On the afternoon of October 17, Conference Plenary II and III of EROPA took place at the National Convention Center, Hanoi.
Assoc.Prof.Dr. Nguyen Ba Chien, NAPA President, chairing the Conference Plenary II.
Conference Plenary II themed “Reflection on the theme and sub-themes of the Conference – The Role of Public Governance in Socio-Economic Recovery and Development Towards the Sustainable Development Goals” was chaired by Assoc.Prof.Dr. Nguyen Ba Chien, NAPA President and Dr. Alex Brillantes Jr., Secretary-General of EROPA.
The Plenary session included four speakers: Dr. Amporn Tamronglak, President of the Public Administration Association of Thailand and President of the Asia Pacific Society for Public Affairs; Mr. Kenneth Sim, Dean of Chandler Academy of Governance, Singapore; Dr. Geiguen Shin, Director of General Affairs, Korean Association for Public Administration; Dr. Prabhat Datta, Adjunct Professor of Political Science and Public Administration, Xavier Law School, St. Xavier’s University, Kolkata, India.
Dr. Amporn Tamronglak, President of the Public Administration Association of Thailand and President of the Asia Pacific Society for Public Affairs, presenting at the plenary session.
In the presentation “The Role of Public Governance in Socio-Economic Recovery and Development towards the Sustainable Development Goals: the Case of Thailand”, Dr. Amporn Tamronglak highlighted several issues regarding the development of government services to meet global standards and meet the needs and expectations of citizens anytime, anywhere; the revision and development of the mission and restructuring the roles of government agencies to be more resilient to disruptive trends in public governance; improvement in the efficiency and integration of public administration using digital technology. These governmental actions will bring happiness to the people through convenience and accessibility to public services.
In the context of Thailand, public administration plays a crucial role in promoting national administrative reform. Thailand sets sustainable development goals in the fields of law, justice, public administration, public health, social development, energy, and anti-corruption, with a vision for the next 20 years focused on Security – Prosperity – Sustainability. The Thai government concentrates on developing human resources in some areas, with administrative reform being a key area. Thailand continues to promote the digitalization of government activities and one-stop services on digital platforms and strengthen the connection between the government, citizens, and businesses to respond to post-Covid-19 challenges effectively.
Mr. Kenneth Sim, Dean of Chandler Academy of Governance, Singapore, presenting at the plenary session.
In his presentation at the Conference Plenary, Mr. Kenneth Sim discussed the topic of trust in the government. According to him, people’s trust in the government is currently at a low level in many countries around the world. He posed the question, “How much do you trust the government to do what is right”? and then provided a chart comparing people’s trust in the government in several countries in percentage. The chart used a color-coding system, where dark blue represents high trust levels (ranging from 60 to 100 on the scale, with China at the top), light green indicates moderate trust (ranging from 50 to 59 on the scale, with Sweden on the lead), and red indicates low trust (ranging from 1 to 49 on the scale, with Argentina at the bottom). However, in contrast to low people’s trust in the government, trust in businesses is relatively higher. Accordingly, Mr. Kenneth Sim emphasized that trust is a critical issue in society today because it underpins many aspects of society. Building trust should start with enhancing government capabilities and increasing the government capability index in correlation with the social progress index. In addition, to develop government capabilities, organizations should restructure management and operational skills, enhance policy design and consultation, and provide information on building government capability systems to boost public trust in the government.
Dr. Geiguen Shin, Director of General Affairs, Korean Association for Public Administration, presenting at the plenary session.
Dr. Geiguen Shin shared his insights at the Conference regarding South Korea’s vision and strategy for the role of public administration. He noted that the public administration of each country is currently facing numerous significant challenges, such as climate change, poverty, and wealth inequality. As an individual responsible for policy implementation, Dr. Geiguen Shin expressed a sense of duty and responsibility in providing expertise to advise governments on policies and strategies for achieving sustainable national development. He also introduced an international workshop on public administration held in South Korea in September. He expressed his hope for the enthusiastic participation and support of EROPA colleagues. This collaboration will provide South Korea with an opportunity to expand its relationships and make contributions to EROPA’s common achievements in public administration.
Dr. Prabhat Datta, Adjunct Professor of Political Science and Public Administration, Xavier Law School, St. Xavier’s University, Kolkata, India, presenting at the plenary session.
The issue of gender equality was the topic of Dr. Prabhat Datta’s presentation. He emphasized that gender equality is not only a basic human right but also essential for a nation’s sustainable development with the goal of “leaving no one behind”. Reality shows that in the world today, women and children are still suffering many disadvantages and discrimination. Dr. Prabhat Datta believes that in the new world, the role of women needs to be enhanced, and they should take on new positions, especially in Pakistan. He noted that South Asia is considered the fastest-growing region in the world. Yet, it continues to have a large gender gap. Across all gender-related global indices, South Asia always ranks poorly compared to other regions. Therefore, for him, “gender” must be considered a cornerstone of sustainable development in every country. Developing new laws on gender equality will help women achieve what they desire, such as participating in politics, healthcare, environmental protection, and anti-corruption efforts.
Plenary speakers being awarded Certificates of recognition for their contributions to the Conference Plenary II.
Dr. Vincent Wong, Chair of the EROPA Resolutions Committee and Assoc.Prof.Dr. Luong Thanh Cuong, NAPA Vice President, co-chairing the Conference Plenary III and the plenary speakers.
Following Conference Plenary II, Conference Plenary III of the 2023 EROPA Conference continued with the theme “Building Public Governance Capacity to Promote Socio-Economic Recovery and Development”. Dr. Vincent Wong, Chair of the EROPA Resolutions Committee, and Assoc.Prof.Dr. Luong Thanh Cuong, NAPA Vice President, chaired the plenary session. The plenary speakers of this session included Dr. Woothisarn Tanchai, President, University Council Nakhon Pathom Rajabhat University, Thailand; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Eduardo Araral, Jr., National University of Singapore; Ms. Amor Maclang, Convenor, Digital Pilipinas.
Dr. Woothisarn Tanchai, President, University Council Nakhon Pathom Rajabhat University, Thailand presenting at the plenary session.
Dr. Woothisarn Tanchai emphasized two aspects of socio-economic recovery and development based on his own observations and experiences. He shared some major trends in socio-economic structure and crisis risks affecting all countries worldwide, especially in the public sector. According to him, there are triple disruptions in Thailand (technology, pandemic, and new generation disruptions) with different speeds and levels of impact on the public sector. These disruptions require appropriate adaptation and transformation, especially in mindset. According to him, the public sector needs new future goals, including: (1) Delivering “routines” services, including increasing the application of digital technology; (2) Solving unpredicted crises; (3) Re-energizing/Re-inventing possible future trends. Accordingly, it requires more diverse roles of the government in enhancing people’s coordination, participation, and control in the policy-making processes while simultaneously promoting open data, open processes, and open governance.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Eduardo Araral, Jr., National University of Singapore, presenting at the plenary session.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Eduardo Araral, Jr. mentioned that he had visited and worked in Viet Nam 42 times and had been involved in training numerous Vietnamese officials and leaders about public administration. He shared nine key practices of Singapore’s public sector leadership development: (1) Identifying and grooming talent; (2) Talent management and development; (3) Leadership development; (4) Post-graduate education; (5) Rewarding performance; (6) Rotation; (7) Performance appraisal and promotion; (8) Succession planning and renewal; (9) Post-retirement deployment.
Ms. Amor Maclang, Convenor, Digital Pilipinas, presenting at the plenary session.
With the presentation titled “Digitalizing Cities and Provinces”, Ms. Amor Maclang brought many interesting insights to the Conference, especially regarding digital and communication technology. According to her, comprehensive digital transformation is impossible without cross-border programs involving the participation of countries worldwide, with a particular emphasis on the crucial role of the ASEAN region. It is predicted that by 2030, ASEAN will contribute nearly 40% of the world’s GDP, mainly driven by robust digital technology growth, in which local governments are the nucleus for digital transformation.
Plenary speakers and Chairs being awarded Certificates of recognition for their contributions to the Conference Plenary III.
Assoc.Prof.Dr. Nguyen Ba Chien, NAPA President, concluding the Conference Day 1.
In his concluding remarks for the Conference Day 1, Assoc.Prof.Dr. Nguyen Ba Chien, NAPA President, expressed sincere gratitude to international delegates as well as Vietnamese and foreign scholars for their interest, participation and presentations at the Conference. The Conference was also graced by the presence of H.E. Pham Thi Thanh Tra, Minister of Home Affairs of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam.
The first day of the Conference had three plenary sessions. During the Conference Plenary I themed “11th Asian Leadership Forum on Public Governance for Sustainable Development Goals”, the participants heard from four plenary speakers who discussed reform efforts in the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Kazakhstan to promote public governance and work towards sustainable development goals.
During the Conference Plenary II themed “Reflection on the theme and sub-themes of the Conference – The Role of Public Governance in Socio-Economic Recovery and Development Towards the Sustainable Development Goals”, the Conference participants listened to four presentations from Thailand, Singapore, South Korea, and India, addressing socio-economic recovery and its impact on sustainable development. The presentations highlighted Thailand’s national strategic goals and 20-year vision, the importance of public trust in government and ways to enhance government capabilities, South Korea’s experience in increasing transparency and government cooperation in sustainable development, and the role of gender equality as a driving force for sustainable socio-economic developing – a lesson from India.
In Conference Plenary III themed “Building Public Governance Capacity to Promote Socio-Economic Recovery and Development”, the presentations focused on discussing the current VUCA context with its highly volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous factors and how these factors affect society. They discussed the issues to consider when building the future of the public sector. This context demands a redefinition of the role and activities of the government while enhancing public governance capacity in this new context. To improve public governance capacity, there should be an emphasis on changing mindsets, improving the leadership capabilities of public sector leaders, attracting and managing talent for the public sector; focusing on rewarding and assessment to groom talents for the public sector, and affirming the role of technology in sustainable governance.
Musical performances to welcome delegates attending the 2023 EROPA Conference.
*On the same evening, the Ministry of Home Affairs and the National Academy of Public Administration hosted a welcome dinner for the Conference delegates, featuring a warm and hospitable reception along with special musical performances that showcased the rich cultural heritage of the host country, Viet Nam.
*On October 18, the 2023 EROPA Conference continued with parallel sessions on three sub-themes: (1) Socio-Economic Recovery and Development: Issues Raised and the Needs for Renewal of Public Governance; (2) Renewal of Public Governance to Promote Socio-Economic Recovery and Development; (3) Building Public Governance Capacity to Promote Socio-Economic Recovery and Development.
