, happiness is present in a simple and familiar way, yet its universal value is profoundly great. In a happy environment, everyone is respected, listened to, cared for, and given equal, humane opportunities for development. Each individual finds joy in their relationships with those around them; the collective fosters mutual affection and support, discovers positive energy, awakens aspirations, and unites in contributing to shaping the future and ensuring that all are worthy beneficiaries of development achievements and can continue to advance comprehensively.

Placing people’s happiness at the heart of all policy decisions

The proactive inclusion of happiness in the draft documents of the 14th National Party Congress not only defines a consistent strategic goal but also inspires people nationwide by allowing them to see themselves vividly reflected in the Party's vision and actions, and to take pride in being part of the nation’s era of resurgence.

In his concise speech delivered before National Assembly deputies discussed the draft documents to be submitted to the 14th National Party Congress on November 4, Party General Secretary To Lam highlighted key groups of issues. Notably, the phrase “the people” appeared nearly 40 times, underscoring the principle that “the people are the root” and hold the highest position in strategic orientations. Focusing on the urgent contemporary issue of institutional reform to build a government truly “of the people, by the people and for the people”, he stressed that an effective apparatus must operate in a way that improves lives, enhances fairness and increases happiness, ensuring that all development outcomes are translated into tangible benefits for the people, including satisfaction with the quality of public services. Some National Assembly deputies proposed quantifying a happiness index for inclusion in the draft documents, making it a key objective for the 2025–2030 period.

Under the Party’s renewal policies, Vietnam’s Happiness Index has been internationally recognised for its remarkable rise of 37 places over the past five years, from its 83rd position out of 143 countries in 2020 to 46th in 2025, alongside the fact that Vietnam’s Human Development Index ranked 93rd out of 193 countries in the most recent 2023 assessment.

Nguyen Quoc Dung, Associate Professor and former director of the Academy of Politics Region 2, emphasized that while Vietnam’s GDP may not yet be high, the distribution of GDP is crucial, reflecting the fine essence of socialism.

The Resolution of the First Provincial Party Congress of Dong Nai for the 2025–2030 term sets the goal of building a “green, prosperous, civilised and modern” homeland, inherently encompassing the happiness of its people. The Resolution sets targets that the Human Development Index (HDI) will reach around 0.78 by 2030, and the average life expectancy will be 77.6 years, higher than the national average. The policy decisions from the 14th National Party Congress will serve as a “handbook for action”, enabling the Dong Nai Party Organization to clearly identify realities and to devise accurate and effective solutions. These efforts aim to design sustainable livelihoods, build a social security and welfare network with broader and multi-tiered coverage, while continuing to pioneer its mission as part of the group of localities serving as the nation’s economic locomotives, together with the whole country entering a new phase marked by more innovative and effective approaches.

Writer Bien Linh, Member of the Provisional Executive Committee of the Vietnam Writers' Association in Dong Nai, expressed her hope: “I earnestly hope that the Party’s and the State’s sound guidelines and policies will soon be realized, enabling people, especially writers and artists, to truly live happy lives. Today, writers and artists have the opportunity to accompany the people across all regions and sectors to promptly reflect the nation's transformation through their creative efforts, faith, intellect, dedication, and talent, producing meaningful works of art imbued with the spirit of the times.”

By Thanh Hai, Hai Yen – Translated by My Le, Thu Ha