Digital transformation in ethnic minority areas

At a shoe store located in a Dao ethnic minority village on the edge of the forest in Hamlet 6, Thanh Son Commune, Dong Nai Province, after a customer chooses a pair of sandals they like, Ms. Hoang Thi Thanh (of the Dao ethnic group) opens a QR code on her phone for the buyer to pay. After verifying that the money has been credited to the account, the seller and buyer part ways happily, having completed the transaction.

Mr. Hoang Van Thai (of the Dao ethnic group), a respected figure among the ethnic minority community in Hamlet 6, Thanh Son Commune, paid for the goods via bank transfer.

Recently, buying and selling through bank transfers, as seen at Ms. Hoang Thi Thanh's shop, has been happening quietly but quickly in most ethnic minority villages in remote areas like Thanh Son commune.

Transferring money in the forest

Ms. Dieu Thi Ut (of the Choro ethnic group), a respected figure among the ethnic minority community in Hamlet 5, said: "Most of the Choro people's fields are far from their homes. Therefore, when buying goods online, the delivery person often doesn't have anyone to pay when they arrive. In such cases, neighbors will receive and check the goods for them. If the goods are correct, they will call the buyer to transfer the money to the delivery person. This is very convenient for both the buyer and the delivery person."

According to Tran Hoan (a delivery driver), the hamlets in Thanh Son commune are quite far apart. In densely populated residential areas, the roads are smooth and paved, but for houses located in the middle of large fields, the roads are both long and difficult to navigate. Therefore, bank transfer payments save time and fuel for delivery drivers because they don't have to make multiple trips to customers' homes.

According to Mr. Nong Van Quyet (Tay ethnic group, Hamlet 8): From the edge of the concrete road to his house, about 2km away, is a bumpy, honeycomb-stoned dirt path barely wide enough for a motorbike. It's easier in the dry season, but in the rainy season, those with weak driving skills can easily fall. Recently, his family has received loans from the Vietnam Social Policy Bank for his children's education, clean water projects, and rural sanitation. Previously, when paying interest and making savings deposits each month, the head of the Savings and Loan Group would come to his house to collect the money, or he would go to the group leader's house. On rainy days, it was difficult for the female group leader to travel to his house. But since the Vietnam Social Policy Bank app was installed on the borrowers' and group leaders' phones, and with a stable mobile network, everything has become simpler. After transferring money, he takes a screenshot of the transfer to save and sends it via Zalo message so the group leader can update the information.

Mr. Nong Van Quyet (Tay ethnic group, Hamlet 8, Thanh Son commune) discussed with the head of the Savings and Loan Group in Hamlet 8 about using the Vietnam Social Policy Bank app to transfer monthly interest payments instead of having someone come to his house to collect the money as before.

Furthermore, according to Ms. Hoang Thi Lan (Tay ethnic group, Hamlet 6): During their migration from the northern mountainous provinces to this area, the Tay people maintained the traditional art form of Then singing and Tinh playing. When communication became convenient, Tay people in the commune and those from outside the village would directly video call each other to guide each other on new songs, correct each other's lyrics and melodies. Or when they needed to buy an instrument, people from outside the village would video call so that those here could choose one at the store; if satisfied, they would transfer the money immediately, and the instrument would then be sent to the commune.

Dong Nai currently has 484 influential figures among ethnic minority communities and 98 village elders representing nearly 406,000 ethnic minority people.

Thanks to the telecommunications network and her familiarity with mobile applications, even while working far away in the fields, Mrs. Lan can still monitor her grandchildren's activities at home through the connection with her home security cameras. She can also easily look up information about each family member's health insurance card to renew it on time. When purchasing, she transfers the money to the agent without having to meet in person.

Use social media safely.

The fact that ethnic minority people in Thanh Son commune are now familiar with digital transformation is primarily due to the efforts of the government at all levels in investing in and building telecommunications infrastructure right up to the village level.

At the same time, according to Ngo Hoang Hai, Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of the People's Council of Thanh Son commune: Training activities on safe social media use, preventing online fraud, assisting with ATM card applications and using banking apps, installing apps related to administrative procedures, etc., for ethnic minority people are regularly organized by the authorities at all levels.

Ms. Dieu Thi Ut added: “Esteemed individuals in ethnic minority communities like myself receive 800,000 VND per month from the State. To encourage respected individuals in the ethnic minority community to set an example in digital transformation, the former Provincial Ethnic Affairs Committee (now the Department of Ethnic Minorities and Religion) and banks provide free ATM card opening and guidance on safe usage. Every month, upon receiving a text message, I know the subsidy has been deposited into my account, instead of having to go to a government agency to sign for it in person. Seeing respected individuals in the ethnic minority community, even those over 60 years old, using ATM cards and making transfers skillfully, those around them are also encouraged to learn and use them. At the same time, with fraudulent calls impersonating government agencies, ethnic minority people know how to protect themselves: don't listen, don't believe, and don't follow the instructions.”

To help influential figures among ethnic minority communities, village elders, and ethnic minority people effectively implement digital transformation and use social media safely, according to Mr. Tho Ut, Deputy Director of the Department of Ethnic Minorities and Religions and National Assembly representative for Dong Nai province: In the coming time, relevant agencies will carry out consulting, training, and direct guidance activities on digital transformation to help ethnic minorities better apply digital transformation to their lives safely, increasing the effectiveness of the connection between the Party, the government, and ethnic minority communities.

Mr. Hoang Van Thai (of the Dao ethnic group), a respected figure among the ethnic minority community in Hamlet 6, added: "Previously, whenever I went to my field on the edge of the forest, about 5km from my house, my phone would lose signal. To contact each other, we could only run from the field back home or run to a nearby main road to get a signal. Now, even while sitting in my field watchtower in the middle of the forest, I can comfortably read the news on my phone and listen to online music. Although access to information is easy, I and my fellow villagers always remind each other to choose to read from official news websites and be wary of harmful, inflammatory content."

Literature

Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/chuyen-doi-so/202508/chuyen-doi-so-trong-vung-dong-bao-dan-toc-thieu-so-1fd248e/