Fourth International Conference on Communication & Media Studies

Abstract

Since the transition in 1986, the Vietnamese government has emphasised the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) as a strategic role in accelerating and in supporting socioeconomic goals (MIC, 2014). In the past several years, many important strategic and policy initiatives have been undertaken to focus national ICT goals and targets. For example the Directive 58 issued by the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) in 10/2000, reflects official policy guidance for government to plan and implement programs relating to the use and development of information technologies. In this context, this paper focuses on the historical and legal aspects of ICT policies and applications in Vietnam during 1995 to present. It explores the discourses and different implementations that are essential to the understanding how the State of Vietnam is responsible for bringing ICT programs in play on a large scale, in the context of modernization and technological innovation to promote its information society. How has the ICT environment in Vietnam continued to evolve with increasing government emphasis on developing the use of ICTs for socioeconomic goals? This paper involves semi-structured interviews with policy makers, as well as document analysis on available government reports and policies, infrastructure and ICT applications. This study explores how the Vietnamese government intervenes to promote ICT throughout their policies and applications.