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| Nguyen Duong Anh, Deputy Director of the Department of Information and Communications |
Sir, what are the special highlights of this year's Digital Transformation Week?
This is an annual event organized by VINASA and the Provincial People's Committee, the goal of Digital Transformation Week is to strongly promote DT efforts in Thua Thien Hue across all pillars: digital government, digital economy, and digital society. This year, the Digital Transformation Week is scheduled to take place on November 15 and 16, featuring a variety of activities including conferences, consultations, seminars, exhibitions, and DT advisory connections.
The key highlight of the event is the focus on introducing AI solutions and discussing methods to promote the application of this technology across all sectors, organizations, businesses, and the people of Hue, particularly emphasizing government, enterprises, agriculture, and transportation.
We will introduce groundbreaking AI solutions that help improve the efficiency of state management and enhance the quality of public services for citizens through e-government. Additionally, AI will be applied in smart agriculture to optimize production and conserve resources, as well as in transportation, contributing to the development of a safe and convenient traffic system while reducing congestion.
Since the beginning of 2024, the organizing committee, along with technology companies, has held numerous working sessions to actualize this goal before presenting it at the forum. Therefore, at the event, participants will have the opportunity to experience the AI solutions that have already been implemented and connect directly with the providing companies.
The application of AI is changing the digital transformation process; is this the reason why the organizing committee chose this theme for this year's Digital Transformation Week?
For many years, Thua Thien Hue has consistently been one of the leading localities in the Digital Transformation Index (DTI). Hue has been implementing solutions to accelerate the development of e-government and digital government, with a key focus on building and developing smart urban services that center around the needs of citizens and businesses.
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| Introduction of Digital Technology Applications at Hue Digital Transformation Week 2023 |
Since 2018, Thua Thien Hue has focused on building and utilizing data to operate the province's Open Data System, aiming to collect and share datasets, and to connect with common systems in the province as well as the National Data Portal. To date, there are 115 datasets from 32 agencies and units published on the province's Open Data Portal across various fields: culture, health, education, agriculture, natural resources and environment, transportation, etc.
Data infrastructure and technology have made significant progress. This is the main reason the organizing committee decided to choose the theme for Hue Digital Transformation Week 2024 as 'AI - Accelerating Socio-Economic Development in Hue.'"
After being held 3 times, what goals and changes does this Digital Transformation Week aim to achieve, sir?
Thua Thien Hue will become a centrally-governed city by 2025 and aims to be one of the major, distinctive centers in Southeast Asia. The gross regional domestic product (GRDP) of Thua Thien Hue is 9-10% per year. Thua Thien Hue identifies three key growth centers: the Complex of Monuments and Heritage of Hue Ancient Capital, the Science Park in the central urban area, and the Concentrated IT Zone, Digital transformation and AI will serve as a solid foundation for breakthrough socio-economic development in the province.
From the Digital Transformation Week, the organizing committee hopes that agencies and organizations will boldly innovate and enhance the application of AI solutions to optimize workflows and provide intelligent and efficient public services, making it easier for citizens and businesses. Companies will also promote the use of AI, especially in communication, marketing, sales, and optimizing process to achieve breakthroughs in production and business, as well as in service delivery and customer experience. Particularly, the people of Hue will gain awareness of AI and effective AI tools to apply in their daily lives and work.
As one of the leading localities in digital transformation and digital data construction, the organizing committee hopes that Thua Thien Hue will be a shining example of AI application, not only bringing breakthroughs for the province but also serving as a model for other localities to reference and learn from.
So, how is the application of AI in building digital infrastructure today?
In Thua Thien Hue, artificial intelligence is being applied in building digital infrastructure across several areas to support public activities as well as to implement and monitor smart urban services, especially in data analysis, forecasting operational scenarios, aiding in traffic safety and public order, and providing alerts on important information regarding the urban environment.
Additionally, the province is piloting AI-based virtual assistant solutions (AI chatbots) for providing public administrative services and tourism support. In the future, there are plans to research and train these virtual assistants with diverse input data to better support officials, businesses, and citizens.
In reality, the implementation of digital transformation in various departments, sectors, and localities still faces many challenges, does it?
Despite many positive results, there are still some challenges that need to be addressed. One of the main issues is the interoperability of information systems, particularly with the data systems of central ministries and agencies following vertical units management. Additionally, the data in various sectors has not been fully digitized. Some sectors have digitized their data, but it is not 'clean' and has not been updated to reflect changes. There is also a lack of end-user devices, and the existing equipment has not been upgraded in a timely manner to enable officials to effectively use the information systems.
We have also not yet issued certain institutional documents at the local level to guide officials in digital transformation and cybersecurity, as well as policies for community digital technology teams at the commune and village levels.
In your opinion, what solutions are needed to ensure that digital transformation efforts become more substantial in the near future?
The core issue in promoting digital transformation is the awareness of leaders and the skills of the people. Awareness must go hand in hand with understanding and action, while also enhancing the digital skills of citizens in the digital age.
However, for digital transformation efforts to become substantive, many challenges remain. While our digital government is relatively stable with much implementation experience, there is pressure on businesses and citizens in developing the digital society and digital economy, requiring appropriate methods that adapt to practical realities and align with digital transformation trends from a state-building perspective, where businesses are the driving force and citizens are at the center. Addressing this relationship to create a cohesive ecosystem in digital transformation is a critical task.
Thank you very much!