The Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee held a meeting at the Hanoi Friendship Palace on March 26 to recognize 10 outstanding youths for 2009.

Deputy PM Nguyen Thien Nhat.

This is the highest annual award of the youth union, honoring outstanding young people in all fields.

This year 15 nominees were chosen from 78 recommendations by provinces and cities for 10 awards. Over the past 14 years, the awards have honored 140 outstanding young people who have made significant contributions to society.

Businessman Dang Hong Anh.

Among them is runner Vu Thi Huong, who is called the “Queen of Speed” in Southeast Asia, with four gold medals at track-and-field tournaments, two Asian silver medals, two SEA Games gold medals and a record at the Asian Indoor Games 2009.

In economics, Dang Hong Anh, 30, chair of the Saigon Thuong Tin Real Estate Company, is an outstanding youth. Established with 11 billion dong of chartered capital, his firm currently has 1 trillion dong of chartered capital and total assets worth 6.8 trillion dong after only six years. Its personnel increased from 19 to 360 under his leadership.

“Queen of Speed” Vu Thi Huong.

Another bright face in the economic field is a Nung man, Vang Seo Sin, 22, from Ha Giang. With 63 million dong of capital, Sin invested in animal husbandry. After one year, he earned 114 million dong and set up a construction material cooperative with 200 million dong of chartered capital, employing 30 workers.

The youngest winner is Vu Minh Chau, 19, a 12^th grade student from Hanoi, who won two gold medals at the International Chemistry Olympiad 40 and 41. Chau is also one of the 10 outstanding young people of Hanoi in 2009.

Police officer Tran Ngoc Toan.

In education, Vietnam’s youngest professor Bui The Duy, chair of the IT Faculty of the Hanoi University of Technology, was recognized. Duy has won many sci-tech awards over the last six years and is also the coach of the Vietnamese team that won the first prize at the Asian ACM/ICPC programming contest in 2006, 2007 and 2008.

Police officer Tran Ngoc Toan, 30, was honored for successfully investigating 157 drug-related cases from 2007 to 2009. The President conferred upon Toan the third-class Feat of Arms Medal last year.

Student Vu Minh Chau.

Speaking at the prize-giving ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Thien Nhan praised the achievements of the 10 most outstanding young people of 2009 and the five others. He expressed his hope that the 10 honored youths, along with the nation’s 24 million other young Vietnamese, will continue to study, work, train and follow President Ho Chi Minh’s example.

The ten outstanding young people 2009

1. Vu Minh Chau (1991) – Hanoi University for Natural Sciences
2. Bui The Duy (1978) – Chair of IT Faculty at Hanoi University of Technology
3. Nguyen Van Tu (1978) – Commissar of PPK9 team, Battalion PPK3, Military Zone 5.
4. Vang Seo Sin (1988) – Secretary of Muong village youth branch, Ha Giang province.
5. Vu Thi Huong (1986) – athlete
6. Dang Tat Dung (1979) – Secretary of HCM City Law University’s youth branch.
7. Dang Hong Anh (1980) – Chair of the Saigon Thuong Tin Real Estate Company.
8. Tran Ngoc Toan (1980) – Vice-chief police officer for drug crime of Than Uyen district, Lai Chau province.
9. Nguyen Hong Loc (1980) – Worker at Saigon Water Supply Corporation.
10. Vu To Sa Anh (1988) – Music teacher of Ha Long School for Culture, Art and Tourism.

PV