Part 3: The transition from 'online government'
Given the geographical characteristics of the mountainous region, with its difficult roads and inadequate infrastructure, the application of information technology and digital transformation in management and administration has created significant changes, transforming the mindset of leadership and management, and bringing the Party's resolutions into life for both officials and the people. In particular, digital technology has also helped people access economic trends, opening up many new career opportunities and gradually lifting them out of poverty.
Thanh Phuc - Hoai Thu • September 25, 2024
Given the geographical characteristics of the mountainous region, with its difficult roads and inadequate infrastructure, the application of information technology and digital transformation in management and administration has created significant changes, transforming the mindset of leadership and management, and bringing the Party's resolutions into life for both officials and the people. In particular, digital technology has also helped people access economic trends, opening up many new career opportunities and gradually lifting them out of poverty.
On July 9, 2024, as dusk fell, although he had left the meeting at the People's Committee of Huoi Tu commune (Ky Son district) quite some time ago, the head of Pha Bun village, Mr. Ho Tong Lau, was still overjoyed, saying, "Today was truly wonderful, attending a meeting directly with central government officials. This meeting was attended by many high-ranking leaders of the Politburo and central ministries and agencies. My life as a village official in a remote village like Pha Bun is truly satisfying." Nearly 50 years old, with almost 30 years of experience in village work, having risen through the ranks of the Youth Union, working in production while simultaneously building grassroots movements, Mr. Ho Tong Lau gradually became a respected figure, elected as the Party Secretary and then the head of Pha Bun village for decades. However, as the elderly Hờ Tồng Lầu shared, about ten years ago, whenever he received an invitation for village officials to attend a meeting in Mường Xén town, he would pack his bags and leave the afternoon before to be able to attend the meeting the following morning.
“Back then, travel was extremely difficult. During the rainy season, motorbikes were slippery, and going uphill was easier than going downhill. We had to wrap ropes around the wheels to get through. In the evening, village officials like us had to go to the town beforehand, rent temporary accommodation, and attend meetings the next day. Each meeting only lasted one morning, but the travel time took a day and a night. In my wildest dreams, I couldn't have imagined what it's like today. I couldn't have imagined that village officials in these remote mountains could one day sit in a meeting with Party and State leaders from Hanoi. Information technology has changed my way of thinking so much,” shared elder Hờ Tồng Lầu.
It's unbelievable that village officials in this remote mountainous area could one day sit in a meeting with Party and State leaders in Hanoi via a digital platform. Information technology has brought about such a tremendous change.”
Elder Ho Tong Lau, Head of Pha Bun village, Huoi Tu commune (Ky Son district)
The meeting that the elderly Hờ Tồng Lầu referred to was the National Online Conference to thoroughly implement Regulation No. 144-QĐ/TW on the revolutionary ethical standards of cadres and Party members in the new period; and Directive No. 35-CT/TW on Party congresses at all levels leading up to the 14th National Congress of the Party. The conference was broadcast live from the Dien Hong Hall, National Assembly Building, and simultaneously connected online to 15,644 locations including central agencies, provincial and city Party committees under the Central Committee, and commune-level locations, with over 1.28 million Party members nationwide participating. In Nghe An, from the provincial-level location, through the connection of the online meeting system, 37 district-level locations and 554 commune-level locations were able to participate in the meeting.
“At the commune-level meeting point, in addition to key officials and the commune Party committee, we invited the secretaries, village heads, and heads of village associations and organizations to attend the meeting. Not only this meeting, but for the past two years, thanks to the district's online meeting system, grassroots officials have benefited greatly as the process of receiving and implementing directives and resolutions has become faster, and travel time has been reduced. Especially in mountainous areas like Ky Son, online meetings are truly a breakthrough that helps to improve the effectiveness of leadership and management at the grassroots level,” said Mr. Denh Ba Long, Secretary of the Party Committee of Huoi Tu commune (Ky Son).
Similarly, in Khai Son commune, Anh Son district, Mr. Vo Ngoc Tiep, a civil servant at the Commune People's Committee Office, said that since the introduction of the online meeting system, not only commune and district-level officials and Party members but also village and hamlet officials can participate in meetings organized by the Central Government. This was unprecedented and only possible in the digital age. Khai Son commune has 7 hamlets, including one with Catholic residents and hamlets located quite far from the commune center, such as hamlet 9a (5km from the Commune People's Committee). “In Khai Son commune, most village officials are quite elderly, so some have difficulty traveling and their health is limited. However, thanks to the online meeting system, this drawback has been overcome, helping them to complete their tasks well, fully and effectively absorb the directives, policies, and mechanisms of the Party and State, and avoid distortion when attending meetings in person. In 2023 alone, together with the Anh Son District People's Committee, Khai Son commune implemented the connection with village officials to participate in nearly 20 online meetings,” said Mr. Vo Ngoc Tiep. In all 7 hamlets of Khai Son commune, there is a Digital Technology Team to help people answer questions, install and use digital technology applications to serve their lives, meetings, communication, and economic activities.
In the first six months of 2024, the entire province conducted online video conferences with four connection points, linking the Provincial Party Committee, the Provincial People's Council, and the Provincial People's Committee with the Party Committees and People's Committees of districts, towns, and cities, as well as some departments and agencies. From December 10, 2023, to May 31, 2024, the online video conferencing system served 41 intra-provincial meetings; including 8 meetings of the Provincial People's Committee and 4 meetings of the Provincial Party Committee.
Thanh Son commune, Anh Son district, is a remote area where 100% of the population are ethnic Thai people. With over 900 households and a population of more than 3,600, the lives of the people in Thanh Son have improved significantly thanks to economic and cultural changes. For Ms. Dang Thi Tho, a civil servant at the Commune People's Committee Office, the biggest and most noticeable change in her work comes from the application of information technology and digital transformation. Ms. Tho said that previously, the Commune People's Committee Office had many employees but only one computer for shared use. Therefore, processing documents and official correspondence took a lot of time, often leading to delays. This situation only ended when the commune invested in additional equipment so that each official and employee had a computer to serve their work.
“The most effective measure is the introduction of the IOffice software, which provides each civil servant with a digital signature, allowing them to submit documents to leaders for online signing. The application of digital technology not only significantly shortens the time required to process documents, but also enables civil servants to flexibly handle multiple tasks simultaneously via the internet and their smartphones. These conveniences and efficiencies make civil servants at the grassroots level like us love our jobs even more,” shared Ms. Dang Thi Tho.
Speaking further about the positive changes brought about by the application of information technology in the highlands, Mr. Lu Quang Hung, Head of the Propaganda Department of the Ky Son District Party Committee and Director of the Ky Son District Political Center, said that the application of information technology in the highlands has been particularly effective, something that was previously thought impossible due to the unique terrain and climate of the remote areas. Building a digital government and conducting online operations through online exchange groups, social media, and the VNPT IOffice document system has helped shorten the spatial and temporal distance in bringing Party directives into life. Regarding propaganda work, for many years now, most meetings for speakers have been conducted online. Officials in remote villages, some located 70km from Muong Xen town through mountainous forests, can now attend meetings with district leaders from their local area,” Mr. Lu Quang Hung affirmed.
Building a digital government and conducting online operations through online discussion groups, social media, and the VNPT IOffice document system has helped shorten the spatial and temporal distances in bringing Party directives into practice.
Besides improvements in leadership and management, digital technology has also, for the first time, enabled the Mong, Khmu, and Thai ethnic minorities in Ky Son to "complete paperwork such as birth registration, marriage registration, and tuition fee payments for their children from the comfort of their homes, without having to walk tens of kilometers to the commune People's Committee or school, or travel for hours by motorbike to the district as before," said Ms. Vu Y Xo from Huoi Le village, Huoi Tu commune. Ms. Vu Thi Huyen, President of the Ky Son District Women's Union, said that information technology, coupled with smartphones, has changed the mindset of women in remote areas. Thanks to digital technology, women's branches have been able to gather more members and encourage women to participate effectively in union activities. This is especially true since the Ky Son District Women's Union implemented the "Application of Information Technology and Digital Transformation in Union Activities" program for the period 2023-2027. To date, 100% of grassroots Women's Union branches have computers connected to the Internet, and 100% of units have opened Facebook and Zalo accounts to carry out the Union's tasks. "Since applying digital technology, all information, from invitations to meetings and the implementation of work content to reviewing regulations and policies, and even visits and encouragement, is done through social media groups. This includes propaganda and mobilization efforts. Thanks to social media and information technology, all implemented content reaches each member directly, even if they are working in the fields or even visiting relatives in Laos," shared Ms. Vu Thi Huyen.
Elaborating on this, Mr. Tho Ba Re, Vice Chairman of the Ky Son District People's Committee, said that by June 2024, implementing the Project on Developing Data Applications on Population, Identification and Electronic Authentication to Serve the National Digital Transformation in the 2022-2025 period, Ky Son district had implemented 100% of administrative procedures through the online public service system, such as: Permanent and temporary residence registration; Registration and issuance of license plates for motorcycles and motorbikes; Birth registration, marriage registration, tuition fee payment, issuance of health insurance cards for children under 6 years old; registration of changes in land use rights and ownership of assets attached to land…
According to Mr. Vo Trong Phu, Deputy Director of the Department of Information and Communications, not only in Ky Son, but also in most mountainous districts, the province's digital transformation plan has been implemented quite synchronously. Priority has been given to investing in the installation of electronic document systems and online meetings in 100% of communes. Many localities started implementing this early, from 2018-2020, creating positive changes in administrative reform and leadership, such as Tuong Duong, Que Phong, Anh Son, etc. Later, even remote and difficult districts like Ky Son have completed connecting their communes to the online meeting system.
Mr. Vo Trong Phu further stated that, in recent times, the Ministry of Information and Communications has coordinated with several organizations and businesses to support and promote pilot digital transformation in some villages and communes before expanding it. In the context of the gradual implementation of smart city development in localities, with the goal of narrowing the digital gap between urban and rural areas, and between urban and mountainous regions, this aims to help commune authorities enhance the effective application of information technology, while also improving management and services for the people, and helping people improve their digital skills to promote the unique products and cultural characteristics of their localities.
