VietNamNet Bridge - Hundreds of young students in HCM City went to the streets in downtown HCM City to exchange friendly hugs on International Free Hug Day on Sunday.

International Free Hugs Day under “Embracing the Heart, Sharing the Love” slogan took place at Tao Dan Park in Ho Chi Minh City on July 24.

The event aimed to bring people together and help young people raise awareness as well as understand the importance of sharing emotions via hugs.

Free Hugs Day is one of annual activities of Free Hugs Vietnam (FHV), a non-profit organization for youth. Free Hugs Day was first launched in Vietnam in 2007. The event has attracted the participation of hundreds of thousands of young people across the country featuring beautiful images of local residents and travelers.

The campaign was initiated in Australia in 2004 by Juan Mann. At that time, he set up a board with the words FREE HUGS in Sydney with the aim of waiting for a person to hug him.

The campaign became a well-known international activity in 2006 after a music video of Juan Mann was shown on YouTube, which has had over 77 million viewers. The action was implemented by volunteers in 80 countries, including Vietnam.

In Vietnam the event is held annually on the third Sunday of July in Hanoi and HCM City.

Some photos of free hug day in Saigon:

Linh Thu