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- From July 3th to July 8th, I attended an event called "Asean Youth Exchange on Education (AYEE)"
which took place in Ho Chi Minh City. With regard to the organizers, Asean Youth Leaders' Associate
(AYLA) in partnership with G.A.P Institute held this program. In brief, this program aims to gather
young individuals from Southeast-Asian nations, with a view to incentivizing them to come up with
creative ideas in order to address educational problems in Southeast-Asia.

1) Recently, some of my peers and I have run an educational program called “60 days – Dare to
teach?” in which undergraduates as well as high school students are spurred to expend their
summer time on travelling to a faraway province called “Dak Lak”. Here, they are requested
to take the responsibility for teaching children who experience considerable difficulty
affording schooling, on account of miserably living below the poverty line. There are two
chief reasons why I sincerely wish to be a part of this program. The first reason has
something to do with experience acquisition. Due to the fact that it is the very first time we
have run this kind of campaign, obstacles and hindrances are inevitable. Nevertheless,
provided with a chance to participate in IYSL, I am in the hope of learning a great deal from
illustrious scholars. Subsequently, great suggestions and ideas I absorb from others will not
only be taken into careful deliberation but also be transformed into realistic actions which
hopefully bring schooling dreams within the reach of educationally deprived children. The
second reason is that I truly long to bring something to the table in this conference. I do not
dare to make out that my idea is the most ground-breaking or original one. Still, I am
strongly convinced that each of us, as a global citizen, has the capacity to contribute
something, even the small things, to the general welfare of society, since “the greatest
things come from the simplest things”

2) From my perspective, the participation in this conference is deemed as a golden opportunity

to immerse myself into such a culturally diverse environment where I will undoubtedly have
a chance to get to know other countries’ practices and burning issues that the citizens are
encountering. Perhaps, while lending an ear to other participants’ sharing, I will happen to
perceive something beneficial and informative that could be later applied to my education-
oriented projects. This is called two-way learning. What is more, being a part of this summit
is all about making the acquaintance of and maintaining lifelong relationships with
innumerable extraordinary individuals whose professions vary from one to another. It goes
without saying that SDGs are all-inclusive aims and objectives which incline towards the
well-being of various societal aspects. Consequently, should we yearn to offer effective
solutions to thorny issues in different areas, cross-field collaborations are no doubt
inescapable. Despite the fact that the campaign I used to run was merely launched on a
small-scale, I did forge a few precious bonds with some social entrepreneurs who are just as
passionate about giving under-privileged children a helping hand as me. Presumably, in the
process of joining the conference, unless I am unfortunate to get acquainted with like-
minded people, it is likely I will introduce them to the directors of the social entrepreneurs
that I bonded with. And guess what? Together, we will come up with more ideas and
 projects which are meant to provide appreciable assistance for the vulnerable community. In
that sense, not only will our relationships continue to flourish subsequent to the summit but
our impacts on society are liable to reach beyond the conference.

3) From what I have observed in my country, the LGBT community is tolerated but not widely
accepted. This has prompted me to harbour an idea that hopefully is able to address this
problem to some extent. First thing first, the name of this project is “2 months to be LGBT-
ers” which calls for individuals who not only feel deeply sympathetic towards but also wish
to stand up for members of the LGBT community. More specifically, participants are
requested to make believe that they are LGBT-ers in 2 months. In fact, two missions will be
set for them. The first mission is that they have to make an attempt to apply for a vacant
position in an organization. After a certain period of commencing their jobs, they are asked
to disclose the truth of their gender to their colleagues. This mission aims to discover
whether or not gender-related prejudice in the workplace is in existence. More significantly,
participants will be oriented towards the mentality that regardless of their gender, LGBT-ers
deserve to be endowed with equal occupational opportunities like others. The second
mission is that in 2 months’ time, they have to make an attempt to form an intimate
relationship with the one they are infatuated with. After a certain period of getting to know
each other and embarking on a romantic relationship, they will begin to reveal their true
gender to their lovers. If it is authentic love, there is a faint possibility that the breakdown of
these relationships will occur. If not, the relationship will regrettably end in failure. The
purpose of this mission is to explore in depth LGBT-ers’ feelings when love is unrequited.
Once they have put themselves in the shoes of LGBT-ers, they will thoroughly comprehend
what exact kind of feelings LGBT-ers have to contend with. More importantly, participants
will be inclined towards the awareness that irrespective of their gender, LGBT-ers has a right
to cherish and to be cherished. Subsequent to successfully accomplishing all four missions,
participants are asked to produce short videos conveying their most genuine thoughts and
experiences regarding the time of integrating into the LGBT community. Top 10 most
reflective videos will then be singled out and granted a chance to make their first
appearances on immensely prevalent websites amongst youngsters. Optimistically, those
invulnerable voices that used to fall on deaf ears will now be capable of reaching more and
more ears

4) Not only does the content of their paperwork have to highlight what they have learned
from the time of integrating into the LGBT community but it should also appeal for advocacy
of this special community. Then, all of the participants’ essays will be read and evaluated
carefully one by one, for the purpose of singling out top 10 most reflectively written essays.
Subsequently, money will be devoted to having these essays posted on immensely prevalent
websites amongst youngsters. Optimistically, those invulnerable voices that used to fall on
deaf ears will now be capable of reaching more and more ears. I would say that my project is
not solely about consciousness-raising but more than that, it is about putting words into
actions. By that I mean, top 10 essay-winners will be divided into 2 teams, each of which
comprises 5 people. Each team will be encouraged to run a mini-project whose vision is to
assist the LGBT-community in overcoming social prejudice. Due to the fact that these people
 used to plunge themselves into the LGBT community, they will be the ones who understand
the needs and wants of LGBT-ers with great thoroughness. As a consequence, they will run
the project with the perspectives of the insiders, not those of the outsiders. Needless to say,
once they have played a role as insiders, it is within the possibility that they will tackle the
issue from its root. This manner of approaching problems proves to facilitate more effective
process of seeing for resolutions. In this sense, I am able to provide participants with
opportunities to take the lead, which greatly helps towards sharpening leadership and
project management skills. In addition to enhancing necessary employment-related skills,
my project also aims to orient participants towards the mentality that as young people, it is
never beyond their wildest dreams that they can beneficially impact upon the community.

5) From what I have observed in my country, the LGBT community is tolerated but not widely
accepted. This has prompted me to harbour an idea that hopefully is able to address this
problem to some extent. First thing first, the name of this project is “2 months to be LGBT-
ers” which calls for individuals who not only feel deeply sympathetic towards but also wish
to stand up for members of the LGBT community. More specifically, participants are
requested to make believe that they are LGBT-ers in 2 months. In fact, two missions will be
set for them. The first mission is that they have to make an attempt to apply for a vacant
position in an organization. After a certain period of commencing their jobs, they are asked
to disclose the truth of their gender to their colleagues. This mission aims to discover
whether or not gender-related prejudice in the workplace is in existence. More significantly,
participants will be oriented towards the mentality that regardless of their gender, LGBT-ers
deserve to be endowed with equal occupational opportunities like others. The second
mission is that in 2 months’ time, they have to make an attempt to form an intimate
relationship with the one they are infatuated with. After a certain period of getting to know
each other and embarking on a romantic relationship, they will begin to reveal their true
gender to their lovers. If it is authentic love, there is a faint possibility that the breakdown of
these relationships will occur. If not, the relationship will regrettably end in failure. The
purpose of this mission is to explore in depth LGBT-ers’ feelings when love is unrequited.
Once they have put themselves in the shoes of LGBT-ers, they will thoroughly comprehend
what exact kind of feelings LGBT-ers have to contend with. More importantly, participants
will be inclined towards the awareness that irrespective of their gender, LGBT-ers has a right
to cherish and to be cherished. Subsequent to successfully accomplishing all four missions,
participants are asked to produce short videos conveying their most genuine thoughts and
experiences regarding the time of integrating into the LGBT community. Top 10 most
reflective videos will then be singled out and granted a chance to make their first
appearances in a special event that will be mentioned later on. Subsequently, top 10
winners will work within a group, with a view to planning to hold an educational fair. There
are two activities in this fair. The first one is an informative talk show where psychology
experts and socialists voice out their opinions regarding the human rights of the LGBT
community. The second activity is a cinema activity in which participants will have to pay a
maximum of 10,000VND to watch the top 10 videos that were elaborately produced before.
The amount of money gained from this activity will then be utilized to run social media
campaigns. Top 10 videos, after being introduced in the fair, will have a chance to appear on
immensely prevalent websites among youngsters. Optimistically, those invulnerable voices
that used to fall on deaf ears will now be capable of reaching more and more ears