International Conference: "Digital Economy: Potentials and Challenges"

Delegates and speakers taking commemorative photos at the conference

From the side of distinguished guests and delegates, there were Mr. Edgar Doerig, Head of the International Organization of the Francophonie (OIF) for Asia-Pacific; Mr. Ahmed Aissa, Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco to Vietnam; Mr. Roman Nilov, Second Secretary at the Russian Embassy in Vietnam; Mr. Somvilay Chanthavong, Second Secretary at the Embassy of the Lao People's Democratic Republic in Hanoi; Mr. Mang Kinal, Second Secretary at the Embassy of the Kingdom of Cambodia to Vietnam; Mr. Pierre Bonnet, Advisor, HLFL Consulting Singapore; Ms. Jeanne Goffinet and Ms. Phan Kim Vân, in charge of amity projects at the French-Vietnamese Friendship Association; Mr. Vũ Đỗ Quỳnh, Vice-Principal of Thăng Long University.

From the IFI side, there were Mr. Phùng Danh Thắng, Director of IFI; Mr. Ngô Tự Lập, Former Director of IFI and President of the Scientific Council; Mr. Đào Tùng, Head of Training and Student Political Affairs Department (IFI-FORMATION).

The conference featured discussions by various speakers, including Mr. Lê Nguyễn Trường Giang, Director of the Digital Transformation Strategy Institute (DTSI); Ms. Jessy Carmelle Petit-Frère, former Minister of Trade and Industry of Haiti, and Professor at the Public University of the South in Les Cayes, Haiti; Mr. Kaloyan Kolev, Program Specialist, Representation for Asia and the Pacific of the International Organization of Francophonie (OIF); Mr. Nguyễn Hữu Tuấn, Head of E-commerce Business Management Department, Vietnam Electronic Commerce and Digital Economy Agency, Ministry of Industry and Commerce; Mr. Aminou Akadiri, Executive Director of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of West Africa Private Sector Directorate / ECOWAS Commission; Mr. Dragos Paun, Associate Professor, Ph.D., Faculty of Business, Babeș-Bolyai University. These speakers came from five key regions around the world: Vietnam, France, Haiti, Romania, Nigeria, and various invited guests from many other countries around the world. Additionally, the conference was attended by representatives of international organizations, universities, research institutes, businesses, experts, scholars, and media organizations active in the field of the Digital Economy both nationally and internationally.

In the opening remarks, Mr. Phùng Danh Thắng, Director of the International Francophone Institute, affirmed that the Digital Economy has significant untapped potential in Vietnam and globally. However, there remains various obstacles to its development such as information security, technological infrastructure deficiencies, and human resources shortages, as well as regulatory challenges. Therefore, the international conference "Digital Economy: Potentials and Challenges" was organized to gather scholars, researchers, businesses, and policymakers from both within and outside Vietnam to share the latest information and experiences about Digital Economy in Vietnam and worldwide. He also mentioned that the conference not only marked the beginning of the annual interdisciplinary scientific conference series, Diderot Advanced Academic Seminars (DAAS), initiated by IFI but also was one of the activities celebrating the 30th anniversary of IFI (1993-2023). Throughout the past three decades, IFI has been training high-quality human resources to serve the development of the Digital Economy, through Master's programs in Information Technology; Digital and Editorial Communication; and Fintech. Additionally, IFI offers short-term courses in Blockchain, data analytics, and collaborates with the Digital Transformation Strategy Institute to provide high-quality human resources to Vietnam's Digital Economy.

Following up, the plenary session of the conference "An overview of the Digital Economy in Vietnam and Worldwide," initiated by presentations by Mr. Lê Nguyễn Trường Giang, Director of the Digital Transformation Strategy Institute (DTSI) on the topic "Nature of the digital economy in the process of digital transformation," and Ms. Jessy Carmelle Petit-Frère, former Minister of Trade and Industry of Haiti, and Professor at the Public University of the South in Les Cayes, Haiti, on the topic "Cooperation for the development of the digital economy in the world and experience for Haiti". In his presentation, Mr. Lê Nguyễn Trường Giang clarified the concept of the Digital Economy, how to assess its effectiveness, new trends in the future, and proposed new ways of thinking to effectively grasp and apply the Digital Economy to socio-economic development in the technology era. He also shared some exemplary Digital Economy models from around the world, such as Uber, Facebook, Airbnb, Alibaba, which provides practical insights for businesses in Vietnam.

Mr. Phùng Danh Thắng, Director of IFI

Mr. Lê Nguyễn Trường Giang, Director of the Digital Transformation Strategy Institute (DTSI)

Next, with profound expertise in economics and commerce, Ms. Jessy Carmelle Petit-Frère emphasized that the transition to a Digital Economy needs to be human-centered. Each nation must harness the Digital Economy effectively to undertake large-scale digital transformation, thereby ensuring resources for sustainable development. Ms. Petit-Frère also analyzed the Digital Economy's development in Haiti, affirming that this will be a potentially lucrative market for Vietnamese businesses and investors.

Ms. Jessy Carmelle Petit-Frère, Former Minister of Trade and Industry of Haiti, Professor at the Public University of the South in Les Cayes, Haiti (online)

After the plenary session, the specialized lecture session continued with presentations by the following speakers: Mr. Aminou Akadiri, Executive Director of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of West Africa Private Sector Directorate / ECOWAS Commission, delivered a speech on the Impact of Digital Transformation on the Economy of the African Region and Prospects for Vietnam-Africa Cooperation.

Mr. Nguyễn Hữu Tuấn, Head of E-Commerce Business Management Department, Vietnam Electronic Commerce and Digital Economy Agency, Ministry of Industry and Commerce, presented on Management of E-Commerce activities in Vietnam. Mr. Kaloyan Kolev, Program Specialist, Representation for Asia and the Pacific of the International Organization of Francophonie (OIF), spoke about the Strategy of the Francophone Community in Digital Economy Development. Mr. Dragos Paun, Associate Professor, Ph.D., Faculty of Business, Babeș-Bolyai University (Romania), discussed the Impact of digitalization in continuing education and to compare digital education during the pandemic and after the pandemic.

Mr. Nguyễn Hữu Tuấn, Head of E-Commerce Business Management Department, Vietnam Electronic Commerce and Digital Economy Agency, Ministry of Industry and Commerce

Mr. Kaloyan Kolev, Program Specialist, Representation for Asia and the Pacific of the International Organization of Francophonie (OIF)

Mr. Aminou Akadiri, Executive Director of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of West Africa Private Sector Directorate / ECOWAS Commission (online)

Mr. Dragos Paun, Associate Professor, Ph.D., Faculty of Business, Babeș-Bolyai University (Romania) (online)

The "Digital Economy: Potentials and Challenges" conference also offered a discussion session moderated by Mr. Đào Tùng, Head of Training and Student Political Affairs Department (IFI-FORMATION). The discussions revolved around the concept of the Digital Economy, opportunities and challenges in its development in Vietnam and other countries worldwide, as well as policies and the establishment of regulatory and legal frameworks conducive to advancing current collaborations in the field of the Digital Economy.

Discussion session

The conference took place in a warm atmosphere among the speakers and guests and concluded successfully at the Vietnam National University, Hanoi on Wednesday afternoon, August 23, 2023.

You can view all the conference speeches here.

Here are key moments of the conference:

Master's students in Information Technology at IFI participating in the conference