Together with the attendance of the President of VASS, the meeting also had the participation of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dang Nguyen Anh, Vice President of VASS; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tran Thi An, Director of Scientific Management Department; M.A. Nguyen Thanh Ha – Director of International Cooperation Department. Attending the meeting included, in the UNESCO side, together with Ms. Sue Vize, there was Ms. Pham Thi Thanh Huong, Science Culture Programme Coordinator.
In the meeting, representing as the head of VASS, Prof. Dr Nguyen Quang Thuan presented duties and functions of VASS, and main research orientations of VASS including politics, security, culture, human, the environment, breakthrough in institutions to revolutionize and develop..,ect.; briefly introduced about collaborative relationship between VASS and UNESCO Vietnam, prestigious scientific organizations worldwide, especially in ASEAN. The President expected that there would be more cooperation activities between VASS and UNESCO in times to come, such as workshops and conferences (in 2016) or Forum for Management of social transformation held in Malaysia (in 2017).
In response to Prof. Dr. Nguyen Quang Thuan, Ms. Sue Vize appreciated the opportunity to visit and collaborate with VASS and emphasized that social sciences were her major, so she would like to cooperate with VASS. Ms. Sue Vize summarized changes in the scope and objects of scientific programs of UNESCO as follows:
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(1) Researching about fair and safe sports and anti-substance use, building the guide to apply sport as a tool for human development, promoting the youth to participate in sports activities in a healthy way. (2) Professional ethics in research and development of biotechnology, building the capability in universities to integrate ethics in training, especially in the health sectors and exploring the commitment to be willing to participate in these activities of countries and organizations. (3) Intercultural conversation - the emerging field which had drawn the attention of social sciences and humanities. (4) Promoting understanding of the history of South-east Asia. (5) Studying about including society in public administration policies, 2 main activities of which were together with other governments and country members as well as local authorities in implementing social policies; and specifically and especially researching about migratory groups plus problems arising in the process of urbanization, focusing on anti-discrimination of disadvantaged groups. (6) Managing the development and transformation of the society. This was an agreement between the government of Malaysia and UNESCO; whereby an international conference at ministerial level, along with Forum for Management of Social Change would be held in Malaysia in 2017 with a focus on sustainable development goals - justice and society or ageing population problems.
Besides that, Ms. Sue Vize also affirmed that UNESCO was taking step by step to boost the activities in the field of social sciences in South-east Asia by organizing joint research activities between the South-east Asian countries to promote studies on social sciences in the region. In addition, UNESCO also provided forecasting activities; programs for professionals, candidates in postgraduate and doctoral programs to enhance research skills, which were very suitable for training programs of the VASS.
Appreciating and expressing interest in the activities of UNESCO, Prof. Dr. Nguyen Quang Thuan emphasized 3 main fields including Intercultural Conversations, Studies on covering society (migration and urbanization) and Social Sciences in South-east Asian countries. They were major research topics of VASS and VASS would like to cooperate with UNESCO in these fields, especially in organizing training courses to enhance research level in social sciences not only for researchers in Vietnam but also in ASEAN region. Regarding the initiative of VASS to hold annual workshops among 3 countries (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia) on social sciences, the President hoped that the 2016 Conference held in Vienna Vientiane, Laos would have the participation of representatives from UNESCO. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Quang Thuan also expected the collaboration between VASS and UNESCO in many areas where VASS had advantages, such as social management, management of social changes, intercultural conversations,...
The two parties agreed on cooperation and exchange activities to prepare for the Forum for Management of Social changes held in Malaysia in 2017; and coordination in research in the field of social sciences and humanities. In the future, the two sides would collaborate to exchange and discuss research programs through the connection of the International Cooperation Department of VASS. Ms. Sue Vize pleased to participate in Annual Conference among 3 countries including Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia in Vientiane in October 2016. The meeting was successful and promised to open up a collaborative relationship and new opportunities between VASS and UNESCO.
Nguyen Thu Ha
