VietNamNet Bridge – More than 320 youngsters from Southeast Asia and Japan will arrive in HCM City early next month for an annual cultural exchange.

The Southeast Asian Youth Programme 2010 (SSEAYP) delegation, which includes 29 from Viet Nam, left Yokohama in Japan by ship on a 52-day journey through six countries that will see the youths return to Tokyo on December 15.

The city unit of the HCM City Youth Union is preparing to receive the delegates and host the annual programme that will include music, home stay, and other events as well as charitable activities. It has chosen 60 volunteers for the purpose.

Some 170 families in the city have volunteered to house the guests during their three-day stay which will expose them to Vietnamese culture.

Le Van Minh, a Youth Union official, said several families have done this on more than one occasion, explaining the ship will be on its 11th visit to HCM City.

The visitors will discuss participation by youth in social activities, including culture, environment, international relations, education, health, food, and community development.

They have been to Malaysia and Thailand and are now in Indonesia. They will next leave for Singapore before arriving in Viet Nam on December 5.

SSEAYP, started in 1974, is a joint initiative by Japan and five founding members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) – Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.

It seeks to strengthen friendship, co-operation, and understanding between Japanese and Southeast Asian youths to help build a peaceful, stable, and developed region.

Viet Nam joined the programme in 1996.

* Urbanisation increases need for preservation

Preserving HCM City's architectural heritage is critically important during fast-paced urbanisation as the spirit of the city could be lost, speakers at a seminar said last week.

Nguyen Thi Hau, deputy chairwoman of the HCM City Research and Development Institute, said that the city should compile detailed information about historic structures and important archaeological sites.

Creating plans to excavate historic sites and preserve the area's buildings is urgent, she said.

Professionals are concerned about preserving many of the city's relics, including two important ones, the Giong Ca Vo relic in Can Gio District and Hung Loi Pottery in District 8.

Architect Nguyen Huu Thai told the seminar that a modern city should preserve its past.

The city has 124 national and city architectural heritage sites and archaeological relics, many of which have been damaged or are deteriorating.

Vu Kim Anh, deputy director of the HCM City Culture, Sports and Tourism Department, said rapid urban development threatens the city's historic structures and sites.

But even more importantly, urban managers were not consistent in their ideas about heritage preservation, she said.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News