Keeping stories of wartime resilience alive for future generations

As technology and digital transformation continue to advance, young people have increasingly quick and easy access to a wide range of information sources. Helping younger generations develop a sound understanding of history, their national roots and the sacrifices made by previous generations has therefore become increasingly important.

More than a year ago, the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union launched a project encouraging young people to preserve and promote historical stories under the theme “Stories of wartime resilience” (hereinafter referred to as the Project) with the aim of nurturing ideals and a sense of responsibility among younger generations.

Integrating the project into revolutionary tradition education

Nguyen Hieu Trung, Deputy Secretary of the Dong Nai City Youth Union (DNYU), said considering the project a meaningful initiative that would help renew the content and methods of revolutionary tradition education, foster ideals, ethics and lifestyles, and inspire patriotism and national pride among Youth Union members, young people and children, the DNYU has therefore instructed its grassroots organizations to develop implementation plans suited to local conditions. They have also proactively coordinated with veterans' associations, former youth volunteer associations, agencies responsible for people with meritorious services and local authorities to identify historical witnesses, organize meetings, collect materials and carry out traditional education activities.

Youth Union members and students of Dinh Tien Hoang Primary, Secondary and High School take part in the traditional exchange program “Stories of wartime resilience – Memories that wrote peace.”

The project's objectives, significance and implementation requirements have also been communicated to Youth Union organizations at all levels. Grassroots Youth Union organizations have been instructed to approach historical witnesses, document and record their stories, digitize materials and develop communications products in line with guidance from the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union. At the same time, Youth Union organizations have regularly integrated the project into communication and revolutionary tradition education activities, political activities, visits to revolutionary sites, “gratitude” and “when drinking water, remember its source” programs, as well as celebrations of major national, local and Youth Union anniversaries.

To mark the 79th War Invalids and Martyrs' Day (July 27, 1947 – 2026), the Youth Union chapter of Dinh Tien Hoang Primary, Secondary and High School in Tam Hiep ward organized the traditional exchange program “Stories of wartime resilience – Memories that wrote peace.”

Nguyen Tran Xuan, Secretary of the school's Youth Union chapter, said participants had the opportunity to hear historical witnesses share stories about the ideals of their generation, as well as memories, hardships and difficulties during the resistance wars. The program helped Youth Union members and students gain a deeper understanding of the spirit of “fighting to the death for the Fatherland's survival,” as well as the hardships and sacrifices endured by previous generations to secure the peace, independence and freedom enjoyed today.

Promoting the stories across digital platforms

According to the DNYU, during the first year of the project, from July 2025 to July 2026, Youth Union organizations across the city identified and compiled a list of 612 historical witnesses. They formed 118 teams and working groups and organized 487 meetings, visits, exchanges and interviews with historical witnesses. As a result, they documented, recorded and edited 165 historical stories, while collecting and digitizing 538 documents, photographs, artifacts, letters, diaries and pieces of wartime memorabilia.

Youth Union organizations at all levels have paid close attention to promoting and spreading stories of wartime resilience. They have produced and published 528 news stories, articles, videos, infographics and short clips, while organizing more than 1,100 communication campaigns and thematic activities, along with 58 exchanges, discussions and traditional talks featuring historical witnesses, veterans and people with meritorious services. They have also developed 16 models for introducing local history through QR codes, document display spaces and traditional education corners at schools and cultural institutions. Notably, all commune- and ward-level Youth Union organizations have contributed more than 16,000 stories, news articles and related materials to the “Stories of wartime resilience” information portal. This has helped build a rich historical database and laid a foundation for further reviewing, standardizing and improving the quality of the stories in the years ahead.

Nguyen Hieu Trung, Deputy Secretary of the DNYU, said the organization had issued a plan to promote activities marking the 80th War Invalids and Martyrs' Day (July 27, 1947 – 2027), in conjunction with the 500-day-and-night campaign to step up the search for and recovery and identification of martyrs' remains, as well as the implementation of the project's second phase across the city's Youth Union organizations. In addition to continuing to collect stories of wartime resilience, Youth Union organizations will promote them through various channels, with the DNYU encouraging innovation and greater use of digital platforms.

The DNYU also plans to coordinate with relevant agencies to develop multimedia products that recreate major battles associated with historical sites across the city, helping make revolutionary tradition education more engaging and effective for younger generations.

Deputy Secretary of the DNYU Nguyen Hieu Trung

Specifically, Youth Union organizations at all levels will develop dedicated pages and sections, article series, videos, infographics, podcasts, short documentaries, digital exhibitions, e-newsletters and other multimedia products tailored to different groups of young people and children for dissemination across Youth Union, Youth Federation and Young Pioneer Organization digital platforms. They will also digitize revolutionary historical sites, develop digital maps of historical sites and martyrs' cemeteries, and digitize photographs, artifacts, historical stories, wartime memories and other materials collected under the project. Virtual reality, artificial intelligence and other appropriate technologies will be applied to introduce historical sites, strengthen revolutionary tradition education and promote these sites to the public. Through these efforts, stories of wartime resilience will become increasingly accessible to Youth Union members, young people and children, allowing them to be preserved, shared and passed on from one generation to the next.

By N. Son – Translated by M.Nguyet, Thu Ha