The workshop attracted the participation of many scientists from universities around the world and in the country: University of California, Yale (USA), School of Practical Graduate Studies (France), University of Toronto (Netherlands), Hue University of Sciences (Hue), Ho Chi Minh City University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Ho Chi Minh City), RMIT University Vietnam, Institute of Cultural Studies, Institute of Ethnology, Institute of Vietnamese Studies and Development Sciences, Museum of Ethnology. Attending the workshop were many lecturers, graduate students, researchers, students from the Faculty of Anthropology and other faculties/departments in the university. The workshop was held directly at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities and online via the Zoom platform.
Live Conference scene at the meeting room of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities
In his opening speech, Prof. Dr. Hoang Anh Tuan (Rector) emphasized the significance of the Workshop: Urban development or cities is one of the research subjects with high scientific and practical significance in the fields of social sciences and humanities. By approaching ethnography, based on sharp viewpoints and theoretical systems, anthropologists have made in-depth analyses and thorough explanations of many aspects of cities and urbanized communities in many places in Vietnam and some countries in the region and the world. The Workshop has just updated the results of recent anthropological research on urban areas in the world and Vietnam; Pointed out the challenges and proposed multi-dimensional solutions to contribute to solving the limitations or challenges of cities and urban areas in the context of globalization in Vietnam today. Principal Hoang Anh Tuan also expressed his deep gratitude for the support of the National Foundation for Science and Technology Development (NAFOSTED), the Institute of Cultural Research, and the French Institute for Development Research (IRD) in many scientific research activities, organizing seminars, and publishing monographs.
Principal Hoang Anh Tuan emphasized in his speech: the theme of the Conference on traditional and modern urban areas has high scientific and practical significance.
The workshop was conducted in 3 sessions: Plenary session and divided into 4 sub-committees, focusing on exchanging and discussing some main issues: Urban changes in contemporary Vietnam; Socio-economic dynamics in Vietnamese urban areas; Cultural dynamics in contemporary Vietnamese urban areas; Collective housing areas in Hanoi. With 18 reports presented and many opinions exchanged, discussed enthusiastically and openly, the workshop shared new research results, and together with delegates exchanged and interpreted key academic and policy-oriented contents from discoveries about cities in Vietnam in the context of globalization from a contemporary and historical perspective.
Prof. Christina Schwenkel (University of California, Riverside, USA) presented a very vivid report on the old apartment buildings of Hanoi and Vinh (Nghe An).
The story of the apartment buildings in Hanoi is the most important topic, attracting the attention of delegates, and enthusiastically discussed in the workshop (Photo: Tuoi Tre Online)
Through studies, it has been shown that: urban areas in Vietnam and in the world today have changed very rapidly in terms of role, function, architecture, economic activities, cultural life, and population composition; there is a mixture and parallel existence of traditional values. Therefore, the issue of developing urban areas in a modern, dynamic direction, meeting the increasingly diverse needs of people but preserving and developing traditional values of history, culture, politics, art, etc. for sustainable development is considered a central issue of large cities in the world, not only in Vietnam. The authors also give typical examples of old urban areas in Hanoi, Nghe An and Ho Chi Minh City that have degraded and damaged, but they also have certain historical, cultural and artistic significance, reflecting many aspects of social life in a certain period. The big question is how to preserve part of the old urban areas during the development of new urban areas in Hanoi as well as other cities while still ensuring safety.
Based on that multidimensional view, the authors also propose a number of specific solutions to both preserve cultural, historical and traditional values while ensuring the dynamism, modernity and sustainable development of urban areas.
Concluding the workshop, on behalf of the Organizing Committee, Dr. Nguyen Vu Hoang (Deputy Head of the Department of Anthropology), partner units, research institutes, educational organizations, domestic and foreign scientists have accompanied and supported in organizing the successful workshop. The workshop has clarified many issues and suggested many new research directions for the topic that has long been of great interest to researchers: contemporary urban areas in a multidimensional, interdisciplinary perspective, while at the same time providing comprehensive solutions for the development of urban areas. The research topics and scientific issues are new, with breakthroughs in the approach to anthropological research on urban areas. Dr. Nguyen Vu Hoang said that after the workshop, these reports will be edited by the authors and the Expert Committee will continue to provide comments and feedback to aim at publishing them as a good monograph for the social sciences and humanities.
Dr. Nguyen Vu Hoang delivered the closing speech, emphasizing some of the main contents that delegates reported, commented and discussed at the Workshop.
Delegates attending the conference took a souvenir photo
