Dong Nai Union of Friendship Organizations: Friendship Flourishes Through Creativity

	Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organizations and Ensuring of Human Rights in Viet Nam
	Hai Phong: Integrating People-to-People Diplomacy into Foreign Non-Governmental Projects

President of the Dong Nai Union of Friendship Organizations Nguyen Thanh Tri receives the Flag for Leading Unit in the People-to-People Diplomacy Emulation Movement in 2024. (Photo: Dinh Hoa)

Creative platforms

One highlight is the online contest “Learning about People-to-People Diplomacy,” held consecutively for three years and attracting tens of thousands of participants. By researching and answering questions, contestants must actively access documents and exchange with family members and colleagues, thereby helping knowledge about people-to-people diplomacy spread widely throughout the community.

A meeting of the Organizing Committee of the 2024 Dong Nai People-to-People Diplomacy Knowledge Contest. (Photo: Dong Nai Newspaper)

The Dong Nai Union maintains and expands many highly creative contests such as bilingual communication product design, friendship gift design, and songwriting about friendship. The submitted works have become a rich source of quality communication products, effectively serving people-to-people diplomacy events and contributing to promoting the cultural and tourism image of Dong Nai to international friends.

Since 2020, the Dong Nai Union has continuously organized the “Melodies of Friendship” Festival and numerous exchange programs with the consulates general of various countries in Ho Chi Minh City and with other provincial unions. Each performance is a “cultural story” imbued with national identity and international solidarity, helping spread messages of peace, friendship, and a friendly, open Viet Nam. This is a flagship cultural diplomacy activity, highly appreciated for its scale, creativity, and far-reaching impact.

A performance in the 2023 “Melodies of Friendship” Festival organized by the Dong Nai Union. (Photo: Dong Nai Newspaper)

In addition, the friendship associations that are members of the Dong Nai Union have also proactively organized diverse activities such as drawing contests, exhibitions, the Viet Nam – United States Singing Contest, the Viet Nam – Laos and Viet Nam – China Friendship Singing Festivals, and public speaking contests in English, French, Chinese, Korean, and Japanese. These activities not only enhance understanding of the culture, history, and people of Viet Nam and partner countries but also help Dong Nai youth improve foreign languages, critical thinking, and international communication skills. These are important assets in an era of deep integration, enabling the younger generation to continue fostering friendship between Dong Nai and other countries.

Chairman of the Dong Nai Union of Friendship Organizations Nguyen Thanh Tri presents the First Prize of the French Language Public Speaking Contest, April 2024. (Photo: Dong Nai Newspaper)

Innovating approaches, increasing outreach effectiveness

Alongside pioneering in organizing contests, the Dong Nai Union also regularly coordinates with the Provincial Party Committee’s Commissions for Communication and Education and for Mass Mobilization, as well as the Viet Nam Fatherland Front Committee of Dong Nai Province, to hold conferences, training courses, seminars, and specialized talks on people-to-people diplomacy. These conferences attract a large number of key officials, reporters, and those in charge of external information at all levels, thereby helping disseminate widely the Party’s guidelines and policies on people-to-people diplomacy and ensuring unity in awareness and action.

To deepen people-to-people diplomacy work, since 2020, the Dong Nai Union has established a team of rapporteurs, developed lecture outlines for grassroots communication, and launched the motto “Every official and member is a communicator for people-to-people diplomacy.” Nearly 11,000 members of the Dong Nai Union have become “small ambassadors,” spreading information about external activities, promoting the image of Viet Nam while introducing the culture of partner countries within the local community.

A specialized training conference on people-to-people diplomacy organized by the Dong Nai Union in November 2022. (Photo: Dong Nai Newspaper)

The Dong Nai Union actively integrates external information activities into exchanges, exhibitions, documentary screenings, artistic performances, the dissemination of publications, and the provision of communication materials, contributing to promoting the image of Dong Nai Province to the world. It coordinates with Dong Nai Newspaper and Dong Nai Radio – Television to produce the monthly program “Bridge of Friendship”; publishes the quarterly “Friendship Bulletin”; and maintains regularly updated websites and social media platforms, helping bring people-to-people diplomacy closer to the public.

A cultural performance at the 2025 Dong Nai Friendship Culture and Sports Week. (Photo: Dong Nai Newspaper)

In 2025 - the year marking the 75th anniversary of the Traditional Day of the Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organizations - the Dong Nai Union successfully organized the 2025 Friendship Culture and Sports Week, featuring nearly 30 events hosted by the Union and its member friendship associations. The program attracted a large number of officials, members, residents, FDI enterprises, representatives of diplomatic missions, international organizations, and foreign non-governmental organizations, creating a significant highlight in the province’s people-to-people diplomacy work.

Vietnam - Thailand People-to-people Exchange Held in Dong Nai The Dong Nai's Vietnam-Thailand Friendship Association becames bridges to link and created cultural cohesion to promote the development of cooperation, solidarity and friendship relations between ...

Dong Nai: Highlight in Foreign NGO Aid Mobilization In 2024, overcoming numerous challenges, the Union of Friendship Organizations of Dong Nai Province played a pivotal role, working closely with departments, sectors, and localities ...