Exciting Extra-curricular Programs at Beginning of School Year for Freshmen at Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam

14:00 22/09/2021

As an annual academic course for civic activities at the beginning of the school year, students from the 48th intake had first meetings with each faculty, and they were guided on learning methods and academic support activities for the next 4 years. Despite having not met in persons, the students received important and useful information for their journeys through online classes. Moreover, they found DAV teachers close, caring, and professional.

Also within the framework of the civic activities, the highlight was  discussions with special guest speakers. The discussions were also open to students of other senior high-quality classes. At the overview of piplomatic protocol (September 9th, 2021), Mr. Le Minh Thang, Deputy Director-General of the State Protocol Department brought to young people who just entered a diplomatic environment a lot of interesting knowledge, from the differences between the often-confused concept of Protocol and Reception to the most preliminary principles of how to attend a reception party; how to use cutlery at a party, how to hold a wine glass, how each type of wine is drunk at what time of the day. Mr. Thang talked about the differences between instrumental national anthem and national anthem to rules for welcoming guests, seating arrangements in an office or in a car. The students were very excited to have the speaker share “ad-hoc” situations in other countries’ histories of foreign receptions, and their smart and quick-minded handling. They were also introduced basic rules of conduct, dress codes when attending different events and environments, etc.… These “specialties” will continue to be expanded and profoundly trained in the DAV training programs. 

Mr. Le Minh Thang, Deputy Director-General of the State Protocol Department

The second seminar took place on September 13th, 2021, the freshmen enjoyed listening to Dr. Le Dinh Tinh, Director of the DAV’s Institute of Foreign Policy Strategic Studies. He analyzed the world situation under the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as changes in Vietnam's recent foreign affairs. In his sharing about Vietnam's foreign policies, Dr. Tinh pointed out new points in the Document of the 13th National Congress of the Communist Party, as well as emphasizing the important role of consulting and implementing foreign policies in practice. Such a seemingly rough topic, but with his rich knowledge, updated news with outstanding information and a youthful, sharp and enthusiastic presentation, Dr. Tinh attracted the audiences to the end of the discussion as they asked a lot of insightful questions, and showed their interests. After the seminar, Dr. Tinh had good impressions and comments on such freshmen, who are smart, sharp and eager to learn. Another good news is despite having to undertake his busy research, Mr. Tinh also agreed to give his time and attention to the new students, and he will continue to have specialized talks for DAV students in general and students of the 48th intake in particular.

Dr. Le Dinh Tinh, Director of the DAV’s Institute of Foreign Policy Strategic Studies

Owning a “high profile” as spoken in the style of young people - Ms. Bui Kim Thuy - former DAV student, current Vietnamese Representative of the US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC), brought a unique atmosphere to her discussion with DAV students (September 20th, 2021). With the topic of self-management and adaptation skills, Ms. Thuy had unexpected leads in her talk. Analyzing the passivity of people from birth to adulthood through years of high school and now a university environment, “Be the CEO of yourself - Be the boss of your own life life” is the message that Ms. Thuy wanted to spread to young people. To become a leader, young people must first do well in their roles as employees and administrators. Continuous training is the key to creating qualitative changes - QUALITY and QUANTITY are trademarks of DAV students. Ms. Thuy's presentation really touched young people when she repeatedly reminded the principles of behavior with core spiritual values: being dutiful to your parents, not forgetting their Vietnamese origin, no discrimination against genders, religions, or political opinions, especially no violation of Vietnamese law, and first learn and practice to be a kind person in all actions and aspects of life. At the end of her talk, Ms. Thuy shared interesting ideas, such as paying attention to building yourself intellectually and spiritually to create the main value, letting the branded goods, if any, be of a little extra value, and if you are a DAV student, that is your precious “branded goods”.

Ms. Bui Kim Thuy - former DAV student, currently Vietnamese Representative of the US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC)

The seminar (September 21st, 2021) on “External communication skills and behavior in a multicultural international environment” is a topic that the new students were looking forward to. The students had an honor to listen to Ambassador Pham Quang Vinh, former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Former Vietnamese Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United States of America, sharing valuable experiences in his working life in foreign affairs. Mr. Vinh said that diplomacy is not “to lie whenever you must lie” but it is best with “no lies at all whenever you cannot lie” - sincerity, purity, and no prejudice are basic principles that help to be liked in communication. Concurrently, having diverse knowledge, knowing how to keep promises, knowing how to share information while still holding firm principles, ensuring national confidentiality are secrets to success and respect when communicating in foreign affairs. Ambassador Vinh also emphasized that the ability to listen and sense of humor are advantages in communication. He continuously received questions from students, such as how to reduce stress while still showing your understanding and conveying your stance to partners? How to break the ice during first contacts? How to behave when you first come to a country with a different culture? The students were grateful for the ambassador's sincere advice. At the end of the talk, Ambassador Vinh affirmed that DAV is the best university environment for them, and the most important thing is not just knowledge as knowledge is something that students can learn in many places, through many means and for a lifetime, the school of life is the biggest of all. The most important thing that students will get from DAV is (1) being trained in thinking and foreign policy and (2) early and frequent access to the diplomatic environment. Those two basic points are sharp tools to help students succeed in their future work environment.

Ambassador Pham Quang Vinh, former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Former Vietnamese Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United States of America

With rich content, success of the talks, and extracurricular activities during the first weeks, new DAV students will look forward to upcoming exciting programs.

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