The program is implemented under the Government's Project 161 on approving the development and implementation of the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community’s goals until 2025 and the Government's Action Program on the propaganda and promotion of ASEAN between 2019 and 2020 and Decision No. 02 /BCD-ASEAN issued by the ASEAN Information and Communications Steering Committee.

Speaking at the Conference, VNU Vice President Pham Bao Son said that as a leading multidisciplinary university in Vietnam and one of the agencies implementing cooperation activities on higher education in the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community, VNU would actively participate in the common activities of Vietnam in its ASEAN Chairmanship in 2020. Especially, as an active member of the ASEAN University Network (AUN), VNU has regularly conducted exchanges and cooperation activities to promote and develop cooperation among the Southeast Asian countries in the field of research and education.

VNU Vice President Pham Bao Son believed that through the information shared in this conference by representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Information and Communications, VNU's students would better understand ASEAN in general and the ASEAN’s pillars in particular, thereby spread the spirit of the ASEAN Community.

Mr. Duong Hai Hung, Deputy Director-General of the ASEAN Affairs Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, informed the students of the highlights of Vietnam's ASEAN Chairmanship in 2020. Accordingly, 2020 is an eventful year not only for Vietnam but also for the region and the world. As the Chair of ASEAN, Vietnam has both opportunities to make use of and challenges to face. The year 2020 will also bring about opportunities for Vietnamese students and workers to integrate into the ASEAN labour market. However, according to Mr. Hung, the opportunity comes differently to each person depending on their dynamism and sensitivity. He emphasized that each individual in ASEAN needed to build a community thinking and action to be “cohesive and responsive” in line with the theme of Vietnam’s ASEAN Chairmanship in 2020.

According to Ms. Ha Thi Minh Duc, Deputy Director-General, the Department of International Cooperation, Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs, to overcome the weaknesses of the Vietnamese labour forces in order to quickly adapt to the new situation, the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs recommends that employees need to be more proactive and self-quipped with essential skills to be recruited; educational units should promote the value of vocational training in the new age; the Government should synchronously coordinate policies, especially those on human resource development, employment, education and training, and economics; at the same time, join training institutions and business community to connect training with the labour market.

Previously, VNU had attended the Propaganda Conference on ASEAN and preparation for the 2020 ASEAN Chairmanship hosted by the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs in Hanoi, and proposed VNU’s proposal and roadmap towards the 2020 milestone.