More than 200 young people gathered at the Ho Chi Minh City Opera House on Sunday to take part in the Free Hugs – Om Tron Trai Tim (Free Hugs - Embrace Wholeheartedly) campaign which is organized in the biggest cities of the country at the end of July.

More than 200 young people gathered at the HCMC Opera House on Sunday to take part in the Free Hugs - Embrace Wholeheartedly campaign.

In an age of social disconnectivity and lack of human contact, the effects of the Free Hugs campaign are impressive, showing the personal gesture’s ability to relieve misfortune and lonesomeness between friends and strangers, and to generally make others feel better.

The Free Hugs campaign is an Internet-spread phenomenon that appears to have begun in June of 2004 and was widely publicized in 2006 by a music video on YouTube. It is a real life controversial story of Sydney's Juan Mann, a man whose sole mission was to reach out and hug a stranger to brighten up their lives. The campaign soon spread to America, Italy, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, China and others. The first weekend after June 30th has since been declared International Free Hugs Day.

The Free Hugs - Embrace Wholeheartedly campaign is the first trans-Viet Nam cultural event held in the country with the message of bringing embraces of love to all people. The hugs began Saturday morning in Ha Noi and Nha Trang and Sunday morning in Ho Chi Minh City.

Contact free.hugs_vn or freehugsvn@gmail.com for further information.