Managing socio-cultural diversity

In his opening speech at the conference, the Canadian Ambassador emphasized the positive cooperation between Vietnam and Canada over the past 40 years. The bilateral relationship has been increasingly strengthened in recent years with two-way trade turnover reaching over 2 billion dollars. Canada is currently home to 200,000 people of Vietnamese origin. Mr. David Devine also said that promoting the value of Canadian education will continue to be a priority of the Canadian Government in Vietnam. Considering education as a key area of ​​cooperation in the bilateral relationship to promote knowledge creation and mutual understanding, Canada supports the development of cooperation between higher education institutions of the two countries as well as the development of Canadian research programs in Vietnam.

Regarding the main topic of the discussion, the Ambassador provided more information: Canada is also the first country in the world to implement a state policy on multiculturalism. The nature of an inclusive, dynamic and multicultural society has become the core of the Canadian national identity and the pride of the Canadian people.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pham Quang Minh (Vice Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities) on behalf of the University's leadership expressed his deep gratitude for the presence and support of the Ambassador for scientific activities in particular and the development of the University in general. This is the third discussion of the University related to Canadian research and focused on a very meaningful topic: cultural and social diversity. In fact, Canada has been very successful in solving issues related to cultural and social diversity. Vietnam is also a multicultural country with 54 ethnic groups, facing many issues related to cultural diversity in the process of national renewal and modernization. This seminar is an opportunity for Vietnam to exchange information to help Vietnam learn from Canada lessons on managing socio-cultural diversity, in which the main ideas are tolerance, respect for cultures, building mutual understanding, aiming to build principles for cultures to develop strongly, contributing to the overall development of society.

After the opening session, specific topics discussed at the seminar were: the role of the media in preserving Canada’s cultural identity, Canadian higher education management and experiences for Vietnam; the Vietnamese community in Canada – the harmony of Vietnamese cultural identity and Canadian cultural identity; preserving Canada’s cultural identity in relations with other countries…