PRESS RELEASE
February 22, 2010
Hanoi - Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) is celebrating two decades of collaboration with the Vietnamese government and research partners on February 25, 2010 during a conference at the Intercontinental Hotel Hanoi Westlake, Hanoi. The conference also celebrates IDRC’s 40th anniversary in 2010.
The media is invited to attend this conference. Please register with the media contact below.
The conference will showcase the results of some key research projects supported by the IDRC in the areas of economic policy, information and communication technologies, environmental sustainability, climate change, and emerging infectious diseases. The keynote address will be delivered by Mr Nguyen Van Phuc, Vice Chairman, Economic Committee, The National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Speakers also include Her Excellency, Ms Deanna Horton, Canadian Ambassador to Vietnam, Dr Le Dinh Tien, Vice-Minister, Ministry of Science and Technology, Vietnam, and Dr Rohinton Medhora, Vice-President, Programs at IDRC.
The conference includes a forum to launch a climate change vulnerability map and results of a cross-country project on adaptation supported by IDRC. This research on climate change was carried out in several Southeast Asia countries, including Vietnam.
Cooperation between IDRC and Vietnam began in 1990 with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between IDRC and the Ministry of Science and Technology. Since then IDRC has supported close to 100 projects in Vietnam, worth more than CAD$24 million. Numerous Vietnamese institutions have collaborated with IDRC, including the Vietnamese Academy of Social Sciences, the Vietnam Socio-Economic Development Centre, the National Institute for Veterinary Research, and many universities.
“Vietnam has made impressive progress in the last two decades,” says Dr Medhora. “I am proud that Canada’s IDRC has been able to work with local researchers and research institutions who have helped to guide and contribute to Vietnam’s development over this period. We plan to continue investing in building the capacity of Vietnamese researchers to tackle new development challenges they now face – such as climate change adaptation, and fostering science, technology and innovation.”
Event details
Celebrating 20 Years of Partnership in Vietnam
Thursday, February 25, 2010
15:00 – 20:00
Intercontinental Hanoi Westlake Hotel
1A Nghi Tam, Tay Ho District
Hanoi, Vietnam
Full Program follows.
For media enquiries, contact:
Ms Vivien Chiam
Partnership and Communications Manager
International Development Research Centre
Regional Office for Southeast and East Asia
Singapore
Email: [email protected]
Tel: +65 6594-3709 +65 9760-6821
Ms Isabelle Bourgeault-Tasse
Senior Media Advisor
International Development Research Centre
Head Office
Ottawa
Email: [email protected]
Tel: +613-696-2343
Ms Vu Thi Hai Anh
Public Affairs Officer
Embassy of Canada
Hanoi
Email: [email protected]
Tel: +84 4 3734-5022
About IDRC
Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) is one of the world’s leading institutions in the generation and application of new knowledge to meet the challenges of international development. For 40 years, IDRC has worked in close collaboration with researchers from the developing world to build healthier, more equitable, and more prosperous societies. Its Regional Office for Southeast and East Asia, which has been based in Singapore since 1971, is one of six regional offices worldwide. www.idrc.ca.
BACKGROUNDER
IDRC in Vietnam: 20 years of collaboration
IDRC began supporting research in Vietnam in the early 1990s, shortly after the country began the transition to a market economy. This important period provided an opportunity to help build capacity for economic research and policymaking, and to involve coastal and uplands communities in the management of the natural resources they depend on for their livelihood.
Today, IDRC support is helping:
- The disadvantaged access to natural resources
- Migrant women protect their rights
- Small poultry producers better control bird flu
- Farmers find alternatives to growing tobacco
- Policymakers reduce poverty
Some examples:
In the early 1990s when Vietnamese economists found that their skills were lacking for the new market system, IDRC was the first donor agency to respond with training support to Vietnam’s economic research centres. In so doing, IDRC helped to lay the foundation for the Viet Nam Economic Research Network (VERN), which has nurtured the capacity of a generation of economists to produce high-quality, policy-relevant research. VERN’s studies and policy briefs are now often used by senior Vietnamese officials, for example, in trade negotiations.
In 1994, IDRC was a key partner in establishing the first Internet provider in the country, Netnam, which promoted Internet services to the public, offering free e-mail and charging academic users a low access price. NetNam later diversified its business by undertaking networking projects for academic organizations.
In the early 2000s, Vietnam’s Fisheries College No. 4 and Newfoundland’s College of the North Atlantic created the country’s first Internet-based, distance education service for rural learners.
Canadian and Vietnamese researchers are collaborating to help improve the well-being of Vietnamese women who emigrate for work or marriage. Early findings point to a need for greater monitoring of compliance with labour laws in receiving countries and to the difficulties faced by women in failed marriages.
Vietnam is also one of the countries carrying out research on climate change adaptation. Research results will be discussed during a forum at the February 25 conference.
The event will also mark the launch of the Vietnamese edition of “In Focus: Fighting Poverty with Facts,” which details the implementation of a poverty-reducing monitoring system, led in Vietnam by the Vietnam Socio-Economic Development Centre, Hanoi.
IDRC 40TH ANNIVERSARY
Intercontinental Hotel Hanoi Westlake
Hanoi, Vietnam
CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF PARTNERSHIP IN VIETNAM
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Program
3.00PM Guests to be seated; Welcome by Host
3.05PM Introductory Remarks
Her Excellency, Ms Deanna L. Horton, Canadian Ambassador to Vietnam
Dr Le Dinh Tien, Vice Minister – Ministry of Science and Technology
3.15PM IDRC Welcome Remarks
Dr Rohinton Medhora, Vice-President–Programs, IDRC Head Office, Canada
3.25PM Introduction of keynote speaker: by Dr Nguyen Thang, Director, Centre for Analysis and Forecasting, Vietnamese Academy of Social Sciences, and Director, Vietnam Economic Research network (VERN)
3.30PM Keynote address: “Research for Development and the Future of the Vietnamese Economy”
Mr Nguyen Van Phuc, Vice Chairman, Economic Committee, The National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Discussion
4.00PM Coffee/Tea Break (served at the tables)
4.15PM Launch of Climate Change Vulnerability Map and Results of Cross-Country Project on Adaptation Behaviour
Introduction by panel moderator – Mr Richard Fuchs, Regional Director, IDRC Regional Office for Southeast and East Asia
The SEA Climate Change Vulnerability Map: Dr. Herminia Francisco & Dr Arief Anshory Yusuf, Economy and Environment Program for Southeast Asia
Synthesis of the Cross-country Adaptation Behavior Research: Research Team Representatives
Discussion: Panelists
Q & A forum
5.55PM Closing Remarks by Mr Richard Fuchs
6.00PM Launch of the Vietnamese version of: “In_Focus: Fighting Poverty with Facts”
Dr Evan Due, Senior Program Specialist, IDRC Regional Office for Southeast and East Asia, & Dr Vu Tuan Anh, Vietnam CBMS Team Leader, and Executive Director, Vietnam Socio-Economic Development Centre, Hanoi.
6.15PM Viewing of Poster Displays by IDRC Research Partners in Vietnam
And Networking Cocktail Reception
