A total of over 850 liaison officers and volunteers were selected to serve the APEC Economic Leaders’ Week (AELW) in Da Nang from 6 to 11 November, the culmination of Viet Nam’s year-long hosting of APEC meetings. 

A young volunteer (in blue) enthusiastically providing AELW-related information for a reporter at the International Media Centre

In particular, volunteers were outstanding students from local universities and junior colleges.  Serving such an international large-scale event indeed offered a challenging but fascinating chance for these young people to gain lots of valuable experiences which are really useful for their lives and future careers as well.

Volunteer Le Tran Van Anh from the University of Foreign Language Studies said that, to be eligible to attend this important event, she had made the earnest endeavour to meet the very strict requirements. 

The female student and other volunteers were required to undergo tough interviews in English and present their solutions to unexpected incidents and complaints from delegates during AELW 2017 in prompt and effective manner. 

Apart from gaining a through grasp of the distinctive cultural and historical values of Da Nang, and those of Viet Nam as a whole, the volunteers had to learn more about the customs and habits, and the religions of the bloc’s member economies.

In an attempt to well perform their tasks during the APEC week, the volunteers attended intensive classes in English, protocol, and communication skills.

Third-year student Nguyen Hai Minh from the Da Nang University of Medical Technology and Pharmacy also worked as a volunteer at AELW 2017.  He and other volunteers were in charge of assisting reporters from domestic and international media agencies in performing their tasks during this international important event.

The most unforgettable experience Minh encountered at the APEC week was that he and his fellows had to do their utmost to prevent big crowds of reporters from jostling with others for souvenir photos with US President Donald Trump right after his keynote speech at the 2017 APEC CEO Summit. 

Minh happily revealed that it was a great honour for him to partly dedicate his efforts to great success of this international large-scale event.

Most notably, during AELW 2017, each of the volunteers was considered to be an enthusiastic and friendly tourism ambassador to advertise the city’s beautiful image to international friends.

Also on the sidelines of the important event, young volunteers were very eager to introduce the participating delegates from other APEC member economies to the allure of land, people and distinctive cultural values of Da Nang, especially local popular attractions and signature dishes.  This, hence, would partly help to promote in-depth cultural exchanges amongst the bloc’s economies.

Minh eagerly revealed that: “Thanks to my participation in the APEC week, I have a chance to enhance my English skills and interpersonal interaction skills by talking with foreigners, as well as learn more about how to organise an event, and to effectively handle unexpected incidents and complaints from delegates during AELW 2017 in prompt and effective manner”.