International Scientific Conference “Contemporary Issues in Sustainable Development”

Opening session on Zoom online screen

Sustainable development is increasingly becoming an inevitable trend of development in all fields as the world enters the 21st century, when people have to face many challenges from nature as well as society, especially in the period of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as now and in the following years. Research on sustainable development, from the perspective of applied sciences, has only stopped at the level of solving problems that are not thorough and approaching the problem from a single perspective (economic, environmental, social, etc.).

In response to the need for scientific awareness of sustainable development, of factors that can enhance or undermine sustainability today, the International Scientific Conference “Contemporary Issues in Sustainable Development 2021” is organized to share research results on sustainable development in Vietnam and around the world, raise a more correct and profound awareness of the nature of sustainable development, identify risks and find feasible solutions to address issues that threaten the sustainable development of the world. The conference is expected to bring insights from many aspects, providing solutions to issues arising with sustainable development in the practice of the country, region and the world.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pham Bao Son (Vice President of Vietnam National University, Hanoi) spoke at the Opening Session via Zoom, stating that CISD2021 creates a valuable forum for all scientists, researchers and experts in Vietnam and internationally to discuss different aspects of sustainable development.

Prof. Dr. Hoang Anh Tuan (Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities) spoke at the opening session, emphasizing that the University always considers contributing to the implementation of the United Nations' sustainable development goals as one of the priorities in its development strategy, improving its ranking.

Prof. Dr. Furuta Motoo (President of Vietnam-Japan University) spoke at the Opening Session, expressing his belief that the speakers and scientists would bring forth attractive and constructive ideas with much hope such as solutions based on nature combined with technology as well as the integration and synergy between major actions towards sustainable development.

At the Opening Session, representatives of the leaders of the units in the Organizing Committee highly appreciated the significance of the conference in providing a multidisciplinary forum to exchange research and academic ideas on an issue of global importance, which has an impact on many areas of social life, especially in the context of the world dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic. The conference is also an opportunity to promote close cooperation between researchers and scholars in VNU, with international scientists, especially Japanese experts. Academic events such as the Conference provide practical opportunities to promote science and technology work, contributing to the implementation of the national responsibility mission in the general development strategy and enhancing the academic position of VNU.
After the Opening Session, the Workshop was organized with 1 Plenary Session and 11 Special Sessions, focusing on the following issues: Social Sciences and Humanities in Sustainable Development; Sustainable Development Accounting and Environmental Auditing; Green Finance & Banking; Green Growth and Circular Economy; Human Resource Policy and Sustainable Development Strategy; Environmental Management and Engineering; Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation; Sustainable Agriculture and Food Safety; Sustainable Materials and Green Processing for Energy Conversion; Medical Sciences and Healthcare; Sustainability Trends in the Impact of the Covid 19 Pandemic.
In the first presentation of the plenary session “Energy for Sustainable Development in the Anthropocene”, Prof. Kensuke Fukushi, University of Tokyo pointed out the limitations of fossil fuels and the advantages of renewable energy. He argued that various technologies need to be developed to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy. A very attractive and well-researched case study in Japan was presented to create a scenario of an “energy-independent island” as renewable energy promotes new business opportunities.
Through his presentation "Integrating Mitigation and Adaptation towards Climate-Resilient Development", Professor Mimura from Ibaraki University affirmed that both mitigation and adaptation are important for climate change measures. Moreover, their integration will bring more efficiency to establish a new development model "Climate-Resilient Development". He started with the latest knowledge of ICPP as well as introduced the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics of Dr. Shukuro Manabe. He pointed out the two pillars of climate change response measures: mitigation and adaptation, the integration of these two, and the importance of climate-resilient societies in a sustainable world.

Speakers participating in the Plenary Session of the Conference via Zoom

Through his presentation "Integrating Mitigation and Adaptation towards Climate-Resilient Development", Professor Mimura from Ibaraki University affirmed that both mitigation and adaptation are important for climate change measures. Moreover, their integration will bring more efficiency to establish a new development model "Climate-Resilient Development". He started with the latest knowledge of ICPP as well as introduced the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics of Dr. Shukuro Manabe. He pointed out the two pillars of climate change response measures: mitigation and adaptation, the integration of these two, and the importance of climate-resilient societies in a sustainable world.
Prof. Mai Trong Nhuan, Director of the Master's Program on Climate Change and Sustainable Development, Vietnam-Japan University, pointed out the importance of challenges to building a resilient and low-carbon society (LCRS) along with climate change response (CCR) and sustainable development (SD) with his presentation on "Building a Resilient and Low-Carbon Society for Better Climate Change Response and Sustainable Development". Along with presenting opportunities to build LCRS by introducing interesting processes such as circular thinking, balancing and harmonizing social, biological and technological fields..., Prof. Mai Trong Nhuan explained the effectiveness of creating synergy between the three pillars of EP (environmental protection), CCR and SD which have been recognized in Vietnamese policies and laws.
Opening the afternoon session on December 7, there was a presentation on the topic “Developing Green Investment Funds - International Experience and Policy Implications for Vietnam” by Mr. Nguyen Hai Nam, Standing Member of the National Assembly's Economic Committee. Mr. Nguyen Hai Nam's speech emphasized the role of the green financial system, green banks and green investment funds in promoting green investment and green economy in Vietnam, as well as the strong commitment from the highest levels of leadership of the Government and the National Assembly of Vietnam on sustainable development and adaptation to climate change.

Next is the presentation on “Experiences in auditing the implementation of sustainable development goals in Vietnam” by Dr. Vu Van Hoa, Deputy Auditor General, State Audit of Vietnam. In the presentation, the Deputy Auditor General especially emphasized the solutions to implement the sustainable development goals of the State Audit of Vietnam, in which the solution of Strengthening international cooperation activities both bilaterally and multilaterally and promoting research and application of science and technology to develop new methods of collecting audit evidence was emphasized to implement the sustainable development goals.
At the final session, Prof. Dr. Le Ngoc Hung, University of Education, VNU, presented the issues of “Education in Vietnam: practical issues and innovation policies”. After analyzing the limitations in the Vietnamese education system mentioned, Prof. Hung pointed out the inequality in educational opportunities and the number of workers without higher qualifications and education. The speaker proposed recommendations to balance the attention and investment in education quality, the inequality in educational opportunities should be prioritized in the education policy reform agenda, the need to expand access to higher education and reform fundamentally and comprehensively so that no one is left behind.

Representatives of the Organizing Committee took photos at the bridge point of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities

At the Workshop, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities chaired the Special Session "Social Sciences and Humanities in Sustainable Development" consisting of 3 parallel sub-committees: (i) Political, religious and international issues; (ii) Historical and cultural issues; (iii) Educational issues.