Preventing flash floods and landslides a priority; 1.64 million to get vocational training in 2009-2010; Senior Vietnamese officials learn about int’l press; Joint effort needed to prevent climate change;

On the morning of September 15, the eight storm of the year moved close to the coast of Guangdong province, then made a landfall in Guangxi province, China.

The strongest gusts of wind were estimated to have reached gale force 11 and 12 but in the north of the Tonkin Gulf gusts only recorded gale force 6 or 7. Some Vietnamese provinces would be affected by the storm and heavy rains.

Bui Minh Tang, director of the National Hydrometeorological Forecasting Centre said that on the evening of September 15, the north-western region stretching from Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, Lang Son, Cao Bang and Bac Giang province would be hit by heavy rains threatening to hit the whole northern region on September 16. Although the storm

has not directly hit Vietnam, it will cause heavy rains in the northern border provinces. Local people need to brace themselves for flash floods and landslides.

*** On September 14, border guards in the provinces stretching from Quang Ninh to Thua Thien-Hue city fired flares to warn of the coming storm and worked tirelessly with the

local authorities to tell 31,465 vessels with 118,000 fishermen on board to find shelter.

*** The Storm and Flood Prevention and Control Steering Board in Hai Phong City urged all localities to inform vessels at sea about the storm and help them to find shelter.

*** The Central province of Binh Dinh has spent VND5.5 billion reinforcing its dyke system.

1.64 million to get vocational training in 2009-2010

The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs has issued an instruction to promote vocational training during the new academic year (2009-2010).

According to the directive, there needs to be a breakthrough in vocational training. Vocational colleges and schools must focus on the quality of the training they offer so the country has a qualified and skilled workforce that can meet the strict requirements demanded by the labour market, especially in industrial zones and export processing zones.

This year’s target is to train 1.64 million people, 70,000 at vocational colleges, 235,000 at vocational secondary schools and the other 1.335 million should receive long-term training on a part time basis.

The Ministry also asked vocational schools and colleges to overhaul their training programmes and work with businesses in order to find workers jobs after they finish their training courses.

Senior Vietnamese officials learn about int’l press

A training course on journalism opened in Hanoi on September 14 for senior Vietnamese government officials to help them better communicate with the world press.

The three-day training course was co-organised by the Foreign Ministry and the international German multimedia corporation, the WAZ Group, which has had a presence in Vietnam since 2007, and Germany’s international broadcaster – Deutsche Welle. The workshop aims to facilitate communication between the government and the media in the course of Vietnam’s deeper integration into the global community.

Speaking at the event, Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem described the course as a practical and useful activity to contribute to further improving Vietnamese senior officials’ management capacity in their dealings with foreign news services and in public relations.

He emphasised that the Government has instructed ministries, centrally-run agencies and localities to appoint their own spokesperson who is in charge of providing news and information to the press.

The Deputy PM underscored that “these spokespersons need to be trained with the professional and language skills needed to provide information to foreign news services in order to better serve the country in the new circumstances.”

More than 100 senior officials are participating in this course and they will be provided with fundamental knowledge of the modern press, and methods to establish ties with the press inside and outside the country in addition to various other communication skills.

Apart from learning theory, the participants will also practise their skills on writing press releases and communicating with the press, under the guidance of experienced Vietnamese, German and European experts.

The course, after taking place in Hanoi, will be held in Ho Chi Minh City from September 21 to 23.

French language course for tourism opens in Ho Chi Minh City

A tourism training course for teachers of the French language opened at the Asia-Pacific French Language Centre of the Ho Chi Minh City Pedagogical College on September 14.

The four-day course involves twenty-six French language lecturers from universities in Hanoi, Hue, Da Nang and Nha Trang and six foreign lecturers from Thailand, Cambodia and Laos.

The trainees will learn about the social environment of tourism, basic concepts of French for tourism and methods of selecting teaching materials, and tapping supplemental sources, such as the Internet and other media.

The training programme aims to improve the lecturers’ knowledge of the language needs in the tourism sector, and develop the quality of teaching French for tourism at universities in Vietnam and other regional countries.

The course is jointly organised by the Ho Chi Minh City Pedagogical College, the Francophone Organisation and the Francophone University Agency with support from the French Embassy in Vietnam.

Joint effort needed to prevent climate change

A number of domestic and overseas experts on the environment and climate change are gathering in central Da Nang City to share their experiences in responding to climate change.

The first workshop of the Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network (ACCCRN) has been jointly organised from Sept. 14-16 by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the Da Nang City People’s Committee and the Rockefeller Foundation.

Representatives from 10 cities in Thailand, India, Indonesia and Vietnam selected to join the ACCCRN project also took part in the workshop. Da Nang City, Can Tho City and Binh Dinh province in Vietnam are among the 10 targeted areas.

The workshop agenda covered a series of issues related to climate change in Vietnam, its national response and policies, climate change scenarios, national programmes, climate change vulnerability in participating cities, an overview of India by ACCCRN, as well as lessons learned by Vietnam.

Blind Association receives Presidential gift

A Piaggio LX 125 made in Vietnam has been donated to the Vietnam Blind Association by State President Nguyen Minh Triet.

The motorbike was a gift from the Piaggio Vietnam Company to President Triet as he hosted a reception for the company’s General Director Constantino Sambuy on July 13.

After receiving the President’s gift on September 14, the President of the Blind Association, Dao Soat, expressed his thanks to the President for his thoughtfulness towards the blind and visually-impaired.

Soat pledged that his association will make a greater effort to develop its membership so it can help blind people across the country.

Established in 1969, the Blind Association now has 43 chapters and more than 60,000 members.

PV