Friday, July 29th, 2005
Tokyo, Hanoi Students Hold Second Video Conference
Plans Discussed for Joint Field Trip in Vietnam
The Asian Development Youth Forum (ADYF) held its second video conference on July 29, 2005, in collaboration with Vietnamese students in Hanoi, connecting the TDLC in Tokyo with the Vietnam Development Information Center in Hanoi.
About 40 participants from ADYF and supporting groups such as AISEC Japan and JVF-net, a group of Vietnamese students studying in Japan, gathered at the TDLC in Tokyo. Students in Hanoi who have been associated with ADYF activities in Vietnam were introduced at the meeting. Both student groups hope to exchange information about development policy and NGO activities. Members also discussed plans for a joint field trip in Vietnam, scheduled to take place this summer.
With support from the TDLC, ADYF carried out its first video conference with Hanoi in May, 2005, to discuss rural development and environmental policy. Hiroshi Sensaki, a university student and member of ADYF, looks back on this experience and says, "When you talk to someone face to face via video, you feel like you've shared a great deal of time together, even though you've never actually met. That's important when you are working together on the same program". After the first conference, members found it easier to start communicating with their counterparts in Vietnam by e-mail.
