On March 3, a scientific conference with the theme "Dong Du Movement in the early twentieth century - Values from the past to the present" was officially held at Dong A University.

The seminar is also the opening program of activities towards the 50th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Japan (1973-2023) at East Asia University in 2023.

As a forum for academics and scientific research, the seminar was held as a face-to-face and online combination under the chair of Assoc.Prof.Dr. Tran Duc Cuong - Chairman of the Vietnam Historical Science Association, Historian Duong Trung Quoc - General Secretary, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Historical Science Association, and the Board of Directors of Dong A University.

The seminar attracted researchers, historians from all over the country, lecturers and students of schools in Da Nang city, and representatives of Shibaura Academy, Japan, with more than 300 people attending directly.

The workshop was divided into three working sessions with 20 thematic reports, of which 13 were presented directly at the workshop by more than 30 historians, researchers, lecturers, and students in the whole country.

The workshop was both a general and in-depth analysis of topics divided by each session: the Dong Du movement in the early 20th century, the influence of the Dong Du movement on the patriotic movement, and the trend of reform and renovation in Vietnam in the early 20th century, the "Bridge of Dong Du" spanning two centuries,... The activities of the Dong Du movement in Japan were based on the spirit of "desire to learn" - studying the progress of other countries for the cause of national revival, and can be seen as a symbol of the friendship between Vietnam and Japan.

The spirit of “Dong Du” remains valuable when many generations of Vietnam take turns going to developed countries, including Japan, to study and absorb advances in science and technology to return to and develop Vietnam.

At the presentation sessions, many new historical documents were discovered. Many exciting analyzes were researched and reported by the authors at the seminar on the Dong Du movement and its imprints in the relations of cultural and education exchange between Vietnam and Japan, the influence of the Dong Du movement (1905 - 1909) on the culture of Vietnamese youth today, the Dong Du movement and the mission of inheriting the "desire to learn" of students of Dong A University, etc.

“The workshop took place in the context that Vietnam and Japan are aiming to celebrate 50 years of diplomatic relations, also an opportunity to summarize historical, ideological, scientific, cultural, and educational values that the Dong Du movement in the early 20th century opened the direction and passed it on to posterity, arousing the spirit of "studying" for the young Vietnamese generation in general and for the students of Dong A University in particular. Those are valuable lessons that our generation and future generations will receive and practice for the "Dong Du desire to learn" work in the 21st century, continuing that approach in the early 20th century to become a trend of the young Vietnamese generation "going out into the world, acquiring knowledge, perfecting themselves," to return to serve the Fatherland, build the country, and lead the country to prosperous and sustainable development, "comparable with powerful countries of five continents and four oceans," as President Ho Chi Minh aspired during his lifetime.", Dr. Nguyen Thi Anh Dao - Rector of Dong A University speaking at the conference.

The developments and valuable lessons from the Dong Du movement, Assoc.Prof.Dr. Tran Duc Cuong - President of the Vietnam Association of Historical Sciences, assessed: "In the cause of national development today, under the policy of independence and self-reliance, along with international cooperation, we advocate to build the strength of the whole nation, mainly rely on the strength of the whole people, of the "internal strength" factor. In that situation, the fact that Dong A University held a scientific seminar, "Dong Du Movement in the early 20th Century - Values from the Past to the Present," has profound scientific significance, not only in terms of theoretical but also in practice.

It is known that the series of activities of the Vietnam - Japan Cultural Exchange Festival and the 8th Annual Japan Job Day in 2023 at Dong A University will officially take place on March 9.

(Author: Nguyen Thi Luc)