TRANSLATION 2

HÀ NỘI - In the context of instability in the world, Việt Nam needs to develop
its domestic market with the "Vietnamese people giving priority to using
Vietnamese products" campaign.

Trương Thị Ngọc Ánh, vice chairwoman of the Việt Nam Fatherland Front
Central Committee, said that at the workshop promoting growth and efficiency
in implementing the "Vietnamese people give priority to using Vietnamese
products" campaign, which was held on April 22 in Hà Nội.

At the workshop, Ánh said in 2021, six groups of tasks and solutions were
carried out according to the Central Communist Party's Directive 03 on
promoting the implementation of the campaign, to enhance production and
business, ensuring macro-economic stability and social security.

However, COVID-19 had not yet ended completely, meaning supply chains,
trade activities, production and business activities still faced many difficulties.

Instability in the world economic and political situation had also affected the
country's economic recovery after the pandemic.

As a result, the Vietnamese business community needed to actively

participate in the campaign to develop the domestic market, Ánh said.

“One of the basic solutions in developing the domestic market is to create a

chain connecting supply and demand. This is also one of the important
solutions to remove difficulties for production and business activities, and form
supply chains from production to consumption for enterprises," Ánh said.

"The chains will help recover the domestic economy and reach growth goals
as forecast, contributing to the efficient implementation of the campaign in the
new situation."

According to Võ Đại Lược, former director of the World Economic Institute, the
campaign has had a great effect on the Vietnamese business community,
especially private businesses and households. However, there are few
incentives for private enterprises and households, leading to many difficulties
and challenges for them.

Lược proposed that the Government provide supporting policies for

Vietnamese private enterprises and households.
Trần Thị Phương Lan, acting director of the Hà Nội Department of Industry
and Trade, said that it was necessary to connect business associations with
State management agencies so that the State could grasp the needs of the
businesses, thereby removing difficulties for them.

Lan recommended the State should improve the mechanisms and policies for
supporting the development of infrastructure, distribution systems, and
investment in product development. It should also have support for agricultural
production regions, and processing and logistics enterprises.

At the same time, it would be necessary to strengthen regional linkages,

thereby planning regional development policies to avoid an imbalance of
supply and demand.

The State also needed to enhance investment in the development of

commercial infrastructure, to avoid imbalances between urban and rural
areas.

In addition, it was necessary to focus on promoting the development of e-

commerce to stimulate the consumption of young people, Lan said. 

Mạc Quốc Anh, vice chairman and general secretary of the Hà Nội
Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, proposed that domestic
businesses needed to be more careful in the preparation of production and
distribution of goods, to ensure enough supply of products and services on the
domestic market.

Along with that, they needed to reorganise goods selling points for people to
promote market access in remote areas, he said. VNS

HẢI PHÒNG — As many as 600 high school students and 95 teachers in Ngô
Quyền District, the northern port city of Hải Phòng, will be equipped with
information technology skills in a project that kicked off on Friday.

The project "Improving Transferable Skills for Youth in Hải Phòng" was
launched by the World Vision Việt Nam and Hải Phòng Department of
Education and Training.
With a total value of US$245,850, the project, sponsored by Samsung SDS
Korea, will be implemented over 18 months, from this year to October next
year.

The project will also bring teachers and students other necessary soft skills to
improve student access, especially for those from vulnerable groups, to better
learning and employment opportunities.

"As the third-largest city in Việt Nam, Hải Phòng is one of the country's
technological, economic, educational, scientific, and commercial centres. In
the current digital age, more students in Hải Phòng are pursuing computer
science careers thanks to the early access to the STEM education
programmes at schools," said deputy director of Hải Phòng Department of
Education and Training Đỗ Văn Lợi.

STEM education includes science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

"Although computer labs and computer learning programmes have become

familiar in many high schools, as part of the STEM curricula, we still need to
further improve teaching and learning capacity to generate students' interest
and ignite their passion for computer programming. Simultaneously, it is also
fundamental to equip them with the necessary tools and resources to develop
STEM skills, allowing them to proactively embrace the 4.0 digital age's
innovations," Lợi added.

Faced with this situation and based on actual local needs, World Vision Việt
Nam will implement the project by leveraging its network of monitoring and
managing community-based activities and its long-term partnership with local
authorities.

This helps improve the capacity of students and teachers in information

technology, including computer programming, multimedia, digital marketing,
web design, and develops the ability for students and teachers to apply soft
skills to improve access to quality jobs such as communication skills, online
safety, teamwork, problem-solving, leadership and life skills.

“Besides supporting the set-up of computer rooms in schools, the project aims
to create a sustainable impact on the lives of children and the community.
Specifically, creating opportunities for students to pursue higher education
and enhancing teachers’ capacity to improve the training quality for future
generations in the long run, which will help better the general well-being of the
community, especially the most vulnerable groups," said World Vision Việt
Nam operations director Thân Thị Hà.

“Moreover, this is also the premise for many integration opportunities with the
world, bringing children life in all its fullness.” — VNS

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BÌNH ĐỊNH — The informal sector plays a pivotal role in Việt Nam's solid
waste management system as over 30 per cent of the waste is estimated to
be collected through this channel, and knowledge of the role and the needs of
informal networks in the waste management systems in Việt Nam is needed
to prepare for their potential integration into the evolving national and
international policy frameworks.

This information was shared at a recent workshop on "Lessons Learned from

Pilot Projects Working with Women Informal Waste Workers in Việt Nam" in
the central coastal Bình Định Province.

The workshop, which was part of the 'Rethinking Plastics' project co-hosted by
the Europe Union-Federal ministry for economic cooperation and
development of Germany (EU-BMZ) and UNDP Việt Nam, highlighted diverse
case studies, research and innovations in contributing to recognising the roles
and contributions of informal waste workers in the waste management value
chains.

In Việt Nam, the government issued Decree No. 08/2022/ND-CP on January

10, 2022, comprising chapters on waste management, Extended Producers
Responsibility (EPR) and incorporating the roadmap for the circular economy.

The introduction of a mechanism in the Law will reduce environmental

leakages and generate additional financial flows for increased collection and
recycling of packaging. The EPR may create opportunities and pose
challenges for the collectors and aggregators.

At the workshop, the pilot activities in the cities of Quy Nhơn City, HCM, Hạ
Long were introduced jointly with the non-profit organisations in charge of their
implementation.

They focused on strengthening the livelihoods of informal waste workers and

supporting their recognition and/or inclusion in the waste management
systems.