A two-day Regional Workshop on Innovative Approaches to Flood Risk Reduction in the Mekong Basin on 17-19 October 2007 in Thailand, which is being jointly organized by MRC and ADPC with funding support from Die DeutscheGesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH
In this regard we would request any organizations interested to participate in this workshop.
For more information on FEMS please contact:
The Embassy of Canadian announced today a grant of VND 3,05 billion (equivalent to CAN $200,000) in response to the needs of localities affected by typhoon Pabuk (Storm No 2).
The grant will be disbursed through the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives, to help restore production; repair and rebuild houses and small social welfare infrastructure in provinces most affected by the typhoon in the Central Vietnam, said the Embassy.
In December 2006, the Embassy of Canada also granted CAN $200,000 through the Canada Fund to help victims of typhoon Xangsane in Da Nang City, Thua Thien Hue and Quang Nam Provinces.
The Canada Fund was established by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and is administered by the Canadian Embassy in Hanoi to strengthen local communities by supporting small, but innovative development projects.
Since 1991, it has supported over 400 projects in various sectors of mainly local and non governmental groups in Vietnam.
This conference will be held from 25 November to 2 December 2007
The Weitz Center for Development Studies, founded in 1963, has been engaged since its establishment in local and regional development planning in Israel and, within the framework of MASHAV (Center for International Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel).
More than 3,000 professionals have taken part in the Weitz Center training programs, whose objective is to enhance the ability of participants to improve conditions in underdeveloped regions of their countries through an integrated development strategy and the application of appropriate methodologies for planning and implementation.
New US Ambassador to Vietnam Michael Michalak said he aimed to double the number of US scholarships granted to Vietnamese at Fulbright Vietnam’s 15th anniversary ceremony on Saturday.
The US ambassador also said such a program could help Vietnam reach its goal of
training 20,000 new doctors within the next 10 years.
Tran Xuan Thao, director of Fulbright Vietnam, added that if Vietnamese authorities co-sponsored 20-30 percent of the Fulbright program, many more Vietnamese graduates would be able to attend schools in the US. Over 100 Vietnamese formerly sponsored by the Fulbright scholarship attended the anniversary event in the central historic city of Hue. The Fulbright Program was established by the US Congress in 1946 and aims to increase transnational understanding through educational and cultural exchange. The Fulbright Program in Vietnam, administered and coordinated by the Public Affairs Section (PAS) of the US Embassy in Hanoi, works with appropriate Vietnamese and American educational and governmental organizations to provide opportunities for study and research in the social sciences and humanities.
Vietnam is in need of an additional VND7.7 trillion ($481 million) to replace all temporary classrooms nationwide between now and 2010, the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) estimated.
The country launched a national plan to replace makeshift classrooms with permanent buildings with the total cost of more than VND9.3 trillion ($581million) sourced from the central and local budgets as well as donations from businesses and individuals. More than 74,000 classrooms have been built through the plan, benefiting three million children, said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Thien Nhan at a conference in Hanoi August 23
"Localities should pay more attention to the significance of the plan rather profits making from it," an official from the ministry said, revealing that tens of hundreds of children are still sitting in three-shifted and dilapidated classrooms.
Earlier, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung decided to allocate the remainder of the proceeds from bond issuance in 2005, worth VND112.71 billion ($7.04 million), to refurbish schools in three provinces, where schools have been hit hard by a host of natural disasters namely the northern mountainous province of Lai Chau, the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong and the Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang.
Up to the 2005-2006 academic year, Vietnam had 2,300 secondary senior schools, 10,900 pre-schools, 14,700 primary schools, and 10,300 secondary junior schools. The country earmarks VND67 trillion ($4.2 billion) for education sector this year, a rise of more than 20% in comparison to 2006.
13th ASEAN Summit People Singapore "Energy, Environment, Climate Change and Sustainable Development" is a key theme of discussions at the upcoming 13th ASEAN Summit and its related meetings in Singapore held in November 2007.
At the 40th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting held in July 2007 in Manila, the ASEAN Foreign Ministers also welcomed Singapore's proposal, as the Chair of ASEAN to focus on "Energy, Environment, Climate Change and Sustainable Development as a key theme of discussions at the upcoming 13th ASEAN Summit and its related meetings in Singapore held in November 2007. In line with this theme, we look forward to the ASEAN Leaders' Declaration on Environmental Sustainability to be signed at the 13th ASEAN Summit and a proposal to work on a Singapore Declaration on the Environment to be issued at the 3rd East Asia Summit.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN was established on 8 August 1967 in Bangkok by the five original Member Countries, namely, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. Brunei Darussalam joined on 8 January 1984, Vietnam on 28 July 1995, Lao PDR and Myanmar on 23 July 1997, and Cambodia on 30 April 1999.
The ASEAN region has a population of about 500 million, a total area of 4.5 million square kilometers, a combined gross domestic product of almost US$ 700 billion, and a total trade of about US$ 850 billion.
The Vietnamese American NonGovernmental Organizations (VA NGO) Network is proud to announce the Third VA NGO Conference from September 28 - 30, 2007 in San Diego, California.
At this conference, we will:
- enlist and partner with the next generation of humanitarian and development workers
- showcase members collaborative efforts and tools, and
- provide capacity building workshops on fundraising, financial efficiency, and program implementation.
The conference fee covers lodging and all meals. We encourage participants to attend the entire conference and remain on-site. VA NGO Network members will receive special discounts for registrations.
To become a member, please refer to the Membership link at http://www.va-ngo.org/
The Conference Planning Committee, consists of
- Children of Peace International http://www.childrenofpeace.org/
- Kids Without Borders http://www.kidswithnoborders.org/
- Our 1 World http://www.our1world.org/
- Pacific Links Foundation http://www.pacificlinks.org/
- Vietnamese American Nurse Association
