A contest entitled “Youth digital citizen challenge 2021” was officially launched in Hanoi on July 15 to encourage young people to create better digital transformation solutions and services.

The contest was jointly held by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Hanoi Youth Union, and the Hanoi Youth Palace with a view to improving the quality and accessibility of online public services.

Speaking at the launching ceremony, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative Diana Torres said Vietnam has risen from 99th place to 86th place among 193 nations in the E-government Development Index (EGDI) of the United Nations, from 2014 to 2020, which reflected the country's efforts in digital transformation.

UNDP Deputy Resident Representative Diana Torres addresses the launching ceremony. Photo: UNDP

However, to achieve the ambitious goals set in the National Digital Transformation Program until 2025 to become one of the top 70 nations in the EGDI, Vietnam will need to work harder to ensure that all citizens engage in digital transformation and effectively use its achievements, she noted.

The UNDP has pledged to support an inclusive and people-centered digital journey, Diana Torres said, adding that Vietnamese youth have skills, knowledge, and devotion to support the local government in this process, helping the country to achieve its targets and the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

Joining the contest, all students, programmers, designers, and start-ups in Vietnam, as well as individuals aged between 18 and 30, can submit their ideas to the organizing board from now until August 10.

The submissions must focus on five fields including public administrative services, education, health, business support, natural resources, and environment.

Deputy Secretary of the Hanoi Youth Union Tran Quang Hung speaks at the event. Photo: UNDP

Ten teams with the best ideas will be selected to participate in a two-day boot camp between August 18 and 19 with experts from the UNDP, the Hanoi Youth Union, and some of the best companies in Vietnam to develop the teams' ideas.

The three best ones will have a chance to earn rewards worth a total of VND70 million (US$3,040) and join the technology incubation program with support from domestic and international venture capital funds.

For his part, Deputy Secretary of the Hanoi Youth Union Tran Quang Hung said with energy, commitment, and innovative ideas, young people are major drivers of change to create solutions that will accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

“They need support, capacity building, and more space to utilize their strength to actively participate in governance activities. This is the motivation for the Hanoi Youth Union to collaborate with the UNDP to organize this competition,” Hung said.

Besides, a programming contest named "Code war 2021: The first battle" was also launched to form a community of qualified programmers who can create their own high-quality projects with high competitiveness in the market economy and in the context of deep international economic integration.