Spread the spirit of self-study

Mr. Pham Ba Vinh (second from right), Lien Hong village, Bach Thuan commune (Vu Thu) takes care of ornamental plants.

Passion for music, seeking opportunities to exchange and earn extra income has motivated Ms. Bui Thi Men, Cam Doai village, Thuy Lien commune (Thai Thuy) and other local women to learn to play the brass instrument.

At first, it was difficult to approach the brass instrument. Ms. Men shared: All of us are farmers who work in the fields all year round, so we don’t have many opportunities to interact and exchange. Moreover, the brass instrument is heavy and bulky.

The Huong Lua brass band performs at an event.

For women with weak limbs, carrying a trumpet and blowing it throughout a piece of music is not a simple matter. Without a trumpet, the women borrowed the teacher's trumpet to practice in turn. Gradually, everyone saved every penny to buy instruments. It was difficult to mobilize women to participate and contribute, but it was even more difficult to maintain the spirit of perseverance in practicing from zero. After 1-2 days of puffing their cheeks and rolling their eyes with the trumpet, some were discouraged because of toothaches and swollen mouths, and asked to withdraw after a few days of practice. However, from more than 10 initial members, in mid-2018, the Huong Lua Brass Band Cooperative was established. Currently, there are 21 official members and dozens of reserve members who continue to study and practice to gradually improve their skills. The women's income has been improving day by day, reaching 7-8 million VND/person/month. Not only improving economic life, the Cooperative also helps women to be financially proactive, become more confident and dynamic.

Mr. Pham Ba Vinh, Lien Hong village, Bach Thuan commune (Vu Thu) has invested in developing bonsai models since 1991. According to Mr. Vinh, bonsai making is very elaborate, requiring the worker to be dedicated to the profession and have an understanding of bonsai types. Along with that, the worker must have a passion for art to be able to create unique works of high economic value. Therefore, it is necessary to constantly learn and be creative, but also to carefully calculate in caring for, pruning, and shaping the tree. Just one wrong cut, the worker will have to wait for the tree to grow again. The value of the tree depends on many different factors, many trees cost hundreds of millions of VND. Mr. Vinh is planting about 1.7 hectares of green trees and bonsai with 120 large trees of high economic value and medium and mini trees. In 2023, his "Mother and Child" tree product will be certified with 3-star OCOP. Visitors to his garden not only buy plants but also enjoy the scenery and chat. It is an opportunity for him and his gardeners to promote and introduce the culture and people of Bach Thuan to visitors from all over the world.

Realizing the role and significance of the model of "learning citizens" in general, and self-studying adults in particular, core units and localities, which are the learning promotion associations at all levels, have developed plans to implement solutions. These include promoting and encouraging the spirit of self-study and lifelong learning; coordinating to create conditions for people to develop their self-study capacity... According to Mr. Vu Dinh Tuy, Chairman of the Learning Promotion Association of Thai Thuy district: Self-study helps adults quickly adapt to new requirements of the labor market; improve knowledge and professional skills; improve thinking, problem-solving ability and confidence. Adults who actively study not only improve their own knowledge and skills but also contribute to promoting the learning movement in the whole society.

When each person has a progressive spirit, they will spread the spirit of learning to their family, colleagues and the surrounding community. Businesses also encourage employees to learn throughout life by organizing internal training courses or supporting employees to participate in external learning programs. This not only helps to improve the capacity of the human resources but also creates a flexible, creative and effective working environment.

Through various learning channels, adults are contributing to spreading the lifelong learning movement, building models of learning citizens and learning communities in their localities.