VietNamNet Bridge – Youth from all over HCM City are awaiting the launch of the Soul Nation tour at Thu Duc University Community Campus tomorrow, Dec 3.

Rock star Anh Khoa and actress Kathy Uyen, will be joined by Anh Khang, Rapsoul, Kim, White Noise and Minh Kien as they mash together rap, rock and folk as part of the Soul Nation tour which will assemble a line-up impressive enough to leave most bars in the city empty on the night.

Hip-hop dance crew Big South&Freestyle and Viet Nam's youngest female rap sensation, Suboi, are also tipped to make special appearances.

Activities will kick off at 4pm with prizes; a graffiti competition, a BMX motorcycle demonstration, and a chance to meet the artists.

The following performance from 7 to 9pm will be an electrifying melange of music, film and other art forms intended to positively affect young people's attitudes in terms of respect for women and domestic violence awareness.

This form of sharing of knowledge and experience is the inspiration for the campaign's slogan "Dare to...". Dare to express yourself, dare to pursue your dreams and dare to change old-fashioned patriarchal social values for a better life, the organisers explain.

Soul Nation aims to raise awareness about the role of young men in preventing violence and promoting healthy and happy relationships. The campaign takes a primary prevention approach to domestic and gender-based violence and aims to prevent violent behaviour from developing by working with Vietnamese youth to promote gender equality.

Goodwill ambassadors Anh Khoa and Kathy Uyen have no doubts about why they got involved in the campaign. "Vietnamese women deserve the right to live free from violence," they said.

This message is echoed in their lyrics through the phrase "Dare to...", a call for action to ensure respect, love, equality and non-violence in intimate relationships.

"Music has an incredible power to connect and bring down the barrier between people while the lyrics will send out the message to change life for the better. I believe only you, music lovers, dare to accept this mission," Anh Khoa said.

"Music allows me to show people the extremes of life. I believe in the values of society that seek harmony. Hence, I wish to serve as a model for the audience of the campaign," Kathy said.

Soul Nation is supported by Spanish NGO Paz Y Desarrollo (PyD) in co-operation with Music Faces company and event organiser Flaunt Entertainment.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News