Bài diễn thuyết tại Hội nghị thượng đỉnh của International Y2Y Initiative tại Malmö, Thụy Điển
Vào những ngày đầu tháng 6 vừa qua, mình đã đến dự Hội nghị thượng đỉnh của tổ chức International Youth To Youth Initiative ở Malmö, Thụy Điển để thuyết trình cho các bạn trẻ đến từ 50 quốc gia về dự án Hộ chiếu xanh đi quanh thế giới và những nỗ lực của cộng đồng mình để nuôi dưỡng thế hệ công dân toàn cầu người Việt. Các bạn có thể nghe và đọc bài diễn thuyết dưới đây:
There is a very famous expression by Sir Isaac Newton: “If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants.” In other words, we cannot take full credit for our achievements as though they were ours alone. They are not. They are the culmination of the successes and, to be candid, the failures, of others.
The giants upon whose shoulders I stand may not be high in stature but they are in character. Allow me to tell you about them. They are my grandmother and mother.
My grandmother survived the Japanese, French, and US occupations of Vietnam like a hero. Endless times, her house was destroyed and her family had to take refuge in the jungle. They ate what they found and they drank contaminated water from the streams. My grandmother suffered from malaria not once, but several times. Every time the bombing stopped, the starving family returned home only to find that their storage of rice was damaged and burnt. Nevertheless, because they didn’t have anything else to eat, they had to grind, cook, and eat what was left of the war. Today, my grandmother is 80 years old and she is one of my biggest sources of wisdom. Last time when I went to Vietnam, I asked her: “Do you feel rage against the soldiers who did those terrible things to you?” She said: “No. I believe they were victims like us. They only did their duty to serve their countries.” Forgiveness is one of the biggest lessons that I have learnt from my grandmother.
My mother was born in mid-1960s, literally in the wake of battle. From childhood she was taught to sacrifice herself for the sake of others. Oftentime, she went to school on an empty stomach because she ate egg whites so that her younger sisters, my aunts, could have the yolks which were thought to be more nutritious. Altruism is both a virtue and a curse for Vietnamese women. In the seventh grade, she was removed from school to enter the workforce to help support the family. At 24, her mother chose a husband for her. Mom’s first big decision in life was unfortunately her divorce. By then my grandparents had moved to Czechia in Central Europe and mum was told to follow them, with her small daughter who stands before you today.
Who am I?
I am the first generation of my living family who has never experienced war or hunger. How terrifying it is to think that having been born only a decade or two earlier, I would have gone to bed every day not knowing whether I would wake up again the next morning. I believe that my grandmother and mother are my giants because without them, I could not be where I am today.
Until now, I have lived in seven countries in four continents and have traveled to many more countries worldwide. But I was not born or raised to be a global citizen. Growing up in a small town in Czechia, I faced racial prejudice in the form of harassment, exclusion, violence, bullying, discrimination. At home, I faced gender stigmatization, being repeatedly reminded of my roles and my place as a Vietnamese woman. I was afraid to raise my voice to be ashamed or shouted at. So from a very young age, I have dreamt to see the world evolve to a point at which the way people are treated and perceived does not depend on the issuing country of their passport, the color of their skin, or any other traits that they were born with, but rather on who they really are.
Today, I like to say that I am Asian born, European raised, and Latin American-spirited. My life may sound normal for European standards, but extraordinary in Vietnam. There are still not many people in Vietnam who can afford a trip to a neighboring country, let alone a jetsetter lifestyle.
So who do I aspire to be? A person who helps the world eliminate inequality and injustice and who helps her home country to nurture strong global citizens.
At the United Nations headquarters in New York City, I heard a speech of Mr. Ban Ki Moon in which he sent this message to the youth: “It’s important that you become global citizens. Try to cultivate yourselves to become global citizens. You all come from different countries, you’re holding different passports, but these passports as your nationalities do not have much relevance or meaning in this world… Therefore cultivate your vision as global citizens.”
At that time, I was holding a Vietnamese passport that had a green cover. So I was thinking, “If passports and nationalities do not have much relevance or meaning in this world, why do I have such big problems with applying for visas? Why should I be scared that my visa application would be rejected?” But then, I asked myself again, “Doesn’t holding a third-world country passport make me try harder because I have less opportunities? Doesn’t it help me be a more persistent and stronger person?” At that moment, I fully realized the true meaning behind Mr. Ban Ki Moon’s words. What he wanted to say was that no matter whether your passport has a green, red or blue cover, no matter what your nationality is, those facts themselves cannot decide the course of your life; that is something only you can do. You are the only person who can make decisions about your life and its paths. In fact, education and knowledge can take us farther than any passport could do. Do you agree with me?
Five months after listening to Mr. Ban Ki Moon’s speech, in August 2015, I created a project with two friends to leverage education and to help Vietnamese people become global citizens. We called the project “Green Passport Goes Around The World”. Why the name? It emphasizes the fact that even with a passport from a third-world country like Vietnam, we believe that people can actually travel, study, work, and succeed anywhere in the world. With courage, determination and goal setting, you can always find a way to move forward.
So here we were, three people working on the same project from three different parts of the world: one was in Prague, the second one in Singapore, and the third in Boston. Working remotely and in different time zones has been extremely challenging, but also hugely rewarding.
Today, our community has over 25,000 members on social media and our books have sold tens of thousands of copies, but our project had rather a challenging start. In the first year we worked entirely online, organizing individual and group mentoring sessions. Despite living far away from Vietnam, the live sessions we conducted helped us create strong bonds with the participants. Through the discussions and interactions with young Vietnamese people, we learned first-hand about their needs, about the skills they were lacking, and how we could help them. Now here’s the beautiful part: We realized that we could make a huge impact on the lives of those whom we would probably never meet!
Working with diverse people helped us create our own definition of global citizenship. For us, global citizenship is not only about how many miles you have gone or how many stamps you have collected, but it is also about how many lives you have touched and changed on your journey. Global citizens have not only traveled to other countries and converse well in foreign languages, but they also have an ability to see the world from different perspectives. Global citizens don’t always have to agree with those perspectives, but they respect the differences and learn to appreciate them. Global citizenship for us does not mean abandoning one’s uniqueness or one’s culture by birth. We learn about the world while appreciating our country’s history and culture. Global citizens believe in a world free from prejudice and discrimination, where everyone is free to express themselves. They feel comfortable with adjusting to new environments, and are not afraid of changes or new experiences. They are not reluctant to deal with obstacles and don’t give up easily. Global citizens feel like being members of the global community, take an active role in their local communities, and work with others to make the planet more equal, fair and sustainable. At Green Passport, we promote an ethos of curiosity, solidarity, and shared responsibility.
Inspired by the interactions with the young Vietnamese people, we created a book called Steps to become a global citizen that has won awards and has been used in the national exams for university entrance in Vietnam. We have also worked on other book projects with talented and inspirational authors from all around the world.
Education is key for us. Therefore, we have been regularly organizing webinars, remote conferences, as well as workshops throughout Vietnam in Vietnamese, English and Spanish languages on a wide variety of topics, including traveling, studying, and working abroad, soft skills, culture, foreign languages, study and career orientation, to name a few. We connect Vietnamese people nationally and internationally to help them find study buddies, partners, colleagues and friends. Thanks to our ambassadors, we have Green Passport clubs at high schools and universities in different parts of Vietnam. We organize competitions in presentation in English to help the participants improve their English and presentation skills. We mentor and support youth with their community building ideas and startups. We have organized volunteering and donation days, during one of which small kids from kindergarten helped us raise money for homeless people during Christmas time. As you can see, we are really trying to eliminate differences and bond people of all ages and backgrounds together.
Last year, as part of our community expansion, we recruited members to work in our projects. They are between the ages of 13 and 30, living in all parts of Vietnam and in other countries like Australia, Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, and Czechia. The team members work together regardless of their place of residence, age, or educational background. We value diversity and equality, hard work and positive attitude. Despite their young age, our members have gained extraordinary professional experiences in their fields of study. For instance, they have had opportunities to interact and negotiate with CEOs, become published authors, interview inspirational leaders, manage global projects, lead marketing campaigns, design books and merchandises, and organize multiple events in different parts of Vietnam. In Vietnam, many companies are still reluctant to give students and recent graduates a chance to proof their abilities. I hope that our project will help change this situation.
Beside the definition of “global citizenship”, our community has also created a list of 77 goals that I am especially proud of. It is a set of core values and commitments that fully define our community culture. These include the goals that help young people determine what skills they should focus on improving, how to keep up with global trends and become knowledgeable in many areas, how to become fluent in foreign languages, have a global mindset, live healthily and sustainably, and gain access to opportunities that enable them to eventually become successful in life. These goals are highly relevant and practical for Vietnamese people. Our commitment to those values has encouraged countless initiatives and voluntary programs with a positive impact on many people.
The biggest achievement for me, while working on my global citizenship project, is to see young people fulfilling their dreams, enhancing their knowledge and skills, getting their dream jobs, knowing how to grab opportunities, and getting out of their comfort zone to travel, study, and work wherever they want.
I could continue to paint for you the picture of what our community has done, what we are doing, and what we plan to do. But let’s go back to my grandmother and mother.
Half a decade after my grandmother’s village was destroyed, people are still dying in the ruins of their homes burnt to the ground. Twenty years after my mother took me to Czechia, people are still fleeing from their war torn countries to find safety, security and prosperity.
I believe that the way to prevent such catastrophes is by making all of us global citizens who acknowledge our commonalities, and treasure and respect our differences.
Fortunately, there are so many open-minded, inspiring, and talented people like you who are sitting here today, who will start the conversation, take actions, and make the world a better place one step at a time.
I would like to encourage you all, after you have returned home from this summit, to create global citizenship communities that uphold the values for sustainable prosperity worldwide. Craft your own definition of “global citizenship”. Define your 77 goals according to the actual needs of your local community. You never know whose lives may change thanks to even the smallest initiative of yours. Change is made by those who take action. If you want to build a more sustainable and inclusive world, then it is your task to become a leader who contributes to making it happen. Please be in touch if you want us to collaborate.
Thank you.
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