English Review
International workshop: ‘’Social work with families and children’’ 2016
01:57 PM 2016-08-18
(LDXH) - On August 16th, the University of Labours and Social Affairs (branch III) corporated with TFCF (Taiwan – China), Caritas organisation (Germany), Association of vocational and social work Vietnam to hold an international workshop called ‘’Social workshop with families and children’’ in Ho Chi Minh city.

Deputy Minister Doan Mau Diep is speaking at the workshop

This workshop is an open forum for professors, scientists, managers, lecturers from universities, colleges about social work in Vietnam and foreign social experts from America, Germany, Russian, Australia,….who have experience in families and children sector. It is hoped that through this workshop, the participants can  find the most suitable solutions to complete policies, regulations and support activities related to families and children.

Speaking at the workshop, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Labours- Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) Doan Mau Diep appreciated the effort of the University of Labours and Social Affairs branch III to organize an international workshop about families and children in Vietnam. This was a chance to get more information and material for this sector, improve service quality and complete the concept of the program. Moreover, this workshop was also an information channel for the administration and management offices, such as MOLISA, to collect information for researches and develop further policies to families and children, which is suitable with the globalization background in the present.
At the seminar, Associate Professor, Dr.Bui Anh Thuy, director of the University of Labour and Society Affairs branch III in HCM City said: In the past two decades, besides the rapid development of national economy, people also witnessed many factors making lives become fragile, more vulnerable: Violence, terrorism, endless migrant flows, kidnapping, trafficking of women and children, prostitution, drugs, poverty gap and conflicts increase, climate change ...

Associate Professor, Dr.Bùi Anh Thủy, director of the University of Labour and Society Affairs branch III is speaking at the workshop

These factors had a negative impact on the social welfare system in most of regions, countries and threatened lives of so many people, especially vulnerable groups like children. Studying on solution groups will help experts and managers to develop social assistance, child protection policies and service models,  promote the implementation of social work on reality. It will create a safer environment for the growth of children and bring happiness to families in Vietnam.
According to Associate Professor, Dr. Bui Anh Thuy, Vietnam is a country which signed United Nation Convention on the Rights of Children very soon and transfers this Convention to legal system of policies to families and children. However, there were some problems during this process, such as: lack of consensus on determining the age of a child under international law, the Law on Protection, Care and Education children and now the children Law in Vietnam ; inconsistency in determining the age of a child under international law, the Law on Protection, Care and Education of Children and labour law.
He also recommended that if any law of Vietnam was not synced and united with international treaties, the government should obey the Law of Signing and follow this treaty strictly. In case the content of the international treaty is clear and detailed, they should need to amend, supplement, repeal or promulgation of legal documents to implement international treaties.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hang, President of the Association of vocational training and social work in Vietnam had a speech at the workshop. 
Ms. Nguyen Thi Hang - former Minister of MOLISA, President of the Association of vocational training and social work in Vietnam said that Vietnam's social work as professional field still  faces many challenges, in which legal framework is missing, incomplete and social awareness issues included. So many people still consider social work as charity activities rather than a specific work which required skills and experience. There is a lack of number of lecturers, trainers of social service field. Most of them didn’t have depth training; network service provider system was new and simple, service operation was depended on region, ...

All deligates at the workshop listened to the discussion from the guest speaker.

She suggested that social work with families and children in Vietnam needs to change the approach of both content and methods. Firstly, the question is that does social work in Vietnam mention about recent and serious issues in the society such as phishing, black credit, production of counterfeit goods, trafficking,… or not? Currently, children take over about 24.4% of the population, therefore, social work in society could not be done on one-side only. Families, schools and community should corporate with organisations on social work to create a safe and healthy environment for children.

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All deligates took a photo at the University of Labours and Social Affairs, branch III in Ho Chi Minh city

Understand the importance of the topic "Social work with families and children," the participants also shared, discussed  basic and fragmented problems, specialized in this field include: Buddhist in social work with children with special circumstances; Social work for victims of  labour accident; school violence, migrant children .... Besides that, international experts from Russia, Germany, USA, Taiwan, Laos ... also presented the discussion about how to access, organize a network of social services for people; deployment model of social work in shifts..
Thuong Hoai

Translated into English by Minh Ngoc.