Thursday, June 28th, 2007

Ho Chi Minh City Development Learning Center Celebrates Official Launch

New Opportunities for Knowledge Sharing as Vietnamese Economy Shifts Toward High-Tech

The Ho Chi Minh City Development Learning Center received an enthusiastic welcome from the GDLN community at its official launch on June 26, 2007. The second center to open in Vietnam after Hanoi, the new center will deliver knowledge initiatives connecting the world with Ho Chi Minh, a city known for its vibrant private sector and trade environment which plays a pivotal role in the nation’s economy.

In a digital-age “ribbon cutting” ceremony, the new center’s logo flashed on screen at the count of three. Center Manager Vo Cong Anh explained the Center's mission: “This center will coordinate closely with the VDIC to organize international conferences, help investors reduce cost, and assist government officials arrange meetings”.

On a recent visit to Tokyo, Mr. Nguyen Tuan Hoa, Vice Manger, said “For Vietnamese citizens, we would like to show them how they must think to develop. If they can understand from other countries’ examples, Vietnamese people can contribute”.

The Center brings an opportunity for the nearly 8 million people of Ho Chi Minh City to interact with the world through the GDLN.

With 9 sites connected, the ceremony opened with an address by Vietnam’s Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Thien Nhan. Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Vice Chairperson Nguyen Thi Thu Ha emphasized the growing importance of hi-tech in the Vietnamese economy, and expressed appreciation to the governments of Australia, Canada, Denmark and the World Bank for their assistance in making the Center a reality.

Mr. Laurent Msellati, Acting Country Director of the World Bank in Vietnam, said “These Centers reflect our commitment to fostering knowledge sharing and development, by facilitating exchanges between Vietnamese policy makers, academics and experts and their international counterparts, even if they are half way around the world.”

Representatives of the World Bank Institute in Washington D.C., ANU, CDDLN (China), AIM (Manila), TDLC, Chulalongkorn University (Bangkok) and others “gathered” via videoconference to celebrate.

“The launch of your Center is timely and awaited” said TDLC Manager Ryu Fukui, speaking from Tokyo. “Your Center represents a fast-growing Vietnam...We all want to know the secret of your excellent performance, so you are in a position to disseminate information to the world, not only to receive.”

Following the ceremony, youths in Vietnam and Japan held a dialog on “Youth Contributions to Sustainable Development – Consultations towards the G8 in Japan 2009” demonstrating one of the many ways in which the GDLN can help expand exchanges of ideas.

Mr. Nguyen Van Nien, Counselｌor of Education at the Embassy of Vietnam in Japan joined the session in Tokyo and congratulated the new center’s successful launch. “It is very symbolic that the first event held is for future leaders…you are the source of future prosperity. I hope this is just the beginning of your dialogs across countries, and that you will further expand networking through the power of the Global Development Learning Network”.

Students at the 2 sites in Vietnam, the Australian National University in Canberra, as well as 4 sites in Japan -- Yamaguchi University, Kwansei Gakuin University in Nishinomiya, Hokkaido University and the TDLC -- participated, with student groups each giving a presentation on their efforts regarding water, garbage, and other development issues. The presenter in Hanoi suggested a “Green Hanoi” campaign to tackle garbage in public, and law students in Ho Chi Minh proposed solutions for water resource management, including making the law strict and clear, setting up an education program, and rearranging the system of bridges and dams.