Energy efficiency in developing countries

Student exhibition brings new energy to city life The Saigon Times Part of the Saigon: Interplay exhibition, “Monsters of Saigon” by RMIT student Bui Cam Vy showcases exhibits “to he” figurines made by children, with the purpose of acknowledging and sharing feelings about traumas – PHOTOS: COURTESY OF ORGANIZER HCMC – Design students from RMIT University are showcasing their fresh takes on urban transformation and human connections at the Saigon: Interplay exhibition in HCMC, the result of a three-month project between the Museum of HCMC and RMIT, focusing on the transformation of Vietnam’s biggest metropolis. The exhibition features over 20 works by final-year students from RMIT University’s Bachelor of Design Studies program. “AĂ ” by Truong Thanh An, Kee Zi Sing and Tran Bich Tuyet Nhi aims to help people recognize the hidden identity of Saigon through an interactive public event With the mutual aim of connecting the city and its people, the ideas presented range from community video and photography projects to public art work displays, motorbike parades, bicycling tours and other novel ideas. “Saigon Slumber Party” by Le Cao My Phuong is a free-entry fashion event that invites people to share their self identity in their most comfortable outfit Prior to coming up with this project, RMIT lecturers found that technological and media innovations over the past 20 years have left museums around the world questioning traditional models of artifact collection, conservation, exhibition and publication. Thus, museums are turning to their immediate surroundings to ask how they can renew their local ties and refresh their community bonds. The RMIT students’ works were developed in response to this transformative context. The “Than” project by Nguyen Thai Hoang (pictured in the lower half of the image) encourages people to take photos to preserve the cultural identity of the city’s neighborhoods “The works on …

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Oxfam distributing hygiene kits to people in Yemen amid the coronavirus crisis. Photo: Wael Algadi Oxfam today called for a package of nearly $160 billion in immediate debt cancellation and aid to fund a Global Public Health Plan and Emergency Response and help prevent millions of deaths as a result of the coronavirus.The five-point plan of this Global Public Health Plan and Emergency Response would enable poor countries to take action to prevent the spread of the disease and build up the capacity of health systems to care for those affected. The pandemic has caused widespread suffering in rich countries, overwhelming some of the best healthcare systems in the world. However, with the disease now spreading to many poor countries where high levels of poverty and inequality threaten to accelerate the disease, the public health challenges are even greater. Nearly three billion people across the developing world do not have access to clean water, while millions more do not have access to adequate healthcare and live in crowded slums or refugee camps where social isolation is impossible. As women make up 70 per cent of health workers and carry out most unpaid care work, it will hit them the hardest. Jose Maria Vera, Oxfam International Interim executive director, said that in Mali there are three ventilators per million people. In Zambia, there is one doctor for 10,000 people. “We know from Oxfam’s experience of fighting Ebola that with rapid action, this disease can be stalled and its catastrophic impact stopped. But we must act now and, on a scale never seen before,” he said. “Without urgent, ambitious, and historic action, we could easily see the biggest humanitarian crisis since World War II.” The Imperial College London estimates that in the absence of intervention, the coronavirus could have led to 40 million deaths in the coming year. Oxfam calculates that doubling the health spending of the 85 poorest countries, home to nearly half of the world’s …

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Võ Trí Thành *Võ Trí Thành Việt Nam has outlined its next-decade of socio-development strategy, setting its sights on becoming a developed and upper-middle-income country with modern industry by 2030. However, as success in the past cannot guarantee future triumphs, what are the keys to Việt Nam’s success in the next period? We have talked about Việt Nam’s aspirations to become the next Asian economic dragon and the country has made great strides towards its goals. Amid a volatile world and unprecedented challenges arising from the pandemic, Việt Nam’s success in response to COVID-19 has been praised by international media. To ensure long-term growth, the country is also seeking solutions to key issues such as structural reforms, sustainable and inclusive development and innovation. After many phases of reforms, Việt Nam has basically achieved its goals such as ensuring macroeconomic stabilisation, expanding more opportunities for all economic subjects to develop through institutional reforms, building a socialist market-oriented economy and promoting international integration. Along with that, national capacity has been significantly improved which has been seen in strengthened institutional capacity, reflected in the more efficient State apparatus, enhanced capacity of enterprises through their greater competitiveness and sustainable development strategy and lastly the better-quality human resources. Despite the fast-changing world, lessons and experiences from past reforms have significant value for further success which can be seen in many Vietnamese success stories. When talking about the building of a socialist market-oriented economy, from a centrally planned economy in the early 1980s with little knowledge about the market economy, this has become the red thread throughout the country’s reform process. Việt Nam has learnt and built regulations and good practices for the market through working experience and co-operation with well-known …

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