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| Union members and young people responding to the “Green Sunday - Let’s Clean the Beach” movement |
From practical models
Being present early in the morning at Thuan An beach (Thuan Hoa District), Huynh Nhat Vy, a union member from Thuan Hoa, was excited to take part in cleaning up the shoreline for the first time. “There are quite a lot of bottles and food packaging left behind by locals and tourists. My actions may be small, but I hope to contribute my youthful energy to the common effort. Through this, I want to spread the spirit of environmental protection and help clean up the living space for everyone,” Nhat Vy shared.
Not only Nhat Vy, but more than 700 young people also took part in this activity in response to the launch of the 5-week peak of the “Green Sunday - Let’s Clean the Beach” movement, organized by the Hue City Youth Union in mid-April. This 5-week campaign initiated by the youth of Hue City is not just a period for cleaning and tidying up the shoreline, but also an opportunity for union members and young people to spread a meaningful message: “Every small action today will lead to a big change tomorrow”.
Previously, Hue City Youth Union launched a 6-week peak campaign for the “Green Sunday” movement in response to the 2025 National Tourism Year. The goal was to promote the pioneering and volunteer spirit of union members and young people in environmental protection and climate change response across Hue City.
Participating in the launch ceremony of the 6-week peak campaign for the “Green Sunday” movement in Loc Son Commune (Phu Loc District), union member Thai Minh Tri shared: “Planting flower roads or cleaning up along the national highway may seem like small actions, but we, the young generation, hope to encourage more local residents to join us. With the purpose that the “Green Sunday” movement truly spread far and wide, the most important thing is the spirit of unity and collective effort.
In the first months of the year, the youth unions across the city organized 13 campaigns under the “Green Sunday” movement, attracting the participation of more than 12,000 union members, young people, and local residents. Notable initiatives include Dong Ba Ward Youth Union (Phu Xuan District) with the “Happiness Road” model, featuring mural painting combined with flag streets and flower roads; Phu Hau Ward Youth Union (Phu Xuan District) with the “Rose Gate School” project and school-themed wall murals; and the Phuoc Vinh Ward Youth Union (Thuan Hoa District) with the young project “Mural Alley - Flag Street”, etc.
Heading towards the sustainability and effectiveness
According to Nguyen Thanh Hoai, Secretary of Hue City Youth Union, with the motto “Sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character,” the “Green Sunday” movement doesn’t require grand gestures, it begins with small, everyday actions like disposing of trash properly or picking up a piece of litter to help keep Hue clean. The most important aspect is communication and outreach to spread the movement to every individual and household, encouraging everyone to clean their homes, beautify their alleys, plant trees, address environmental hotspots, and create public green spaces so that every day can become a “Green Sunday”.
Based on that spirit, Hue City Youth Union has directed the youth organizations to continue to intensify and enhance efforts through mass media and social media platforms, using diverse formats and contents. However, some localities and units have not strictly implemented weekly cleanup activities and lack specific inspection and monitoring schedules. This issue was also raised during a working session between the Vice Chairman of Hue City People’s Committee Nguyen Chi Tai and Hue City Youth Union, regarding the implementation of the “Green Sunday” movement, which took place at the end of April.
To maintain the “Green Sunday” movement and mobilize stronger community participation, especially from youth organizations, schools, businesses, and local residents, Vice Chairman of Hue City People’s Committee Nguyen Chi Tai emphasized that the City Youth Union should take the lead. It should coordinate with relevant agencies, units, local authorities, media outlets, as well as the youth organizations to review, identify, and select activities that are suitable for union members and young people to effectively organize initiatives in response to the “Green Sunday” movement.
In particular, the implementation plans must be based on actual local conditions, following the spirit of “Choosing practical tasks to carry out” to achieve the highest effectiveness, with clear and tangible outcomes for each activity. At the same time, it must emphasize the work of monitoring and supervision to avoid superficial or unsustainable efforts done merely for show. The City Youth Union should develop regular and continuous communication strategies, while also expanding effective models from certain localities. Communication efforts should focus on social media platforms such as Zalo, Facebook, etc., to attract broader participation from union members, young people, and local residents throughout the city.
According to Vice Chairman of Hue City People’s Committee Nguyen Chi Tai, selecting plant and flower species suitable to the specific conditions of each locality is also an important aspect in continuing and expanding the flower road model. Implementation should focus on appropriate and strategic locations to create visual highlights, avoiding scattered or unfocused efforts. Once completed, flower road projects must be maintained and cared regularly, with clear handover records to the responsible units or local authorities for ongoing management and upkeep.