A proposal to the United Nations

A proposal to the United Nations Team – Jawed Mughal (Convener) – Honorable Anthony (Minister of Education, Health and Development) – Honorable George (Minister of Environment) – Honorable Sohela & Honorable Farhana (Ministers of Culture) Vietnam Population (2006 est.): 84,402,966 (growth rate: 1.0%); birth rate: 16.9/1000; infant mortality rate: 25.1/1000; life expectancy: 70.8; density per sq mi: 672 Location of Vietnam Vietnam is located in the Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, Gulf of Tonkin, and South China Sea, alongside China, Laos, and Cambodia Adaptation to the environment Agriculture – products paddy rice, coffee, rubber, cotton, tea, pepper, soybeans, cashews, sugar cane, peanuts, bananas; poultry; fish, seafood Industries food processing, garments, shoes, machinebuilding; mining, coal, steel; cement, chemical fertilizer, glass, tires, oil, paper Exports - commodities crude oil, marine products, rice, coffee, rubber, tea, garments, shoes Food Vietnamese cooking is varied and usually very good It is a mixture of Vietnamese, Chinese and French traditions, with a plethora of regional specialties As in all countries of the region, rice or noodles usually provide the basis of a meal Not surprisingly, fish is plentiful National specialties: Breakfast is generally noodle soup locally known as (pronounced ‘fur’) French-style baguettes are available throughout Vietnam Nem (pork mixed with noodles, eggs and mushrooms wrapped in rice paper, fried and served hot) Banh chung (glutinous rice, pork and onions wrapped in large leaves and cooked for up to 48 hours, to be eaten cold at any time) Vietnamese dishes are not complete without nuoc mam (a fish sauce) or mam tom (a shrimp sauce) National drinks: Green tea is refreshing and available everywhere The French culinary legacy embraces rich, fresh, filter coffee, usually brewed on the table in front of the customer Bia Hoi, a local draught beer available at street stalls in Hanoi It is not only cheap, but free of additives Rice wine is also a favorite throughout the country It is generally extremely potent Clothing Keep clothing to a minimum Try not to take clothing made of synthetic fibres You will be able to buy basic clothing cheaply in Vietnam Western products are increasingly available in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City Physical features Waterways This entry gives the total length of navigable rivers, canals, and other inland bodies of water Terrain low, flat delta in south and north; central highlands; hilly, mountainous in far north and northwest phosphates, coal, manganese, bauxite, chromate, offshore oil and gas deposits, forests, hydropower Physical features Natural resources: logging and slash-and-burn agricultural practices contribute to deforestation and soil degradation; water pollution and overfishing threaten marine life populations; groundwater contamination limits potable water supply; growing urban industrialization and population migration are rapidly degrading environment in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City Physical features Climate Tropical in south; monsoonal in north with hot, rainy season (May to September) and warm, dry season (October to March) Environment - current issues Logging and slash-and-burn agricultural practices contribute to deforestation and soil degradation; water pollution and overfishing threaten marine life populations; groundwater contamination limits potable water supply; growing urban industrialization and population migration are rapidly degrading environment in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City CULTURE AND ETHNIC GROUPS CULTURE Music People Places ETHNIC GROUPS Kinh (Viet) 86.2%, Tay 1.9%, Thai 1.7%, Muong 1.5%, Khome 1.4%, Hoa 1.1%, Nun 1.1%, Hmong 1%, others 4.1% (1999 census) LANGUAGES Vietnamese (official), English (increasingly favored as a second language), some French, Chinese, and Khmer; mountain area languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian) Effects of Globalization on Vietnam Vietnam wants to make friends with all countries in the international community, integrate into the international economy As a result, every change in the international economy, from the positive to negative, affect Vietnamese society Changes in the international economy directly and indirectly affect Vietnam’s class relations, thought and culture Along with integration into the international economy, foreign thought and culture enter into Vietnam, directly affecting the country The international economy affects Vietnamese economy, which impacts its social relationships, thought and culture Vietnam is a society without deep class division as western society because Vietnam is still primarily an agricultural country and has been confronted with resistance wars People have had little chance to get rich Since Vietnam opened its door, integrated and developed the multi-sector economy, foreign companies have put their money into Vietnam Class relations have gone through great changes; the gap between the poor and the rich is increasing The gap appears in all fields: between the urban and rural areas, between the lowland and high land, between workers and farmers, between workers working for domestic enterprises and foreign enterprises and between employers and employees The gap is an unavoidable consequence of economic globalization Economic globalization helps expand international exchanges and helps Vietnamese people recognize the nature of capitalism with its positive and negative points Effects of Globalization on Vietnam International exchanges and economic development on the globe also impact culture Cultural values, ancient quarters, houses on stilts and communal houses of ethnic minorities have been maintained and developed On the other hand, Vietnamese cultures also absorb new values of international cultures and become more diversified It is easy to recognise that closed development makes culture become monotonous and stale However, along with positive effects, globalization also causes negative effects on Vietnamese culture such as keeping a segment of young people aloof from traditional cultural values Some traditional cultural values are not preserved and promoted Spiritual values are ignored and fall into oblivion Families lose good traditional relations Generally, effects of economic globalization on Vietnamese society are aggressive and continue to increase Vietnam bypassed the stage of capitalist development to advance to socialism Therefore, the country did not go through initial steps of market economy At the same time, in the new situation, economic globalization brings to Vietnam effects of development of capitalism in the end stage The joint effects cause social complications Economic globalization is opportunity and challenges for Vietnam With the thickness of its national history, under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Vietnamese people are able to seize the opportunity, overcome the challenges to exploit and take full advantage of positive points of globalization Education, Health and Development Literacy rate: 94% (2003 est.) Female education attainment in Viet Nam Literacy rate (%) Education certificate Education certificate Professor 61.9 Associate professor 7.8 79.5 88.7 Doctor 19.6 Thailand 93.2 96.9 University and colleges 37.5 Bangladesh 28.6 51.1 Professional colleges 55.7 Philippines 94.6 95.1 Technical workers 20.8 Country Literacy rate (%) Male Viet Nam 90.6 95.3 Lao PDR 30.2 Myanmar Source: Poverty Working Group, 1999 (The literacy rate for population aged 15 and older) Source: Ministry of Education and Training, 2000a Statistics for 1997-1998 Education The adult literacy rate (women and men 15 years and above) is 88.7% for women, and 95.8% for men However, the literacy rate for women above 25 years old is 15% lower than for men, as can be concluded from the graph Adult literacy rates by sex and age (%) Source: United Nations, 1995 Health facilities Vietnam has achieved levels in basic health indicators that are remarkably better than other developing countries with similar or even higher per capita incomes Much of this achievement has been the result of widespread practices of promoting social solidarity and a relatively egalitarian distribution of wealth and income Another factor that has contributed to good levels of health status by such a poor country is a health system that has wide population coverage with many modem and cost-effective disease control interventions and primary health care services delivered through an extensive grassroots health services network Public investments and recurrent budget support for the grassroots health network are being given priority attention These efforts are expected to yield gains in terms of further reductions in morbidity and mortality from preventable causes through more effective disease prevention, health promotion, and appropriate early treatment at the household, village, commune and district levels Even as large health gains are expected from anticipated improvements in community health, large numbers of sick patients still require higher level clinical care for which public hospitals remains the almost exclusive provider Key Areas of Growth Poverty and Hunger Primary Education HIV and AIDS Global Partnership Economic growth Thank You Danke Merci boku Bohot Shukuria Shukuria shukurani Dhano bad Welcome To Vietnam