The event attracted leaders of the MST, representatives of the United Nations in Vietnam, representatives of embassies of several countries, international organisations in Vietnam, representatives of ministries, and agencies, as well as research institutes, universities and enterprises.
Speaking at the event, Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Manh Hung declared that building a culture of innovation for all people, encouraging the spirit of "dare to think, dare to do, dare to innovate" was the key for Vietnam to maximise its creative potential, make breakthroughs in the digital age, and achieve sustainable development goals.
Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Manh Hung made speech at the event.
"Innovation is the driving force for development; promoting innovation is encouraging development; planning innovation is planning the future. Innovating scientific and technological activities is to focus on solving major national problems. If we want creativity and innovation to become universal, we must comprehensively do digital transformation, digitise the entire real world, and bring all activities to the digital environment. The digital environment is the ideal environment for all ideas to be realised the fastest because it is non-physical, non-distance and non-contact,” he said. "In the context of limited resources, innovation is an important lever to help Vietnam make the most of the world's scientific and technological achievements, combined with the creativity and adaptability of Vietnamese people to create solutions suitable to practical conditions."
The minister gave the example of Finland, which is a country of continuous learning and micro-innovation, a learning society of mass innovation. Finland believes small innovation from five million people is more valuable than invention from 500 scientists, in this way, small innovation from 100 million Vietnamese people will be no less than that from 10,000 scientists.
To realise the goal of turning innovation into a way of life, the minister said that the MST has been assigned to develop a national startup project, focusing on forming a culture of innovation among the entire population. This includes encouraging exploratory thinking, accepting failure as part of the innovation process, and creating an innovation ecosystem where every idea has the opportunity to be realised.
Being at the event, Pauline Tamesis, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Vietnam said that Vietnam’s digital economy now makes up 18.3 per cent of GDP, growing faster than any other in Southeast Asia. Nearly all citizens are covered by broadband, and 5G is scaling fast.
Mrs. Pauline Tamesis, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Vietnam.
“Let us embrace a culture where innovation and creativity become a way of life for individuals and organisations alike. This means fostering environments where new ideas are encouraged, creativity is celebrated, and innovative thinking is integrated into everyday practices. By doing so, we can ensure that the spirit of innovation permeates every aspect of our lives, driving progress and enriching our communities,” she said.
April 21 of each year is chosen by the United Nations as the World Creativity and Innovation Day to raise awareness of the role of creativity and innovation in socioeconomic development, building a sustainable society and encouraging all aspects of human development.
2025 marks the fourth year that the MST organised the ceremony to celebrate the World Creativity and Innovation Day./.
