University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU Hanoi

https://ussh.vnu.edu.vn

Irish Aid's Director-General presents at USSH

On May 16th, 2019, USSH received Irish Aid's Director-General - Mr. Ruairi de Burca to give a presentation at the University.

In the meeting before the presentation, Prof.Dr Pham Quang Minh (USSH's Rector) introduced to Mr. Ruairi de Burca about USSH's cooperative projects with the Ireland's universities, with an emphasis on the Project "Cooperation in building capacity for the main aspects of International Studies at USSH" in collaboration with University College Cork (UCC) sponsored by Irish Aid

Mr. Ruairi de Burca's presentation provided an overview of Ireland's new international development policy called "A better world". It sets out the priorities as gender equality, reducing humanitarian need, climate action, and strengthened governance. With each priority, Ireland identities the goals and respective ways to realize them. For example, for gender equality, Ireland will strengthen its influence on gender equality by increasing allocations for direct gender interventions and integration of gender across all its programs; increasingly focusing on Women, Peace and Security and GBV; developing a Women's Economic Empowerment Initiative; prioritizing girls' education in its education support; and developing new initiative on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR).

Mr. Ruairi de Burca delivers his presentation

Along with the above priorities, Ireland deploys a set of interventions split into three areas: protection (conflict prevention and peace, disaster response, and fragility and crises), food (sustainable food systems, agriculture and markets, and inclusive economic growth); and people (education and skills, health/AIDS and SRHR, and social protection)

On the context leading to this new policy, Mr. Ruairi de Burca said, in the current multilateral world order, the world is changing dramatically. Along with the developments of technology, digitalization and the future of work are global problems such as conflict, human rights abuse, climate change, poverty and inequality, migration and displacement, uncertainty, and changes in the methods of finding financial sources and extending influences.

In this context, international development cooperation becomes a focal point of Ireland's foreign policy. Ireland would like to joint its partners in their global efforts to respond to the development challenges, contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals, and realize humanitarian and related goals and policies. It strives to deliver 0.7% of its Gross National Income (GNI) to ODA by 2030. With the motto "furthest behind first", Ireland's international development policy reflects its will to extend its influential support on a global scale, beyond its territories.

After the presentation, Mr. Ruairi de Burca received questions and comments from the audience on such issues as the chances for cooperation between Vietnam-Ireland educational institutions in training social activists and entrepreneurs; the holding of Vietnam-Ireland cultural exchanges, including literary exchanges; the important aspects of a national development policy such as governance model, civil society and cultural diversity; the importance of social and human capital in a each nation's development policy along with the need to improve the capacity of social workers; and undergraduate and graduate scholarships from Ireland's universities.

The Irish Aid Program is managed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The program of bilateral cooperation with Vietnam was established in 2005 when Ireland opened an Embassy in Hanoi and Vietnam became an Irish Aid Key Partner Country.  The bilateral relationship between Ireland and Vietnam has been built on a very positive development cooperation partnership which has centered on reducing poverty among ethnic minority communities, sharing the experience of Ireland’s development through exchange between Irish and Vietnamese economic and social institutions, providing scholarship opportunities for talented young Vietnamese, and supporting Vietnam’s emerging civil society. 

Author: Tran Minh

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