INVITATION AND CALLING FOR PAPERS
FOR THE CONFERENCE
“STRIVING FOR BETTER EDUCATION IN VIETNAM: THE 20TH – 21ST MILESTONES”

Dear Sir/Madam

100 years ago, the “Dong Kinh Nghia thuc” movement started its first classes in Ha Noi, followed by the opening of a series of innovative schools in the central provinces. The effort to reform education, which is regarded both as the path to and an integral part of economic, cultural, political and social reform at the early of the 20th century, was the aspiration, ambition, and action of the intelligentsia who had to some extent exposed themselves to new knowledge and practices which were not offered in textbooks of the traditional education at that time.

From the beginning of the 21st century, the Vietnamese society has been struggling with the question of education reform, including higher education. A wealth of thoughts, evaluations and suggestions was offered. It has been agreed that changes must be made, initially and essentially in thinking and methodology.

Studying the beginnings of the two centuries to identify similarities and differences between them in the context of the new global environment and the economic, political, cultural, and social conditions of Vietnam, and more importantly to introduce, analyse and learn from innovative education projects are the objectives of the Conference “STRIVING FOR BETTER EDUCATION IN VIETNAM: THE 20TH – 21ST MILESTONES” organised by Hoa Sen University.

Details of the conference are as followed:

1.The Conference

a. Total number of attendants: 200 persons
b. Total number of papers to be presented: 10 papers

2. Participants

Professors, lecturers, administrators from national and international universities and colleges; historical, educational, and social researchers and experts; representatives of industries and social institutions; teachers and those who are interested in education; students who are interested in the topic of the conference.

3. Time and venue

a. Time: 8 a.m – 6 p.m on the 8th of December 2008
b. Venue: Prima Ballroom A, floor 5 Majestic Hotel, 01 Dong Khoi Street, Dist. 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

4.Contents of the conference

Part 1: New breakthroughs in educational concepts, organisation, content, and teaching methods of schools and other cultural-educational institutions at the beginning of the 20th century; the relationship between educational projects and the way they are organised and run as proposed by the Duy Tan intellectuals.

Part 2: Educational reform: views from international experience, thinking, and questions and from teachers’ experience.

Calling for papers

The paper should cover either or both of the topics mentioned above.

Format:

- The papers should be approximately 2.500 words long and be typed using Times New Roman font type, size 13 with single line spacing.
- The languages of the conference are Vietnamese, English, and French.

Registration:

Please register by sending your paper and a brief self-introduction (approx. 200 words) to the Organisation Board by November 15, 2008.

Sending papers:

Please send your papers to the Organiser via email or by post (stored in CD-Rom) by November 30, 2008.
Hoa Sen University
Department of International Cooperation and Research and Development.
8 Nguyen Van Trang street, district 1, Hochiminh City
Phone: 84-8-39255063

Contact person: Ms. Ho To Phuong (htphuong@hoasen.edu.vn) or Mr. Do Mai Linh (dmlinh@hoasen.edu.vn)

Details of the Conference is posted on the website of Hoa Sen University http://hoasen.edu.vn

Invitation letter to the conference will be sent 2 weeks prior to the date of the Conference.
We look forward to receiving your papers. Thank you very much for your contribution.

Yours faithfully

Dr. Bui Tran Phuong
President
Hoa Sen University