Speaking at the meeting, Deputy Minister of Information and Communications (MIC) Nguyen Thanh Lam, on behalf of generations of Vietnamese journalists, expressed his gratitude to the people and Government of Sweden, specifically the Vietnam Journalism Advanced Training Project by the Swedish Journalism Advanced Training Institute (FOJO), which has helped train and improve the qualifications of thousands of Vietnamese reporters and journalists over the years.
The important guests present here today all understand better than anyone the significance of the Project that we have just reviewed through the short introductory film. Therefore, I will not be the one who can speak as well and fully as the Vietnamese delegates who have participated in leading, organizing and benefiting from the project, as well as the Swedish experts in the field of journalism and communication, the guests and friends who are especially important in today's ceremony.
"I can only talk about my great honor, when today, on behalf of the Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung, I welcome the lecturers and project managers from Sweden, along with the project leaders of different periods, and leaders of Vietnamese press agencies. We are here to continue a fine tradition of the Vietnamese people, the tradition of "respecting teachers", the morality of "remembering the source of water when drinking" and the story of gratitude" - Deputy Minister Nguyen Thanh Lam emotionally expressed.
The Deputy Minister of Information and Communications also expressed his sincere thanks and affection from the journalists to the former Swedish experts in the field of journalism and communications and the former leaders of the FOJO Advanced Journalism Training Academy, of which 10 outstanding representatives are here today, who have placed their faith in a professional and modern Vietnamese journalism and communications industry, and have devoted their hearts and minds to training and improving the qualifications of thousands of Vietnamese reporters and journalists over the years.
Accordingly, many of the former students and teaching assistants of this project are currently holding the highest leadership positions of major press agencies in Vietnam: Mr. Le Quoc Minh, member of the Party Central Committee, Editor-in-Chief of Nhan Dan Newspaper, Chairman of the Vietnam Journalists Association; Mr. Le Ngoc Quang, member of the Party Central Committee, General Director of Vietnam Television; Mr. Pham Hieu, Editor-in-Chief of Vnexpress, the most viewed online newspaper by Vietnamese people...
As a member of the next generation and a beneficiary of this Project himself, Deputy Minister Nguyen Thanh Lam also expressed his deep gratitude to the former leaders of the Ministry of Culture and Information, the Ministry of Information and Communications, the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics and the former leaders of the project, to all project officers in all positions and positions, present or not present here today. You have overcome all difficulties, bringing to the Vietnamese press and media the opportunity to access modern journalism knowledge and skills, making an extremely important contribution to the cause of innovation and national construction of Vietnam for nearly 2 decades.
"It has been 55 years since our two countries established diplomatic relations and more than 10 years since the Vietnam Journalism Capacity Building Project ended successfully. What remains today are the good results from the project, a professional, humane and modern Vietnamese journalism. The story of the SIDA - FOJO project is a story of friendship, respect, gratitude and the opportunity to learn from each other. Let's continue to write the next chapters of this exceptionally good cooperative relationship" - Deputy Minister Nguyen Thanh Lam emphasized.
The project was launched in 1997 with funding from the Swedish Government. Between 2004 and 2013, FOJO trained about 7,000 journalists from Vietnam, accounting for nearly half of the team at that time. More than 10,000 Vietnamese journalists attended courses at the Swedish Institute for Advanced Journalism (FOJO) between 1997 and 2013.
Also on the occasion of the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Sweden, Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Thanh Lam awarded the Medal for the cause of Information and Communications to former lecturers of FOJO Institute.
