Vietnam – A Digital Society: Prospects and Challenges

On behalf of the Board of Directors of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Prof. Dr. Hoang Anh Tuan (Rector) congratulated and highly appreciated the success of the author team in completing the National Report: Vietnam - A Digital Society; at the same time, he also thanked the cooperation and companionship of the Hanns Seidel Foundation and Justus Liebig Giessen University (Germany) in the process of researching and publishing this Report as well as the following issues.

The Vietnam Annual Country Report Project is designed to provide in-depth assessments of modern Vietnamese society. The research was conducted by the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Justus Liebig University Giessen (Germany) with funding from the Hanns Seidel Foundation. The report “Vietnam – A Digital Society” is the third publication in the Project’s series of publications, following two previous publications: “Vietnam as an Aging Society” and “Environmental Policy in Vietnam” published in 2021. In 2022, there will be a Special Report – an in-depth publication – on the topic “Overcoming War Legacies in Vietnam” (expected to be published and announced in June 2022).

Attending the live seminar were Prof. Dr. Pham Quang Minh (former Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities); Dr. Detlef Briesen (Justus-Liebig University of Gießen); Mr. Truong Quoc Hung (Deputy Head of Department - Deputy Chief of Office of the Institute for Legislative Studies, Standing Committee of the National Assembly); Ms. Thao Griffiths (Director of Public Policy, Vietnam Market, Asia-Pacific Office, Meta Group). In addition, there were a number of speakers attending online: Mr. Pham Giang Linh (General Director of Galaxy Education, and CEO of HOCMAI); Dr. Sarada Prasanna Das (Institute of Governance, Policy and Politics (IGPP), Vivek Manthana Foundation, New Delhi, India),...

In addition, the Talk Show is also broadcast live on 2 channels: Vietnamese Channelhttps://www.facebook.com/ussh.vnuand English channel:https://www.facebook.com/HSF.Vietnamattracted many domestic and foreign scholars to follow and interact.

In his speech at the Seminar, Prof. Dr. Pham Quang Minh (Co-editor of the Report) emphasized: Digitalization has become an important part of our daily lives and it is impossible to imagine what life would be like without technology in the present era. Therefore, the objective of this Report is to provide an overview of the issues arising in the digital transformation process in Vietnam, viewed from a social science perspective.

Mr. Michael Siegner, Chief Representative of Hanns Seidel Foundation in Vietnam said: “In addition to the many benefits and opportunities that digital transformation brings to millions of Vietnamese people, there is also growing concern about Vietnam’s readiness in terms of institutions, policies, skills, and resources for a strong digital transformation process. This Country Report addresses the potential benefits and challenges of digitalization in Vietnam from many different perspectives.”

On behalf of the group of authors, Dr. Detlef Briesen presented the main research results in the Report: "Vietnam - A Digital Society". Through 14 studies with updated data and in-depth analysis, it has been shown that: Vietnam has achieved many remarkable results in the digital revolution in recent years. Especially in the past 2 years when the COVID 19 pandemic had extremely severe consequences, but in another aspect, it has also contributed to accelerating the digital transformation process in many countries around the world and Vietnam. In addition to the achieved results, Vietnam also faces many consequences: network security, personal information security, cybercrime, online behavior culture, etc.

Speaking at the discussion, delegates unanimously appreciated the scientific quality of the reports and the significance of the recommendations made by experts and authors of the studies. “National Report: Vietnam – A Digital Society” is the first report to provide a comprehensive overview of the digital society that actually exists and is growing strongly in Vietnam, especially in recent years in all social activities such as education, health care, employment, communication, entertainment, culture, etc. The results as well as in-depth analysis in the articles provide very useful information for state management agencies in policy making.

Many delegates also shared a lot of information about the practical development of the digital revolution in the country from other countries in the world and affirmed: the challenges (or negative aspects) in the digital transformation process are not only of Vietnam but of all countries, so there needs to be many policies, measures, and mechanisms to create conditions to accelerate the digital revolution on the one hand but also minimize negative impacts.

Concluding the Seminar, Prof. Dr. Pham Quang Minh affirmed: a digital revolution has been taking place at an extremely fast pace in the world, deeply affecting all aspects of social life. The theme "Vietnam - A Digital Society" within the framework of the Vietnam National Report Project has received attention and recognition from scholars, managers, and businesses at home and abroad; hopefully in the coming time we will continue to receive that valuable companionship and cooperation in researching and publishing the following issues. From the results of the studies presented in the Report, together with the valuable contributions at the Seminar today, we can believe that, with the determination of the Government through specific policies, the companionship of organizations and businesses at home and abroad, learning from the experiences of other countries, with abundant human resources potential, Vietnam will progress faster and stronger in the digital age.

Interested readers can refer to the content of the Report.here.

Some pictures from the seminar