Learning history through real-life experiences

History lessons are not confined to classrooms or textbook pages. Instead, youth and children are introduced to history through a wide range of engaging activities, including museum visits, trips to historical sites, meetings with historical witnesses, and communication campaigns organized during major holidays.

Outstanding Young Pioneer members participate in the "Nurturing Green Seeds" journey, visiting the Tan Hiep Prison relic in Tam Hiep Ward to learn about its historical significance.

Through these activities, Youth Union members, youth and children better comprehend revolutionary traditions, thereby fostering patriotism, national pride, and a sense of responsibility for preserving and promoting the historical values of their homeland and the country.

Bringing history closer to young people

Recently, Tran Le Hanh Phuc, a class-3/9 student at Trinh Hoai Duc Primary School (Tran Bien Ward), along with classmates participating in summer skills training at the Dong Nai City Youth and Children Culture House, visited the Dong Nai Museum. The museum preserves numerous historical, cultural, and natural values of the Bien Hoa–Dong Nai region. It features thematic exhibitions on nature, ethnic cultures, traditional crafts, and the formation and development of Dong Nai through different historical periods.

Phuc said it was his third visit to the Dong Nai Museum, with each visit offering new experiences that helped him better understand the history and cultural values of his homeland. Throughout the tour, he attentively followed the guide's explanations and actively asked questions about artifacts and historical stories to better comprehend the history of his homeland and the country.

Youth Union organizations at all levels are implementing the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union project on preserving and disseminating historical stories under the theme "Stories from the Fiery Years" by meeting with historical witnesses, recording their accounts, and sharing their memories.

To educate outstanding Young Pioneer members about revolutionary traditions, ideals, national pride, and the aspiration to contribute, the City Youth Union designed a meaningful experiential tour as part of the 2026 "Nurturing Green Seeds" journey.

Le Tran Bao Ngoc, a class-8/3 student at Huynh Thuc Khang Secondary School in Hung Thinh Commune, said the program provided an opportunity to visit, offer incense, listen to explanations, and learn about the Nguyen Huu Canh Temple, where Marquis Nguyen Huu Canh, a meritorious founding official who made significant contributions to expanding the country's southern frontier, is worshipped; the Tran Bien Temple of Literature, a cultural symbol of the Bien Hoa–Dong Nai region that honors learning, knowledge, and the Vietnamese tradition of scholarship; and the Tan Hiep Prison relic, one of the six largest prisons in southern Vietnam, where hundreds of revolutionary soldiers imprisoned by the enemy carried out a prison break uprising.

"Each relic and artifact serves as a witness to history, making history lessons more vivid and easier to remember. Combining classroom learning with practical experiences not only inspires an interest in exploring history but also nurtures love for the homeland, national pride, and a sense of responsibility for preserving traditional values," Bao Ngoc said.

Fostering patriotism and a sense of responsibility

Educating young generations about revolutionary traditions while fostering ideals and patriotism remains a key task of the Youth Union, Youth Association, and Young Pioneer organizations. Over the years, Youth Union, Youth Association, and Young Pioneer organizations at all levels in Dong Nai have maintained a wide range of activities, including communication campaigns, “return-to-the-roots” trips, visits to historical sites, history learning activities, and "Gratitude" and "When Drinking Water, Remember Its Source" programs. These activities have contributed to fostering patriotism, strengthening a sense of responsibility and inspiring the spirit of dedication as well as the pioneering and volunteer roles of Youth Union members, youth and children.

Truong Hai Thi, Deputy Director of the Dong Nai City Youth and Children Culture House, said the unit annually organizes heritage trips for children to historical sites and museums, as well as history competitions, under the title "Little Historians." This year, the Dong Nai City Youth and Children Culture House also arranged for children to watch the artistic epic program "Dong Nai–Southern Spirit, Rising with the Nation." These activities help deepen children's understanding of their historical roots while fostering patriotism, national pride, and a sense of responsibility in the younger generation toward their homeland and the country.

Tran Le Tuan Anh, a class-4/2 student at Nguyen Du Primary School in Tran Bien Ward, said the artistic epic program helped him better understand the formation and development of the Bien Hoa–Dong Nai region, as well as the contributions and sacrifices of previous generations. He said the program also motivated him to strive harder in his studies and self-improvement so that he could help carry forward the glorious traditions of his homeland and the country in the future.

On the occasion of the upcoming 79th anniversary of War Invalids and Martyrs' Day on July 27, Youth Union organizations at all levels across the city will intensify communication activities on the history and significance of the occasion, the patriotic tradition, the fighting spirit, and the great contributions and sacrifices of heroic martyrs, wounded soldiers, sick soldiers, Vietnamese Heroic Mothers, and families with meritorious services to the revolution in the cause of national liberation, national construction, and the defense of the Fatherland.

In addition, Youth Union organizations at all levels are carrying out numerous youth-led projects and initiatives to demonstrate young people's affection for and sense of responsibility toward people with meritorious service to the revolution. Through these activities, they promote the tradition of gratitude and express appreciation for heroic martyrs, wounded soldiers, sick soldiers, and those who devoted themselves and made sacrifices for the independence and freedom of the Fatherland.

By Nga Son – Translated by Minh Hong, Minho