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Conference talks measures to boost Vietnam-Canada education partnership
Participants at the event
An international conference was jointly held by the Vietnam Association of Community Colleges (VACC), the British Columbia Council for International Education (BCCIE), and the Hue College of Transport to discuss measures to facilitate education partnerships between Vietnam and Canada.
Participants reviewed the Vietnam-Canada partnership in education, offered ideas to ensure the quality and transfer of education programmes, and shared experience and opinions on steps to promote bilateral partnership in the field in a sustainable manner.
According to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Le Quang Minh, Vice Chairman of the VACC, Vietnam and Canada boast extensive potential for cooperation.
He suggested that universities and colleges form a partnership network through key groups, while also paying closer attention to attracting gifted Vietnamese students to study in Canadian high schools.
Sharing Minh’s ideas, Dr Sherri Bell, Principal of Canada’s Camosun College, stressed the need for both sides to understand each other’s cultural and educational conditions.
She said that both sides should accept their differences and talk directly with each other for successful cooperation at all level.
According to statistics from the Canadian Consulate General in Vietnam, more than 14,000 Vietnamese students are currently studying in Canada, the biggest number among the student community from Southeast Asian countries and the fifth among the foreign student community.
Vu Thanh Binh – Vice Director of the Department of Science, Technology, and Environment under the Ministry of Education and Training – said that the ministry has implemented a number of programmes to foster education cooperation between the two countries, including those to reduce tuition for Vietnamese students in Canada and introduce Canadian training programmes in Vietnam.
Additionally, the two sides have done well to promote collaboration and connectivity among localities of both countries, he noted.
Hanoi first grader wins traffic safety slogan contest
Doan Nguyen Thuy Chi, a first grade pupil from Hanoi has won the special prize of a slogan contest for the “Traffic Safety in Vietnam with Doraemon” 2018-2019 programme (Photo: news.zing.vn)
A first grade pupil from Hanoi has won the special prize of a slogan contest for the “Traffic Safety in Vietnam with Doraemon” 2018-2019 programme.
Doan Nguyen Thuy Chi, currently studying at Ngo Thi Nham Primary School in Hanoi’s Hai Ba Trung district, obtained the award at a ceremony held on January 17 for her slogan “Doi mu bao hiem, an toan cho ban, tranh xa tai nan, ca nha cung vui” (Wearing a helmet, safety for you, preventing accidents, happy family).
These words, as the new road safety slogan of the year, will appear on posters in primary schools nationwide during the 2018-2019 academic year.
Awards were also given to the top 20 slogans selected from a total of 101,219 entries.
The contest, open to both Vietnamese and foreigners living in Vietnam, specified that entries should be no longer than 20 words and work under the theme of “Wearing helmets while on motorbikes and electric bikes” for participants from 6-10 years old, and “Wearing helmets for yourselves and others” for those from 11 years old.
The best among the top 10 winning slogans of the 6-10 year old group was submitted by Dinh Nguyen Minh Hai, a four grader from the Long Bien Primary School in Hanoi’s Long Bien district. His winning slogan is “Mu bao hiem, ban dong hanh, suot chang duong, em toi lop” (My helmet, a companion, along my way to school).
Of the top 10 slogans by the 11 years and above group, “Giao thong hiem hoa kho luong, doi mu bao hiem ra duong binh an” (Traffic risks are unpredictable, wear a helmet for safety) by Pham Thi Huong from Hai Duong was picked as the most excellent.
The organising board said they received a relatively equal number of entries for the two categories, with the submissions from the 6-10 years old showing greater creativity and a more flexible use of language.
Speaking at the event, Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam Umeda Kunio noted that this is the third year the “Traffic Safety in Vietnam with Doraemon” programme has been held in the country with warm welcome from locals.
He said he would like to see Vietnamese students wearing helmets, bearing the image of Doraemon, so they can travel to school safely.
The programme is co-organised annually by the Ministry of Public Security’s Department of Traffic Police and Japan’s Mainichi Shimbum.
In 2017, the programme had 26 extra-curricular courses, with 30,000 road safety handbooks and badges given to primary students in 13 localities nationwide.
Doraemon, the fictional robot cat, is a famous Japanese animation character popular among children in Asia and around the world. It has served as a symbol of traffic safety for decades in Japan.
Japan first launched a traffic safety programme featuring Doraemon 30 years ago when road safety in the nation was a much bigger issue, with some 15,000 people killed by traffic accidents each year.
Canadian ambassador visits AO child victims in Danang
Canadian Ambassador Deborah Paul and a representative of the Danang support center for Agent Orange victims inaugurate one of the two classrooms
A delegation led by Canadian Ambassador to Vietnam Deborah Paul on January 16 visited the support center for Agent Orange (AO) victims in the central coast city of Danang.
During the visit, Deborah Paul inaugurated two classrooms sponsored by Canada at the center in Hoa Vang District.
Work on the two classrooms worth a combined VND89 million started after a visit by crew members of Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship Calgary to the center in September last year.
HCMC reviews responsibilities of relevant ones for wrongdoings in 1st metro line
The construction site of Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien metro line
The People’s Committee of HCMC has assigned the Department of Internal Affairs to work with relevant agencies to review responsibilities and propose appropriate handling form to individuals and teams relating to wrongdoings in the first metro line project of the city, Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien, according to conclusions by the State Audit Office of Vietnam.
The Department of Planning and Investment has been tasked to review the entire process of implementing the project, especially legal grounds, and exactly determine the total investment level of the project.
In addition, the agency has been required to check contracts and negotiation minutes of bid package contracts to ensure all have abided by the law and prevent loss and damage for the state budget.
The city has required the investor of the project, HCMC Urban Railway Management board, and those who have committed wrongdoings to seriously implement conclusions and proposals by the State Audit Office and report results before March 31.
So far, 62 percent work volume of Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien metro line has been done.
Previously, the State Audit Office of Vietnam reported that the project implementation process contained lot of wrongdoings and the city’s approval of total investment capital adjustment in 2011 neither showed the right value nor followed the right process and order and did not fall within the city’s jurisdiction.
The Audit Office also announced some other violations and proposed financial handling worth VND2.9 trillion (US$125.12 million) comprising state budget payment of over VND18 billion, value added tax arrears collection of VND53 billion and payment cut to contractors by VND96 billion.
To the remaining VND2,860 billion, the city People's Committee asked HCMC Urban Railway Management Board to base on audit results to negotiate with contractors to reduce the contract value of some bid packages to prevent investment capital loss.
Job rush before and after Tet
To meet consumer demand during Tet Holiday (the Lunar New Year), many enterprises are speeding up production and promoting product consumption in all fields, resulting in the need for more employment in Ho Chi Minh City.
For instance, Inahvina Company in Tan Thuan Export Processing Zone in District 7 is recruiting more than 100 laborers for making jewelry. The company even admits unskilled laborers to train.
Meanwhile, Gadys Vietnam Company is wanting to hire employees who can work soon, Duc Bon Industry Company is advertising to need 50 tailors, 100 unskilled workers and safeguards.
Over 1900 enterprises have demands for a total of 14,000 jobs in January, 2019, said Tran Anh Tuan, deputy head of HCM City’s Center for Forecasting Manpower Needs and Labor Market Information.
Normally, before Tet, the job market also opens up chances for untrained applicants or those with elementary schooling (accounting for 40 percent of the total demand) and inexperienced workers.
Jobs in this segment includes security, industrial and domestic cleaning, culinary services, delivery, sales, product packaging, and landscape decoration. According to Mr. Tran Anh Tuan, this year before Tet, HCMC will need 25,000 stable and 30,000 seasonal workers.
Since the policy on taking care of employees on Tet holidays has positively stabilized the job market, work shortage has been only be 2 percent - 3 percent and this percentage has been 4 percent - 5 percent for the fields with high employment demands such as textiles, leather, footwear and aquatic processing.
Mr. Tran Anh Tuan said that there will not be much fluctuation in high-quality employment after Tet. Fluctuations will be focused on general jobs such as textiles, leather, footwear and aquatic processing. HCMC is forecast to need 30,000 more jobs in March, 2019.
Hence, there are more chances for jobs seekers, especially graduates (which account for 60 percent of them) to get employed.
A survey from Vietnamworks shows that 38 percent of newly-graduated students don’t have a clear work orientation and, therefore, unable to find a job.
This is the biggest obstacle for graduates while hunting jobs and the survey shows thar 61 percent of them are disappointed after they find out the difference between real-life and what they learned in school.
According to Mr. Gaku Echizenya, CEO of Navigos Group Vietnam, in order to train the young people into the main workforce in the future, enterprises need to pay attention to “employee experience”, from pre-employment, probation period to official employment. In this “employee experiencing phase”, elements like employment welfare, direct manager, training and work course, and such are crucial to employers.
HCMC Party Chief requires quarterly inspection report to prevent corruption
Secretary of HCMC Party Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan delivers a statement at the conference on January 16 (Photo: SGGP)
He made the requirement at a conference on party discipline inspection and supervision in 2018, missions in 2019 and review one year implementation of Regulation 1374 since 2017 by the standing board of the HCMC Party Committee.
Stating at the conference, Mr. Nhan underlined the role of party inspection saying it will not only ensure clean and strong party but also fortify the government system. It needs synchronous coordination among inspection agencies of the party and the state and supervision by the Vietnam Fatherland Front, people’s councils and the National Assembly to better inspection and supervision of the political system.
Last year, the city People’s Committee received about 8,000 complaints and denouncements. Of these. Over 4,000 cases were in need of solving.
Referring to Regulation 1374 on the process of solving information related to the degradation of political ideology, ethics and lifestyle as well as party rule and state law violations by collectives and individuals, Mr. Nhan said that over 82 percent of the information was solved. From that, many party member and civil servants have been handled.
However announcement of violations on the press was too little to create deterrence. So it should be performed more regularly.
Talking about solutions to build clean and strong party and government systems, Mr. Nguyen Thien Nhan repeated the need of synchronous cooperation in inspection and supervision operations of the whole political system to handle all violating officials and party members.
Specific solutions include more efficient implementation of Regulation 1374 and forming of a serious atmosphere in tackling violations to deter and prevent them from occurring.
He tasked the Inspection Commission of the city Party Committee to quarterly report and announce results of inspection and surveillance of the entire city, citing Singapore’s experience in building mechanism and sense “Unable to corrupt, do not want to corrupt and do not dare to corrupt.”
HCMC need to set up the ecosystem of healthy and exemplary cadres who can live with their income, he stressed.
Mr. Nhan also appreciated obtained results in the party inspection field of the city with inspection launch to nearly 4,000 party organizations in 2018. Still he asked the compatibility between the number with the volume of 8,000 complaints and denouncements received in the same year.
Hence, inspection should be tied to the structure of problem, areas and fields of inspection objects to ensure the best efficiency.
Moreover, it is needed to build efficient thematic inspections and supervisions and inspect officials and cadres who implement inspection and supervision work for timelier and faster uncovering and handling of weaknesses and violations, he said.
Aviation employees return over VND 330 million to passengers
VIAGS celebrates a ceremony to reward the officials and employees returning properties to passengers
The Vietnam Airport Ground Services Company (VIAGS, a member of Vietnam Airlines)- Tan Son Nhat Branch yesterday reported that employees of this unit have detected and returned to passengers many valuable properties from the beginning of 2019.
While four officers and employees of the service center were working on aircraft, they picked up and returned the cash and valuable assets for passengers such as iPhone, iPad, laptop ... with the total value of over VND 330 million (US$ 14,215).
In order to praise the contribution, VIAGS- Tan Son Nhat Branch has celebrated a ceremony to reward the officials and employees.
Last year, VIAGS staff also discovered and returned to passengers more than VND 10 billion (US$ 431,363).
Once a cause for celebration, Tet is now expected with dread
Society has changed and celebrating Tet also needs to change. (Photo: The thao - Van hoa)
It is less than three weeks before the Lunar New Year, or Tet, formally arrives and as usual a repeated call for combining Tet with the Western New Year has re-emerged, with some even moaning “Everything is perfectly OK, why does Tet come about?” For a growing number of Vietnamese people, Tet is becoming somewhat of a reluctant occasion.
Tet used to be an eagerly anticipated event when people sat beside the banh chung pot and enjoy the sacred atmosphere at the turn of a new year. But now the fear for Tet is becoming prevalent among quite a lot of people. In the lead-up to the Lunar New Year, the streets in big cities are always teeming with people driven into a shopping frenzy for Tet goods.
Tightness could be seen on the faces of almost everyone jostling to get out of the crowd stuck in a traffic jam, which is all too common these days. Tet is going to dump piles of other jobs on the shoulders of the people who are already too busy on a normal day.
Buying gifts for the paternal family, the maternal family, the teachers, the boss, those we need to thank and those we haven’t met for a long time; everyone is worried that they might accidentally miss something. Tet is only once in a year and a little slip could easily invite criticism.
When all the gifts are in place, then comes the headache of what to eat and what to decorate. In the past, eating was the main thing, hence why celebrating Tet is called “ăn Tết” (eating Tet) in Vietnamese. Today when food is abundant all year round, traditional foods such as gio lua, gio xao, banh chung and chicken have fallen out of favour since they are too energy-rich and take a great deal of time to prepare.
That is why time is now spent on scouring the web in the search for new specialties which do not make people feel sick and gain weight. What’s next? The difficult choice of which clothes to put on and how to decorate the house. Such headaches are not exclusive to not-so-rich people, better-off ones are also tired of weighing up one option against another.
In the run-up to Tet, people have to work harder than usual so as to ensure the daily work runs smoothly and Tet preparations are made adequately. The Tet holiday is a time when people are off from their paid jobs, but they must still take on other jobs: eating, drinking, wishing and socialising.
Alcoholic drinks are part of Tet get-togethers and hard to turn down when being plied with. It is why road accidents usually shoot up during the Tet holiday.
For those whose homes are in the countryside but work in town, another of their questions is using which vehicle to go home. And then comes lucky money which is now an obligation.
Those who dread Tet the most are perhaps managers. Tet is still a long way to go but the ambience of Tet is already in the air. The Tet holiday is officially 9 days, but the festive atmosphere could be sensed from the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month when the Kitchen Gods will travel to the Heaven to report to the Jade Emperor what has happened in the past year.
And Tet is not yet over after the final day of the 9-day holiday, it lasts well into several days after people get back to their normal work. The days after Tet are all wishes again and then temple visits. Who dares to say their work is not affected by Tet.
Many choose to get away from Tet by travelling. The first time when leaving Tet behind at home to go somewhere else they could get lectured. But everyone is eventually getting used to it, especially when more and more people are calling upon one another to escape together.
Tet was born in an agricultural society when life was not easy all year round. People used to look forwards to Tet because they would be able to eat good food and wear nice clothes. Tet also coincided with the time of the year when there was little or no farming activity, so people had plenty of time to visit one another.
But Vietnamese society today has changed fundamentally. Life is now faster and busier. In the past, family, clan and village relationships were of great importance and one would be chided if they failed to visit their relatives during Tet. With this custom, the scene of a procession of people in a family going from one house to another to offer their greetings was considered a symbol of a warm Tet.
In today’s society, the self is given more emphasis. People pay more attention to the small family than the large clan. After a year of hardship, many want to spend the Tet holiday for themselves. Nevertheless, the old mentality of Tet is still retained by many people. They still try to carry out all the duties of Tet towards others for fear of getting a bad name.
Certain customs are good, but some have become a burden when society has already changed. Tet in a new age also calls for a new spirit. It is still when people look back to their origins and send wishes to one another, but with a more open and sympathetic mind.
The identity does not necessarily have to be manifested in the form of customs, but of the spirit, especially when such customs have mutated into obligations to fulfil.
Numerous activities conducted to provide warm Tet for the needy
Tet gifts presented to trade union members and workers in Da Nang city at the gathering on January 16
The Da Nang city Department of Industry and Trade in coordination with the city Labour Federation held a spring fair and gathering for poor workers in the city on January 16 to mark the occasion of the upcoming Tet (Lunar New Year) festival.
The week-long fair brings together around 200 businesses, collectives, super markets and traders in the city, offering a good price to customers on a wide range of products.
At the event, the organising board presented 3,000 gifts to trade union members and workers, worth VND1.5 billion in total.
The city’s trade federation also sponsored 40 free coaches to bring nearly 2,000 migrant workers back to their hometowns to celebrate Tet holiday with their families.
The Dak Lak provincial Department of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs announced that it will spend more than VND40 billion on Tet gifts to outstanding collectives and individuals in the locality.
The recipients include Vietnamese heroic mothers, war veterans, Heroes of Armed Forces, wounded soldiers, family members of soldiers who are stationed in Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago, and outstanding heads of villages.
As Tet is getting nearer, Thai Nguyen provincial authorities visited and presented more than 250 gifts to poor households and policy beneficiary families in Phu Dinh commune, Dinh Hoa district.
Over the past week, the province’s heath sector has provided free health check-ups and medicine to 400 locals in the commune.
Overseas Vietnamese celebrate Lunar New Year
The New Year's meeting of the Vietnamese community in Macau (China).
Vietnamese communities around the world have held meetings during recent days to celebrate the Lunar New Year.
In Macau (China), the New Year’s meeting of the Vietnamese community was attended by representatives of the Vietnamese Consulate General and the Association of Foreign Workers.
In a warm and happy atmosphere, the guests enjoyed lively performances and a meal with traditional Vietnamese Tet foods.
* In Cambodia, Vietnamese students at the Royal University of Phnom Penh held a gala night to celebrate the Lunar New Year. It was attended by representatives from the Vietnamese Embassy, Vietnamese enterprises and Cambodia’s Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, as well as more than 100 Vietnamese students in Cambodia.
* The Vietnamese Embassy in the Republic of Korea held a ceremony to meet and extend mutual greetings to Vietnamese people studying and working in the country. The meeting was attended by diplomats, representatives of both countries’ enterprises and more than 200 Vietnamese people.
* The Vietnamese Embassy in Argentina hosted a New Year’s meeting with the attendance of Vietnamese people, representatives of agencies, students and sailors living in the South American country.
Spring Fair 2019 opens in Da Nang
Spring Fair 2019 opened in the central coastal city of Da Nang on January 16, drawing in more than 250 pavilions featuring nearly 200 businesses, cooperatives, and supermarkets from the city.
On display at the fair were food and other processed products, garment and textile products, footwear, handicrafts, electronics, and household utensils.
Organisers co-ordinated with the relevant bodies to cover the costs of the space for more than 10 participating units.
Le Thanh Ha, director of the Centre for Agriculture Encouraging and Trade Promotion, said this year’s event attracted the participation of a large number of pavilions, noting that organizers broadcast information regarding participating businesses through mass media and TV screens at the fair to promote the image of businesses.
He stressed that the event offered a wide range of options for visitors while shopping at the fair.
Along with collaboration with relevant departments and agencies, organizers have supported businesses' participation in agriculture encouragement programs. The event will run until January 23.
Over 1,200 storm victims benefit from UNDP’s project
A house built within the project's framework
More than 1,240 people in the central provinces of Khanh Hoa, Phu Yen, and Quang Nam, who became victims of Storm Damrey in late 2017, received support from a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) project.
The information was revealed during a conference to conclude the project, held in Tuy Hoa city of Phu Yen on January 16.
The project, sponsored by the Government of the Republic of Korea, was launched in December 2017 and ended in December 2018.
Nearly 80 houses were repaired and 304 others, which are flood proofing, were built, surpassing the project’s initial target.
Each house was built at a cost of nearly 50 million VND (2,200 USD). Beneficiaries included impoverished households and those whose houses were destroyed by the storm.
In addition, funds worth 5,000 USD each were set up in the provinces of Phu Yen and Khanh Hoa to help local residents improve their housing situations.
Damrey hit Vietnam on November 4, 2017, affecting more than 4.3 million people and causing losses of more than 1 billion USD. Khanh Hoa, Phu Yen, Binh Dinh and Quang Nam provinces were hardest hit.
USAID-funded project supports people with disabilities in Thua Thien-Hue
A vocational training class for disabled people
People with disabilities in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue are to receive better healthcare under the project “Raising Voices, Creating Opportunities” funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) via the Action to the Community Development Centre (ACDC).
Chief of Office of the provincial People’s Committee Hoang Ngoc Khanh said on January 16 that the project, valued at 6 billion VND (more than 263,000 USD), will be implemented until August 30, 2021.
The project is designed to improve the capacity of competent organisations and agencies in the locality so that they can give better support to those in need, and accelerate the implementation of policies to assist local people with disabilities, he added.
According to the provincial Department of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs, the province is home to a disabled community of more than 34,600 people, including nearly 4,600 children – some 22,100 of whom have already come under social welfare policies.
Last year, the local disabled people association presented 40 scholarships, each worth 500,000 VND (21.57 USD), to disadvantaged students.
The local hospital also gave rehabilitation treatment to nearly 900 children under 14 years old, and joined hands with the Hue Central Hospital to provide free orthopaedic surgery for 150 children, and cardiac operations for 198 children with congenital heart defects.
More than 489 million VND (21,000 USD) was mobilised to support the people with disabilities during the Tet holidays. Some 676 wheelchairs were presented to those lacking such resources by the US Giving it Back to Kids and local authorities.
In addition, the province carried out several projects to provide stable jobs for people with disabilities.
This year, the disabled people association will continue focus on popularisation and raising public awareness of their community. It will work to give timely support for those in need, create favourable conditions for people with disabilities to join social activities, as well as ensure that they get access to social services and support policies to improve their quality of life.
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