The 1st Follow-up seminar for participants of the 1st and 2nd training programs in Japan

The first follow-up seminar for participants of the first and second training programs was held in Hanoi on 6 November.

The seminar was co-chaired by Dr. Vu Thanh Son, Director General of the Training Department of the Central Committee of Organizations of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CCOP), and Mr. HIRAOKA Hisakazu, Senior Representative of the JICA Vietnam Office, with 24 training participants in attendance.

From Japan, Dr. NAKAMURA Akira, Professor Emeritus, and Dr. NISHIMURA Wataru of Meiji University and Professor KAMIKO Akio of Ritsumeikan University, who had served as instructors during the training in Japan, visited Vietnam to lead the seminar and discussion.

In preparation for the seminar, the participants had previously prepared reports on how they had applied the knowledge gained during the training in Japan and the challenges they had faced. On the basis of these reports, the discussions focused on three key topics of great interest to the participants: "urban development", "administrative reform" and "waste management".

During the seminar, participants shared concrete examples of their activities, such as, "We have introduced a smartphone app to manage the classification, collection and fee collection of household waste" and "Since large-scale urban development takes time, we are focusing on revitalizing restaurants to double their income". These examples reflected their concrete plans and proactive approaches to address local challenges.
In addition to recognizing the participants' achievements, the Japanese professors emphasized the importance of not only continuing existing efforts, but also having an innovative perspective, actively emulating and incorporating the good efforts of those around them. The professor also emphasized the long-term value of the connections made with fellow participants, advising that these relationships could benefit their work decades later and should therefore be nurtured.

It was clear that the participants, reunited after some time, were engaged in lively conversations with no shortage of topics to discuss before and after the seminar. Holding a follow-up seminar at this time proved to be a useful opportunity to share updates and challenges. This exchange will play an important role in promoting the future activities of the participants.