Workshop on Social Development Management in the Central Highlands

The workshop was part of Project TN3/X07 “Issues of Social Development and Social Development Management in the Central Highlands,” led by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pham Ngoc Thanh, and took place on April 12, 2013. There were 22 presentations from experts and scientists in various fields: policy science, management science, development science, culture, ethnology, sociology, etc.In his introductory report to the workshop, Associate Professor Pham Ngoc Thanh affirmed that the Central Highlands is a strategically important region in terms of economics, politics, national defense, security, culture, society, and environment; it is a land of many changes that profoundly affect the development of the entire country and the region. One of the important issues, with immediate and long-term significance, affecting the entire process of resolving the common problems of the Central Highlands is how to develop and manage social development to achieve sustainable development goals. This requires new perceptions and new social policies for the Central Highlands communities; it demands a renewal of thinking and a new approach in planning and implementing policies for the Central Highlands, making the Central Highlands truly a "common home" for all ethnic groups on the path to sustainable development.

The workshop focused on the following main topics: methodological perspectives and practical research approaches to social development and sustainable social development management in the Central Highlands; international and domestic experiences in social development and management in this special region during the reform process; specific issues and recommendations for sustainable social development in the Central Highlands. The presentations offered diverse perspectives: Prof. Dr. Nguyen Huu Khien (National Academy of Public Administration) addressed the impact of social policies on the sustainable development of the Central Highlands; Prof. Dr. Pham Tat Dong discussed social security issues – difficulties and proposed solutions; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pham Ngoc Thanh (University of Social Sciences and Humanities) discussed poverty, inequality, and challenges in sustainable development in the Central Highlands; Prof. Dr. Le Thi Quy (University of Social Sciences and Humanities) highlighted the role of the family in the development of ethnic minority regions in Vietnam; Dr. Bui Van Quyen spoke about the main impacts of science and technology on the development of the Central Highlands from 1986 to the present; Dr. Tran Van Hai (University of Social Sciences and Humanities) argued that it is necessary to strengthen the legal system to meet the development requirements of the Central Highlands in the current period; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Duy Thieu (Museum of Ethnology) analyzed and identified the traditional cultural values ​​of the Central Highlands; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Le Si Giao (University of Social Sciences and Humanities) compared social management in the Northwest and the Central Highlands in many aspects; Dr. Buon Krong Tuyet Nhung (Tay Nguyen University) emphasized the relationship between customary law and development management in the Central Highlands during the period of reform and international integration; ...