Summary of the course "Social Responsibility and New Innovation"

The journey of developing a community project with the theme "Honoring intangible values" with the chosen location being the ancient Thanh Da apartment complex has come to an end. Besides the meaningful finished products, the groups within the time of the course have had many interesting experiences, profound lessons and many unforgettable memories at this place.

On the morning of September 16, 2023, the practical implementation report session within the time of the course was held with the participation of five project implementation groups along with partners and some very special guests: Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoai Linh - National Director of Action for Environment and Development Organization (Enda Vietnam); Ms. Tran Thi Minh Chau - Asian Housing Rights Alliance; MSc. Le Thi My Hien - Former Deputy Head of the Department of Sociology - Community Service - Southeast Asia, Ho Chi Minh City Open University, Expert in Community Service and Development; MSc. Le Thi My Huong - Education Expert, Community Service and Development Expert and representative of the Center is Ms. Tran Thi My Phuong - Director of Center of Service-Learning (UEF).


After two months of diligently researching and implementing plans for the project with enthusiasm, each group took turns presenting their finished products. Each report is condensed into just a few minutes, but to achieve such a successful result takes a period of time more than four months to accompany each other throughout the entire course. Remember back to the first day of class, they were still strangers, arranged into five groups with five cute names having their own characteristics and messages: Thanh Da Storykeeper, Xom Cui, Chung Cu 102, Thap Cam and Duong Luc Hoang. The projects were connected together just like that, then they start the project with the same common goal "Honoring the intangible value of the ancient Thanh Da apartment complex".



Talking about Thanh Da, the Thanh Da Storykeeper group began their presentation with their feelings and shared about the journey of implementing the project. From the first days, they did not clearly understand the purpose of the course and did not know "What is a community project?" But now, they have successfully launched "Thanh Da Magazine" - becoming special "Storykeepers" to preserve the good values of Thanh Da. A member of the group shared that "The people of Thanh Da have become an important contributor to the results of our group's project." Bui Thi Phuong Linh shared: "During the group project, many things happened, from which I also learned profound lessons for myself: about perseverance, about how to work and communicate in the group, and most importantly I have reached the end of the journey."

Following the story keepers, the special reports of the two groups Xom Cui and Apartment 102 made the atmosphere more exciting than ever. Learning together about the portraits of children in the Thanh Da apartment complex, the two groups spent a lot of time researching and developing project ideas with the desire to create a helpful activity for children in this area. With unremitting efforts, the two groups successfully brought about the activity "Thanh Da Colors" - Organizing a day of practical activities to connect local people, creating an attractive playground for children. The activity "Thanh Da Colors" was truly as colorful as its name and goal. Xom Cui and Apartment 102 received a lot of positive feedback from Thanh Da people. That is the result of perseverance in overcoming challenges and is also what motivates you to continue implementing community projects in the future.





The story of the ancient Thanh Da apartment complex does not stop here, the Thap Cam group continues to bring the finished photo magazine "Thanh Da Moments" to preserve the slow, peaceful pace of life of this place. The group shared that "After all, what left the deepest impression on the group was the people and the peaceful landscape of the apartment complex." The more we do the community projects, the more we love the place where that community lives and understand more about the unique rhythm of life of a community. Thanh Da has become a special place for Thap Cam members in such a way.

At the end of the report session, Duong Luc Hoang's group brought the project "Thanh Da Adventure" which made the participating students, guests, and partners once again impressed with the group's achievements. The "Thanh Da Adventure" project is a set of cards that record location information, describing the area of Thanh Da, as an interesting game of finding intangible values. Even though there were many difficulties in arranging time, work, and even challenging moments "Every time I go surveying, it starts to rain", the group members still continued their journey, seeing those difficult tasks as some memorable things to try harder.
 

The course ends with extremely worthy results for their hard work and efforts. From here, the groups have gained extremely valuable knowledge in their journey of personal development. Each comment and expectation from partners and guests has helped them maintain the fire of enthusiasm and spirit to be able to continue building and developing future projects. Perhaps this is a promise not only to the community of the ancient Thanh Da apartment complex, but they will also develop more projects in the community, contributing to enhancing their responsibility in making a positive impact on society.

The program "Social Responsibility and New Innovation 2022" is the first program organized by the Center of Service-Learning of Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics and Finance. The Center of Service-Learning always strives to find companion units interested in different topics such as: Social responsibility, Sustainable development, Climate change,... along with that, the training content is scientifically designed to help students learn with the Design Thinking model, Empathize with the community and one’s own self,... The program hopes to bring initiatives from the young generation that has deep empathy with the community to create in-depth project ideas that will make a real impact on the community.