27-year-old Le Ha Uyen from Da Nang’s Son Tra District was one of the two representatives from Viet Nam who participated in the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) Young Leaders' Summit which took place in Luxembourg from 1-4 November.  The event had ‘Asia-Europe Young Leaders Call for Action on Entrepreneurship and Youth Employment’ as its theme. 

A total of 120 outstanding young leaders gathered together from across the world, and they had the opportunity to exchange their experiences with world-renowned leaders from the business and public sectors.

At the event, Uyen explained some of the difficulties faced by many Vietnamese students during internship periods at domestic businesses.  They find it very hard to put into practice at their workplaces the knowledge they have acquired from their schools.

She added that many new graduates in Viet Nam are finding it difficult to find a job because recruiters often require 2 or more years of work experience from them.

Uyen, who owns 2 hotels in Da Nang, said that on the other hand she prefers to recruit fresh graduates who are dynamic, confident and fluent in English. 

Ha Uyen (first left)

Apart from running her own businesses, Uyen has her own food blog to help foreign food lovers experience her local cuisine.

Since its launch in 2009, her blog at http://danangcuisine.com has featured over 100 Vietnamese specialities, including Quang noodles, bun mam (rice vermicelli with anchovy fish sauce), banh xeo (steamed rice flour pancakes), and banh canh (rice spaghetti).  More than 120,000 users visit her website every month, and over 90% of visitors have posted positive comments about the website.

In addition, Uyen runs food tours for foreigners, taking them to try delicious dishes which are deeply imbued with the city’s own identity.  She also introduces foreign food lovers to the origins and values of dishes, and teaches them how to eat local food. 

Recently, the New York Times, an American daily newspaper, published an article ‘In Da Nang, Vietnam, Looking to the Future’ which mentioned Uyen and her efforts to advertise Da Nang's cuisine to international friends.  In addition, she has been invited for an interview about Da Nang food by the Hong Kong daily newspaper, Weekend Weekly.