Twenty young leaders from Việt Nam and Australia representing the arts, finance, technology, philanthropy, business, start-ups, education and healthcare are meeting in Sydney sharing ideas for the inaugural Australia-Việt Nam Young Leadership Dialogue.— Photo giaoducthoidai.vn

HCM CITY — Twenty young leaders from Việt Nam and Australia representing the arts, finance, technology, philanthropy, business, start-ups, education and healthcare are meeting in Sydney sharing ideas for the inaugural Australia-Việt Nam Young Leadership Dialogue.

Organised from May 15-18, the dialogue is held to promote deeper understanding and collaboration between young Australian and Vietnamese leaders to enhance the economic, social and cultural prosperity of both countries.

The event aims to facilitate deeper cross-cultural understanding and collaboration through discussions and workshops with speakers and peers.

The event will focus on innovation in areas such as leadership, education, business and national development.

An impressive number of selected delegates have emerged from Việt Nam’s start-up space and business sector, showcasing the country’s rising skilled workforce and talent from which Australia could benefit.

Nguyễn Cát Thảo, co-founder and board chair of the Australian-Việt Nam Young Leadership Dialogue, said: “Australia has traditionally overlooked business and trade opportunities with Việt Nam in comparison to its focus on other larger Asian markets.”

“It is the only country other than China that has grown consistently on average above 6 per cent per year for over a decade. Việt Nam has been emerging as a tiger. It is time Australia took more notice.”

Inspiring delegates include Đào Xuân Hoàng, who studied at the University of Technology Sydney and is creator of Monkey Junior, an early-childhood reading app. This app is the most downloaded education app in the App Store and Google Play in the US, Canada and Việt Nam.

Ross Milbourne, chair of the Board for UTS:INSEARCH, said that higher education would be an important area for Australia and Việt Nam to collaborate.

“Developing greater cultural awareness, a global mindset and international connections are some of the benefits we see when Vietnamese and Australian students learn together. This dialogue offers the experience to a group of impressive young leaders who can drive innovation between both countries in the future.”

Phạm Quốc Đạt, one of the young leaders from Việt Nam, who was on the Forbes 30 under 30 Việt Nam 2016 list, is the founder and director of HATCH!, an entrepreneurial and start-up accelerator programme.

“Tens of thousands of entrepreneurs have already come through our programme since we began in 2012,” Đạt said. “There is a huge appetite from young Vietnamese to become the international success stories that past generations could only have dreamed of. That drive and that determination is what creates this modern-day success story which I hope will inspire others.”

Rachel Bùi, CEO and co-founder of the young leadership dialogue, and founding team member at Telstra’s startup accelerator, muru-D, said: “Now is the time to tap into the emerging talent and entrepreneurial mindset of the younger generation who are driven with ambition to build bridges, create change and lead innovation to the benefit of their respective countries. ”

Craig Chittick, the Australian Ambassador to Việt Nam, noted that Australia’s future relationship with Việt Nam would be characterised by dynamism, innovation and deep personal linkages.

“The first group of participants are outstanding leaders in a range of fields and their contribution to building a strong partnership between Australia and Việt Nam will be felt for years and decades to come,” he added.

Việt Nam boasts a population of more than 90 million with the fastest-growing middle and affluent class in Southeast Asia, expected to double to 33 million people by 2020.  — VNS