In this context, the role of social sciences and humanities — a field directly researching human beings, society, culture, history, politics, media, governance, and the laws governing social life — seems to remain relatively quiet compared to expectations.
Recently, during a working session on basic scientific research, General Secretary and President To Lam affirmed: A nation can import technology, but it cannot import a development model that suits its own history, culture, and conditions.
Therefore, social sciences and humanities play a particularly important role in theoretical research, policy formulation, legal reform, strategic forecasting, building national values, cultural development, and protecting the Party's ideological foundation.
Throughout the country's history, social sciences and humanities have always played a particularly important role, not only in examining social issues but also in analysing and uncovering the hidden structures within each content and each problem.
For the digital transformation process and economic development, social sciences and humanities need to be viewed not only for their impact but also as active participants in the process from design and implementation to evaluation.
In recent years, relevant academies, agencies, ministries, and sectors have made efforts to find ways to affirm the role of social sciences and humanities in the country's development.
Scientists in general, as well as social sciences and humanities scholars in particular, affirm that the explosion of digital technology, artificial intelligence, and big data not only creates opportunities but also poses many new challenges, requiring a comprehensive renewal of scientific thinking in terms of theory, methodology, and approach.
Social sciences and humanities play a particularly important role in helping people understand themselves, society, the driving forces of development, and the laws governing life.
For the digital transformation process, success cannot be judged solely by the applications deployed, but also by the awareness, actions, and social communication of each individual and group. This is one of the key tasks of social sciences and humanities in the new era of the country.
Viet Nam is on the path to becoming a strong, widespread, and comprehensive digital transformation nation. To ensure that the achievements just attained continue to spread and be sustainable, we need to continue affirming the important role of social sciences and humanities as a strategic, indispensable science alongside science and technology and economic development.
To achieve the above objectives, and to concretise the Party’s views and policies on the important role of social sciences and humanities, the entire political system, first and foremost the Party committees, governments, and leaders at all levels, need to continue to recognise that investing in social sciences and humanities is building a foundation for leadership, governance, institutional development, and cultural and human development.
Similarly to science and technology, relevant agencies need to boldly innovate the financial mechanisms for social sciences and humanities towards lump-sum allocation, minimising administrative procedures, accepting scientific risks, and evaluating effectiveness based on output results, rather than documents, invoices, and bidding procedures.
Relevant ministries and sectors need to research and disseminate the value, position, and necessity of social sciences and humanities into programmes, projects, and curricula for university students. This includes establishing interdisciplinary research centres, combining engineers and social scientists to work together.
For social sciences and humanities to assert their position, we urgently need groundbreaking institutional reforms and changes in management thinking at the macro level.
