Cannot take off if digital society is not synchronized

The Prime Minister and delegates visit and experience the 'Digital Education for All' platform - Photo: NGOC AN

It can be said that this movement is a drastic step towards a synchronous digital society from top to bottom, from public agencies to each citizen, from specialized technological activities to the simplest individual actions.

On September 2, 1945, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was established. At that time, 98% of the population was illiterate.

In the first meeting of the Government Council on September 3, President Ho Chi Minh said: "An ignorant nation is a weak nation.

So I propose to launch a campaign against illiteracy". And thus the movement to popularize education and eliminate illiteracy was born.

Thanks to this movement, the educational level and intelligence of our people have been raised step by step, creating a solid foundation under the leadership of the Party and Government to turn the country from poverty and ignorance into an average developed country.

But globalization and international integration force our country to change. We cannot stay at an average level forever, but must enter an era of strong growth.

To do so, the country must quickly seize the opportunities of the 4.0 revolution, of scientific and technological innovation, creativity and digitalization.

Of course, if a society where digitalization is only at the top, reaching a few parts of the public authorities and a group of people, it cannot achieve "efficiency, effectiveness, efficiency", and may even fail.

Therefore, the "Digital Literacy" movement was born to popularize information technology knowledge and skills to all people.

If the 1945 mass education movement had the most difficulty with teachers, the mass education movement today had many times more difficulty.

The difficulty here is not only the money to invest in machinery, equipment, human resource training, and technology, but also how to ensure stability and synchronization while the changes in information technology are as rapid as a storm, happening every day, every hour.

In addition, there is a large segment of society that is always likely to be left out of the digital transformation process, such as the elderly, the disabled, and the poor.

Therefore, the Prime Minister reminded that special attention should be paid to those who have difficulty accessing digital transformation in remote areas, border and island areas, and those who are likely to fall behind in the digital popularization movement.

Currently, visitors to Singapore do not need to present their passports at the airport, nor do they have to declare when coming to work long-term, thanks to Singapore preparing to build an IT platform for all people 15 years ago.

In 2013, the Singapore government gave each senior citizen S$600 to learn how to use information technology for four months, and those over 65 years old received a free mobile plan that included a smartphone, a SIM card, 3GB of monthly mobile data and unlimited "free" domestic calls.

If the popular education movement to eradicate illiteracy is considered the first revolution to raise the intellectual level of the people to access the public administration system, the digital popular education movement to eradicate information technology illiteracy is the second revolution to raise the level of science and technology so that the Vietnamese people can access a diverse and global service system. That is the basis for us to confidently enter the era of national development.

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Dr. Nguyen Minh Hoa

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/khong-the-cat-canh-neu-xa-hoi-so-khong-dong-bo-20250328075026448.htm