Vice President of Ford Foundation visits and works at the School

The reception and working session with Ms. Alison R. Bernstein – Vice President of Ford Foundation – was held on the afternoon of May 14, 2008. Attending the meeting were Associate Professor Dr. Pham Gia Lam, Associate Professor Dr. Lam Ba Nam, heads of programs sponsored by Ford Foundation and a number of lecturers and students of the Film Project.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pham Gia Lam highly appreciated the role of the Ford Foundation in the international projects of the University. Since 1999, the Ford Foundation has funded the University with 5 projects with a total budget of more than 1.3 million USD (accounting for nearly 60% of the funding that the University has received from international projects).

At the meeting, the two sides focused on discussing the activities of the Film Project. According to Mr. Tran Hinh (project manager), promoting the strengths of the School in social sciences and humanities, the Film Project currently focuses mainly on the fields of screenwriting and film criticism. With the support of the Ford Foundation, the establishment of the film project both meets the needs of society and creates job opportunities for many students.

Currently, the film project is actively preparing, building curriculum, training programs and teaching staff so that the School can establish undergraduate and postgraduate training majors in film (expected in 2010).

At the end of the meeting, in addition to appreciating and affirming the creativity of the project, Ms. Bernstein also expressed her ability to continue supporting and hoped that the School's projects would soon develop independently.