Notable attendees included Deputy Minister of Education and Training Pham Ngoc Thuong and Vice Chairwoman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Tran Thi Dieu Thuy.
During the opening ceremony, Vice Chairwoman Tran Thi Dieu Thuy highlighted the goals of the Lifelong Learning Week in 2024. She emphasized the importance of continuing to promote a widespread learning movement across all segments of the population. This initiative aims to enhance people's awareness of the significance of nurturing a reading culture, advocating for lifelong learning, and diversifying the space, time, methods, and forms of learning.
She added that in 2024, Ho Chi Minh City was honored to be recognized by UNESCO as a member of the global learning cities network. In addition, the city was also recognized by the Ministry of Education and Training as meeting the standards of universal education and eliminating illiteracy.
To sustain the achievements, every citizen must collaborate to build a city that is continuously learning and evolving. The foremost priority is to cultivate a reading culture and encourage lifelong learning for progress and sustainable development, said Vice Chairwoman Tran Thi Dieu Thuy.
Accordingly, the government and organizations need to promote and innovate information and propaganda activities on the importance and role of developing a reading culture and promoting lifelong learning while diversifying library services in schools and localities.
Furthermore, traditional teaching methods alone are no longer sufficient to equip students with the skills and competencies necessary for success in an increasingly complex and interconnected world; hence, there should be shift in teaching approaches and testing and assessment by taking advantage of learning resources, reference materials, and information outside of textbooks to improve the quality of education, encourage self-study and lifelong learning capacity.
Wards, communes, towns, districts, and Thu Duc City are actively working to establish learning communities while various agencies, organizations, and enterprises are focused on creating learning units. Notably, community learning centers facilitate diverse learning formats, including literacy classes, universal education initiatives, and training in digital skills and smartphone usage.
In addition, it is essential for each individual to foster a commitment to self-study and professional development, enhancing their self-learning capabilities through a culture of reading, which in turn enriches vocabulary, hones writing skills, and cultivates logical thinking and creativity.
Highly valuing Ho Chi Minh City administrators’ efforts in encouraging people to study and lifelong learning movement, Deputy Minister of Education and Training Pham Ngoc Thuong said that recognition of Ho Chi Minh City’s achievement in universal primary and secondary education level 3 and elimination of illiteracy level 2 - the highest level according to the regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training - has demonstrated the city's outstanding efforts when the city has been facing challenges including the large population size and spontaneous migration.
Plus, although city administrators have taken heed of cultural institutions, these special institutions are still generally low compared to the population size of the city.
Secondly, the current rate of book lovers in the country, and particularly in Ho Chi Minh City, remains a challenge for management agencies. On average, each Vietnamese person reads only four books per year, with 1.8 being textbooks and 2.1 being other types of books. This is significantly lower compared to Malaysia’s 17 books per year and Singapore’s 10 books per year.
To address this, various agencies and units are organizing numerous educational activities aimed at changing reading habits, fostering a tradition of dynamism and creativity, building a learning society, promoting lifelong learning, and contributing to the development of a learning city.
From October 1 to 7, the Lifelong Learning Week 2024 will feature a variety of in-person and virtual events, including book fairs, educational sessions on legal topics, and training courses that teach information literacy skills such as researching, analyzing, and processing information. This week-long event will commence following an official launch ceremony.
