Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Dear comrades,
On the occasion of 60th Anniversary of Foundation Day of Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, on behalf of Leadership of Vietnam Communist Party and State, I would like to give the warm greetings to ladies and gentlemen, to scholars and all the staff generations of Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences; I also wish you all good health, happiness and success.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Just sixty years ago, in December 2, 1953, when our Resistance to French colonists was being in the violent stage, with far-sighted vision for building and developing country after war, our Party decided on creating the Department of History, Geography and Literature Studies (the predecessor to the present Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences), laying the foundation of development of the country’s social sciences.
In the process of development for whole 60 years, despite the numerous difficulties and challenges, but with intellect and passion for sciences as well as with high responsibility to people and country, the generations of leadeships and scholars and staff of Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences [VASS] has united uninamously, joined efforts together and raised creativity to a high degree, leading the national social sciences to progressive development in response to contemporary problems, contributing actively to the career of Resistance and country’s building in early days of formation as well as to the renovation, construction and defence enterprise of Motherland nowadays.
In the times of Resistance to foreign aggressors, generations of staff of VASS participated with their scientific works in explaining and clarifying the justice of our struggle for national independence and reunification; propagated our scientific viewpoint, bringing out the meaning of theoretical basis of people’s war and nationwide defence policy of our Party; giving the scientific arguments for inevitable defeat of colonialism and affirming the sure victory of Vietnam revolution.
In the renewal enterprise of country, along with promoting the process of basic reasearches, VASS always gave great importance and promotion to Research and Development and consultancy for policies, focusing on important theoretical and practical problems of the country. The economic, political, cultural, social and foreign problems, as well as security and defence ones and so on in the context of globalization and international integration, were studied relatively synchronously and comprehensively, more and more deeply and with better scientific qualities. The results of these researches have contributed to heightening the more and more deep and clear awareness of socialism and of the way to socialism of our country, as well as to clarifying numerous important problems of guidelines and policies of Party and State. At the same time, VASS has realized many basic social and humane studies in specialist and multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary maners, proposing concrete and appropriate solutions in order to solve the social, national, religious and human-right... problems. The studies of VASS have contributed to clarifying the formation and development history of Vietnamese nation and country, to inheriting and raising cultural values and identities of the nation accumulated through thousands of historic years, affirming national soveveignty and territorial integrity of country...
The results of serious and rigorous scientific researches of VASS were incarnated in valuable products and works. They are the books, the general collections and the papers having high scientific values, published in domestic and international journals, in which there are especially 20 works and groups of works which were awarded Ho Chi Minh Prize and 24 anothers awarded State Prize in sciences and technologies.
Along with scientific research, VASS also has considerably contributed to training highly qualified manpower in social sciences, especially after foundation of Graduate Academy of Social Sciences directly under VASS. The combination of scientific research with training function in VASS has greatly contributed to formating and developing social scientific human resources with high qualification, satisfying the development requirements of the country.
Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences also actively took the initiative to extend the cooporations with many countries and scientific organizations in the world, creating the important conditions to receive cultural achievements and quintessence of mankind, arising itself to regional and international levels; at the same time it introduced and propagated our socio-economic achievements and national social sciences to the countries-friends worldwide.
In recent years, VASS made many renewals, inherited and brought into play the acquired achievements, at the same time adjusted and overcame the limitations and shortcomings, especially the delay in realizing projects and also the loose discipline in some parts. The Party activities and the formation of staff were put in attention and have had the basic active results.
We can say, throughout 60 years, generations of leaderships, scholars and staff of VASS always raised responsibility in fulfilling the tasks commended by Party and State, building the Academy worth being a leading institution in social sciences of the country, being trusted and appreciated by Party, State and people. It is not by chance that you were granted high awards like Independence Order, Ho Chi Minh Order and Golden Star Order.
On behalf of Party and State leadership, I warmly welcome, congratulate and praise the important results, achievements and contributions of VASS.
However we must recognize that the Academy has limitations and insufficiencies yet. It is most obvious that there are not yet many those works with highly creative values; not yet the works that could explain deeply and convincingly some theoretical and practical problems of the renewal enterprise, the industrialization, the modernization and the building of socialism in the context of globalization and international integration. There are few those major books and general collections which could contribute to enhancing intellectual standards of the people, to enlightening as to Vietnamese value and dignity in the world community... There are poor scientific manpower yet, especially what concerns the leading specialists, and they are not at the international level of qualification...
Ladies and gentlemen,
Nowadays, our country is in the important stage of development. The world situation is changing fast and deeply, varying very complicatedly and unforeseeably. Globalization, international integration, cooperation for development are being irreversible trends, but the international competition, struggle for interests and for political, economic and cultural influences between states, nations and religions are becoming more and more drastically; wars, rebels, overthrows, territorial and sea disputes, religious and ethnic conflicts, all are ongoing worldwide. Now the mankind is facing many traditional as well as nontraditional risks and challenges, especially the problems of population raising, of social structure modification, of differentiation between poor and rich, of climate modification, of heightening the sea water level, and of network security... The great and historically significant domestic achievements after nearly 30 years of renovation have created the new power and force for realizing the goals which are to make people wealthy, to make country strong, democratic, just and civilized. However, at present time our country is encounting many severe difficulties. Beside the acquired results and achievements, our renovation and socio-economic development enterprise has not less limits and shortcomings yet, letting appear new compicated problems, influencing the realization of the goals and tasks of fast and sustainable development of the country.
All this situation put many new demands to social sciences and humanities; many basic theoretical problems of development of country need more to be clarified, to have the exact answers, first of all from the social scientists. Here, Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences has a extremely important role.
VASS has more to bring into play its traditions and achievements obtained after past 60 years, more to renew itself comprehensively and thoroughly, to execute well the function of a research institution for resolving the basic problems of social sciences, to provide the Party and State with scientific arguments for drawing up the lines, strategies, projects, plans, policies of country’s development, to advise on policies, to train highly qualified manpower in social sciences, to be support and centre for social researches nationwide.
In the matter of research: On the one hand, you have more to research deeply the concrete specialities of social sciences, to combine basic academic studies with R&D; to study multidisciplinarily and interdisciplinarily; to study quantitatively and qualitatively. You have to embrace the fields range from economics, polictics, philosophy, history, culture to country studies, human studies, ethnic groups studies, and religions, languages, literature studies..., clarifying the questionable and new problems, in order to lay the bases of educating and heightening consciousness, orientating ideology and cultivating sound feelings of people. On the other hand, you must promote political theory studies, review practical experiences, clarifying the problems of socialism and of the way to socialism in our country, making them appropriate to Vietnamese reality, providing the scientific arguments for setting up the lines, strategies, policies of country’s development in new stage. You must attach special importance to forecasting studies of development trends, proving the far-sightedness; combine the studies of problems of short, medium and long-to-2030-2050-year terms. In the near future, you must participate to sum up some theoretical and practical problems of 30 years of renovation recommended by Politburo, focusing on the problems that are as follows: socialist-oriented market economy; stepping up the industrialization and modernization; culture development and human building; resolving the social and environmental questions; renewing and reorganizing the Party, building the political system, promoting the democracy, completing the socialist rule of law; strengthening the national defence, the security and foreign policy... Especially you must focus on clarification and rational solution of major relations put forth in the Programme of Country’s Building in Period of Transition to Socialism (completed and developed in 2011): Relation between renovation, stability and development; between economic renovation and political renovation; between market economy and socialist orientation; between development of production forces and step by step construction and completion of production relations; between economic growth and culture development, progress and social justice; between building and defending the socialist Motherland; between national independence and international integration; between leadership of Party, administration of State and mastership of people... You must affirm and defend the right opinions; correct the awareness deviations; criticize and reject the wrong and hostile opinions. This is not only the scientific task, but also the important political mission put forth to VASS.
In the matter of publication, information and communication of social sciences: This is a very important phase of scientific activity, not only in service of scientific research of the VASS and of scientific activity nationwide, but also it is a channel through which VASS can contribute directly, permanently and for the long time to development of national social sciences, to construction of the advanced culture deeply imbued with national identity. In recent years, despite your efforts, the valuable and appreciated publications of VASS have not been many yet. Your publishing houses, scientific journals, library, centres of information and documentation have encountered many difficulties yet; even the prestige of some journals have declined. That why in coming years, you have to renew your organization and to construct mechanism so that your activities would be more appropriate to market economy conditions, to international integration and rapid development of information technologies. You have to enhance prestige of publishing houses and of specialist journals by publishing valuable works with high quality...; in the same time, you must improve service quality and efficiency of library and centres of information and documentation... You must more intensify and widen international exchanges and cooperations in order to propagate worldwide the development achievements and cultural values of Vietnamese people and country; concomitently must choose and receive the achieveminets and quintessences of world social sciences in order to develop further our social sciences.
In the matter of training: Recently, the 8th Plenum of 9th Central Committee of Vietnam Communist Party promulgated the Resolution on basic and comprehensive renovation of education and training in order to satisfy the demands of industrialization and modernization in the conditions of socialist-oriented market economy and international integration. As the leading institution in social sciences of the country, having many scientists who have participated in postgraduate training for a long time, VASS must closely collaborate with other related ministries and organizations in order to effectively develop this Resolution - a resolution on development of a field which is considered leading national policy -; first of all it must renew, intensify and heighten the quality and efficiency of training activity of Graduate Academy of Social Sciences directly under VASS. You must attach special importance to the improvement of virtue, morality and qualification of scientific manpower; to formation of social scientists with firm ideological consciousness and high professional qualification, having both wide deep knowledges, humane viewpoint and practical mind, so that to have competence to resolve new problems of life. Especially you must take interest in building the leading specialists in various specialities of social sciences, in formation of the competent managers being expert in speciality, creating strong potential for development of social sciences. VASS must give priority to building of its own staff. The researchers of VASS must be good scientists, at the same time have high citizen responsibility, and more over, they must be the militants on the political, ideological and cultural fronts.
Conditions to ensure the acomplishment of political and specialist missions of the Academy are that you must make the labour medium democratic, disciplinary, lawful; promote the freedom of creation on the basis of dialectic methodology of Marxism-Leninism, of Ho Chi Minh thoughts and basic lines of Party, and at the same time conform to State laws. Social research is difficult and sensitive work, requiring all researchers to have the passion for job, to be modest, to have the consciousness of learning and the respect for each other. The VASS leadership must have plan to renew thoroughly organization and mechanism of Academy, often take care of building of material bases, improve labour conditions; take care of staff’s life; widen the relations of international cooperation, have strategies and measures to attract the highly qualified domestic and foreign scientists, pay attention to employ talented persons, creating the general strength to bring Vietnamese social sciences to the new step according to the Resolution of 6th Plenum of 11th Central Committee of VCP on development of sciences and technologies in service of industrialization and modernization in the conditions of socialist-oriented market economy and international integration.
Ladies and gentlemen,
60th Anniversary of Foundation Day of Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences is an occasion for us to recall its good memories and glorious traditions; at the same time we all together head for the future, struggle more and more to complete successfully all missions entrusted by the Party and State and expected by people.
I wish you good health, happiness and success.
Cordial thanks.
(Translated by Nguyen Van Dan)
