Vietnam - Moment of Youth

Vietnam is a country of young people. More than half of Vietnam's population is younger than 25 and 70 percent were born after the Vietnam War ended in 1975. Since the 1990ies the young vietnamese people are called "song voi" (fast living), myriads of them are cruising on their motorbikes through the big cities of Hanoi and Saigon today. They are celebrating what young people call "song tu do" (living freely). This generation drives the pace of change of Vietnam´s economy and society. Traditional and conservative structures are constantly pushed back. Young people want to become entrepreneurs instead of working for the Communist Party. ​ Nevertheless, Vietnam is a socialistic republic, the framework for everything is set by the Communist Party. Media is controlled and censored by the government. Most young people in Vietnam do not seem to care a lot about politics though, as long as they could go for their dreams and become economically successful. ​ Nevertheles, Vietnam is a country of culture and tradition, family is valued highly. The dynamics of economic change also challenge family ties, with individualism being the antipode to traditional relations and hierarchies.