Project News

Following the Minutes of Understanding (MOU) between SUSFORM-NOW and Tay Bac University (TBU), two lecturers visited Dien Bien on the 25th of July, 2011, to discuss with the project staff on the specific tasks entrusted by SUSFORM-NOW to their students as the project's Monitoring Volunteers (MV). Under the MOU, the University lecturers are expected to provide their students with necessary support and assistances on the survey and their daily life.

On the 26th - 28th of July, 2011, TBU lecturers accompanied SUSFORM-NOW's visit to the project sites. The lecturers instructed students on the observation and field-notes taking approaches for the project. Both the lecturers and MV also observed the village meetings organized by the project that discussed on the implementation of livelihood improvement activities. It was a good opportunity for the lecturers to directly guide their students with a real example. Besides, Ms. Maki TSUMAGARI, the livelihood development expert, also had some useful suggestions to the students. After listening to the briefing by the lecturers and Ms. Maki, who emphasized that their field-notes should focus on the initial activities of the project and the daily life of the villagers, MV seemed to have constructed better understanding on their assignments.

After the three-day visit to the project sites, TBU lectures and project team had visited all the MV and answered every question. Hopefully, the students will submit informative reports that feed into the success of SUSFORM-NOW.