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