The first training course for media managers opened in Ho Chi Minh City as part of the program to improve management capacity on a strategic level to meet the actual needs in the rapidly changing media landscape in Vietnam.
Twenty four middle and top managers from Thanh Nien, Tuoi Tre, Saigon Times, VietnamNet and VNexpress are the first group of beneficiaries of the training programme. Under the title “A programme for Media Managers: Media development projects in a learning context”, the Swedish Radio Media Development Office (SR MDO), with its partner, Voice of Vietnam, is providing media corporations in Vietnam an opportunity to work with real-life management projects in a learning context.
The Ambassador of Sweden, Mr Staffan Herrström opened the course, highlighting the important role of the managers as well as modern management knowledge and skills in making positive changes in individual organisations in particular and the Vietnamese media in general.
Mr Staffan Herrström shared his experience:
“What I saw as young journalist was the huge value of modern management methods: empowering staff rather than being authoritarian, giving space for new ideas and different opinions.”
Sweden’s modern management knowledge and skills are shared at the training courses. “You have a challenging future. Being ‘a driver of change’ is not an easy task. But certainly exciting and potentially very important for the positive development not only of your media house but also of your society. I sincerely encourage you to discuss and share your views with your Swedish colleagues who have had some experiences in management within the Swedish context and hopefully some of the lessons learnt can be applied in your daily work. I believe that gradually you can make positive influence achieving results i.a. in terms of better quality of your newspaper and media at large”, said the Ambassador of Sweden.
Funded by the Embassy of Sweden, the programme is expected to contribute to enhanced process of building a sustainable democratic society through development of a professional media promoting freedom of information and freedom of expression. The programme also aims at contributing to long term contacts between Swedish and Vietnamese media groups.
In the period of three years, from November 2010 until June 2013, there will be three different training programmes. Each programme will consist of three training courses and e-learning will be conducted in between these courses.
The first programme starts with the first course the in HCMC from Nov. 15 – 26, 2010; the second course will be in Stockholm from March 14 – 25, 2011; the last course will in HCM city again in August 15 – 26, 2011.
The next programme will be in 2011/2012 and the last programme will be in 2012/2013.
