Building a learning society geared towards digital citizens and a digital government.

Following the merger, the new Dong Nai province has a larger development space, a larger population, and a diverse social structure. With many potentials and advantages, Dong Nai province faces many opportunities for development but also numerous challenges. Given the demand for high-quality human resources, digital skills, green skills, and lifelong learning capabilities, the need for such skills is becoming increasingly urgent.

Two 12th-grade students, Nguyen Vu Phong and Tran Do Thien Bao, from Long Khanh High School (Long Khanh Ward), stand beside the search and rescue drone they designed. Photo: Hai Yen

In this context, lifelong learning is no longer a personal choice but has become an essential requirement for every citizen and for the entire political system. Promoting education should not only involve encouraging learning but must become a fundamental solution to improve the quality of human resources, directly serving the sustainable development goals of the province.

From examples of "learning never ends"...

For many people in Phu Lam commune (Dong Nai province), Mr. Nguyen Thai Hiep (born in 1967) is a shining example of the spirit of "learning never ends." In 2002, at the age of 35, when his eldest son was already in junior high school, Mr. Hiep only began attending supplementary classes for the 6th grade. While working with his wife to support their family and raise three children, he also dedicated time to studying and participating in local education promotion activities. He persevered for 12 years, successfully completing junior high school, high school, and then university. Before that, no one thought he could persevere in his studies for so long.

Mr. Hiep shared: "The more I learn, the more I feel I'm expanding. The process of studying, meeting friends, and gaining experience in life is also a valuable asset." Understanding the role of education in raising the intellectual level of the population, Mr. Hiep has been dedicated to promoting education for over 20 years, making significant contributions to the promotion of learning and talent development, and building a learning society in his locality.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Bich Hoa (right) guides people through administrative procedures at the Phuoc Long Ward Public Administrative Service Center.

In the younger generation, Ms. Nguyen Thi Bich Hoa, a civil servant in the Culture and Social Affairs Department of Phuoc Long Ward, has been involved in promoting education for 13 years in various capacities: Member of the Executive Committee of the Education Promotion Association of Thac Mo Ward (formerly part of Phuoc Long town, Binh Phuoc province), Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of the ward and Chairman of the Education Promotion Association of Thac Mo Ward. After the provincial merger and the reorganization of commune-level administrative units, Ms. Hoa worked as a civil servant in the Culture and Social Affairs Department of Phuoc Long Ward and continued to be involved in education promotion activities.

She personally collaborated with the local education promotion association to mobilize social resources to strengthen community contributions to promoting the Lifelong Learning Movement, expanding the model of learning citizens, and contributing to building a learning society. On average, the former Thac Mo Ward Education Promotion Association awarded gifts and scholarships to poor but studious students and outstanding students in the area with a total value of over 60 million VND each year.

A student from Lac Hong Bilingual Primary, Secondary, and High School (Tran Bien Ward) experiences robot programming.

In her new position after the merger, Ms. Hoa faced many difficulties due to the heavy workload and numerous new professional tasks. Ms. Hoa became even more aware that self-learning and self-improvement were prerequisites for fulfilling her duties.

Ms. Hoa shared: "I still want to be involved in social work and charity, especially in promoting education, to contribute to building a learning society."

…Towards digital citizens in the new era

Today, the spirit of lifelong learning is not only reflected in academic and professional studies but also in the ability to master technology and adapt to digital transformation. Mr. Nguyen Sy Canh, Secretary of the Party Branch of Hamlet 3, Hung Phuoc Commune, is a prime example of this.

Leaving his hometown in Thanh Hoa province to start a career in the South immediately after graduating from high school, Nguyen Sy Canh (currently the Party Secretary of Hamlet 3, Hung Phuoc commune) struggled in many places and worked various jobs before deciding to study to become a general medical assistant at the Binh Phuoc Medical College (now Binh Phuoc College) at the age of 21. After graduating, he chose Hung Phuoc as his place of work and has lived there ever since. At the age of 30, he continued his education and enrolled in a Bachelor of Pharmacy program. Now, at the age of 38, he has begun a university bridging program in Pharmacy at the Eastern University of Technology (Dau Giay commune).

Attending and speaking at the First Congress of Delegates, term 2025-2030, of the Dong Nai Provincial Association for the Promotion of Learning, Vice President of the Central Association for the Promotion of Learning of Vietnam, Truong Thi Hien, proposed that the Dong Nai Provincial Association for the Promotion of Learning should make the Digital Literacy Movement and Digital Learning Promotion a continuous task throughout the term. Dong Nai has advantages in infrastructure, industry, and a young workforce; therefore, it needs to take the lead in supporting people, especially workers, farmers, migrant workers, and disadvantaged people, to access basic digital skills, learn through digital platforms, gradually master technology, and adapt to the digital economy and digital society. Each learning model should be closely linked to the actual needs of the people, the community, and the locality, contributing to the formation of knowledgeable, skilled, and socially responsible people in Dong Nai.

Not content with just studying to improve his family's economic situation, Mr. Nguyen Sy Canh proactively updated his knowledge of information technology, learned English, and actively participated in digital transformation training programs and digital literacy initiatives. Thanks to his updated knowledge and skills in digital technology, he was assigned to be the Team Leader of the Community Digital Technology Team and Project 06 in Hamlet 3, Hung Phuoc Commune. He was also an active member in the 90-day intensive campaign to activate identity verification accounts, integrate documents, and register digital signatures.

Mr. Canh shared: Hamlet 3, Hung Phuoc commune is a border hamlet with 217 households and nearly 700 inhabitants. Most residents come from all over the country to settle and start businesses; their economic lives are still difficult, and their educational levels are uneven. Therefore, mobilizing and guiding people to participate in the digital literacy program and digital transformation is not easy at all.

Faced with these challenges, Mr. Canh, in his role as Party branch secretary, became even more proactive, taking the lead in self-learning and improving his digital skills. As a result, he became proficient in using applications directly related to his work; applying information technology and AI to create video clips and reports… “Every profession needs to apply digital technology. If we don’t learn, we will fall behind, fail to keep up with the work, and find it difficult to develop. After the provincial merger, online meetings, online Party branch activities, online document processing, online training courses… have been organized more frequently. This further demands that each individual, especially cadres and Party members, improve their information technology and digital skills even more,” Mr. Canh shared.

To enable every citizen to become a digital citizen, the role of schools is extremely important, as they are the best and most favorable environment to equip students with digital skills. Thac Mo Secondary School (Phuoc Long ward) is a prime example of a "Learning Unit" that has been commended by the Dong Nai Provincial Association for the Promotion of Learning to be replicated throughout the province.

Thac Mo Secondary School (Phuoc Long Ward) is one of the exemplary "Learning Units" commended by the Dong Nai Provincial Association for the Promotion of Learning. In the photo: Teachers and students of Thac Mo Secondary School during a lesson.

To effectively apply information technology in teaching, the school's teachers actively engage in self-study and professional development through professional development activities, lesson research, and online learning. Many teachers effectively apply new knowledge to innovate teaching methods and student assessment. The school has equipped all classrooms with televisions and Wi-Fi to support the teaching and learning process. As a result, the entrance exam results for grade 10 high school students at Thac Mo Secondary School have consistently been among the top in Binh Phuoc province; and students have achieved high results in student competitions at all levels…

The younger generation of citizens are quick to adapt to the rapid changes in digital technology. They will also be the core "digital citizens" in the country's "digital economy" in this new era of development. It is encouraging that many students, even while still in school, are focusing on learning and investing in research and application of digital technology in various aspects of life through competitions and scientific activities organized by the education sector and related departments, agencies, and organizations.

Nguyen Vu Phong and Tran Do Thien Bao, both 12th-grade students from Long Khanh High School (Long Khanh Ward), are prime examples. Possessing strong computer skills and a passion for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), these two students saved money and worked part-time since 10th grade to fund their UAV research. This year, they embarked on a project called "Hexacopter UAV System with AI Integration to Assist in Search and Rescue After Accidents and Natural Disasters." Not only did they invest a significant amount of money (approximately 100 million VND), but they also dedicated considerable time to the project, working from early June 2025 to January 2026. The project was highly praised by the judging panel of the Provincial Science and Technology Competition for High School Students in the 2025-2026 academic year and was one of the 12 projects to win first prize. Vu Phong and Thien Bao's parents and teachers are very supportive of their projects related to information technology and AI, because they know that in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, whoever masters technology will have more opportunities to develop and go further.

From examples of persistent learning in daily life to proactive citizens mastering technology, the picture of a learning society moving towards digital citizenship and digital government in Dong Nai is gradually becoming clear. Each learning model and each example of self-learning today is an important foundation, contributing to building a learning society and forming a generation of Dong Nai citizens with knowledge, skills, and social responsibility, meeting the demands of development in the digital age.

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Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/bao-xuan-2026/202602/xay-dung-xa-hoi-hoc-tap-huong-den-cong-dan-so-chinh-quyen-so-3361791/