The purpose of this project is to explore approaches to governance based on consensus-building and to examine the role played by civic activities conducted at the regional and municipal level in Vietnam, with reference to cases of urban planning in South Korea and Japan.
In fiscal 2007 case studies of South Korean regional development were introduced at workshops concerning methods of consensus building held May 16, 2007, in Hanoi and May 18 in Ho Chi Minh. Experts from Kyung Hee University provided lectures on regional development strategies used in South Korea and on understanding public-private partnerships to 37 people in Hanoi and 38 people in Ho Chi Minh--mostly staff from the National Institute for Urban and Rural Planning of Vietnam.
Experts from Japan, meanwhile, participated in the workshops with lectures on the public's role in achieving sustainable development and on consensus building. Also 14 people including Vietnamese government officials, specialists, and NGO representatives visited South Korea from September 15 to 21, where they attended lectures at Kyung Hee University on the role of NGOs in municipal and regional planning and toured sites that provided examples of urban planning efforts in Seoul, such as river and walkway improvements.