Principal Professor Pham Quang Minh attended the launching ceremony of Facebook's Digital Age Thinking and Digital Safety Program in Vietnam.

FB4VN is the first comprehensive campaign dedicated to Vietnam to reinforce Facebook’s long-term commitment to Vietnam, as well as celebrate the 25th anniversary of Vietnam-US diplomatic relations. The program will be implemented on several main pillars: Safety and Digital Skills, Digital Economy, Innovation, Supporting Smart Cities, and Facebook for the Community.

The Digital Mindset program aims to provide knowledge about digital communication, privacy, safety and wellness, as well as improve information literacy, critical thinking and empathy in the online environment. The three main pillars of the program are: How to raise awareness about digital thinking; How to educate about digital thinking; Leadership thinking.

Sharing about the Program, Mr. Ruici Tio (Asia-Pacific Policy Program Manager, Facebook Group) said: We believe that equipping users, especially young people, with knowledge and skills for the digital future is extremely important. In line with that mission, Facebook has developed the "Digital Mindset" program and we are extremely excited to expand this program to Vietnam and contribute to building a generation of responsible digital citizens. We collaborate with experts in the region to create resources and training materials to develop a community of responsible digital citizens, equipped with skills to help them navigate the digital world.

Appreciating the role of Vietnamese partners in the process of Facebook developing and implementing the Digital Thinking program, Mr. Ruici Tio said: Domestic partners have played an extremely important role in the development journey, making the program useful and influential. We are very pleased to cooperate with Vietnet Information Technology - Communication Center, University of Social Sciences and Humanities - VNU, HOCMAI Education System and ISDS Institute for Social Development Studies in this program. It is extremely important that partners from the private sector, the public sector or civil society organizations join hands to bring digital citizenship skills to local communities, especially the young generation.

During the ceremony there was a discussion session between guests on the topic:Promoting digital literacy and digital safety awareness training through multilateral cooperationto discuss the importance and necessity of digital citizenship and digital safety skills, the role of different ministries/sectors/agencies in promoting digital citizenship and digital safety skills, and possible plans to create a safer and more informed online community in Vietnam.

Mrs. Phuong Chi-Public Policy Manager, Facebook shared new points in the implementation of the Digital Age Thinking program in 2020 in Vietnam: Firstly, the program targets a new audience, which is to enhance the role of parents in enhancing children's online safety awareness. Secondly, for the first time, Facebook has included the Digital Age Thinking program in the university training program based on cooperation with the University of Social Sciences and Humanities - VNU. Thirdly, the program content will be posted on an online education platform in Vietnam, creating free courses that anyone can access.

Answering the question about the role of digital citizenship skills in helping Vietnamese university students succeed in the future, Prof. Dr. Pham Quang Minh - Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities - VNU shared his opinion: We are living in the digital age, so we need digital citizens with skills, understanding, knowledge about digital space and how to behave in digital space. Students aged 18-22 will be the pillars, the future owners of this digital age, so they need to be equipped with digital knowledge and thinking. Information today is soft power, and whoever can grasp and effectively use this soft power plays an important role.

With 3 billion customers worldwide, including more than 60 million Vietnamese users, Facebook is a technology corporation with great influence. They have been implementing a meaningful program with profound impacts on raising awareness of today's young generation. This is a transnational issue, requiring multilateral and multi-subject cooperation. The University of Social Sciences and Humanities is pleased to participate in the program, contributing to promoting Vietnam to become a digital nation in the future.

Sharing about the cooperation with Facebook, the Principal informed: 4 years ago, the School established the Internet and Society Program to conduct research on the impact of social networks on young people. In 2019, a delegation of the School's staff visited and worked at Facebook Singapore, starting an official cooperation with Facebook in building content and bringing knowledge about Digital Capacity to university students in Vietnam. This knowledge is not only organized into official subjects, targeting different student groups in the School, but also integrated into extracurricular activities and student club activities in various forms. Thereby, the School hopes to contribute to the multi-dimensional dissemination of information about Digital Thinking and Digital Capacity in the student community from North to South.