In his remarks at the 239th anniversary of Independence Day of the U.S. hosted by the U.S. Consulate General in HCMC on July 01, U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius restated the statement by the first U.S Ambassador to Vietnam Peterson: “In the U.S. – Vietnam relations, nothing is impossible.”

Storage and conservation of Cham cultural heritage face various difficulties, for this is a long story which cannot be done in a couple of days or so and suffers many hindrances. Expenses, mobilization of the public, and concerns of related authorities at different levels were the topics under discussion at the symposium “Digitalizing Cham Manuscripts” taking place at the HCMC University of Social Sciences and Humanities (USSH) on June 17, 2015.

On June 04, 2015, the 2015 Vietnam International Conference in Finance (VICIF 2015) took place at the University of Economics and Law, attracting an enormous number of domestic and international scholars to attend.

On the afternoon of May 29, Dr. Tran Dinh Lam participated in a seminar by Mr. Charles H. Rivkin – U.S. Assistant Secretary of State at the University of Economics HCMC (UE HCMC). Attendees also included representatives of the Consulate General of the U.S.A., the U.S. Department of State, Prof.Dr. Nguyen Dong Phong (UE HCMC’s President), Assoc.Prof.Dr. Nguyen Trong Hoai (UE HCMC’s Deputy President), lecturers of UE HCMC and staff of some other universities.

The delegation of the University of Utah, consisting of Assoc.Prof. Janet Theiss from the History Department and Assoc.Prof. Kim Korinek from the Asia Center, paid a visit to the HCMC University of Social Sciences and Humanities (USSH) on May 28.

The scientific study on “Collecting, preserving and promoting Hat ngam Hari (a type of reciting singing) of Raglai ethnic minorities in Binh Thuan province” conducted by Assoc.Prof.Dr. Thanh Phan, Deputy Director of the Center for Vietnamese and Southeast Asian Studies (CVSEAS), was examined and evaluated at the Binh Thuan Department of Science and Technology on May 22nd, 2015.

Seminar “Vietnam – ASEAN: A Practical Strategy for a Stronger Community” was held at University of Social Sciences and Humanities (USSH) - Vietnam National University, HCMC on 25/05/2015. With the presentation of Dr. Sophie Boisseau du Rocher– Asian Center, Paris School of International Affairs, the event drew more than 240 attendees. 

On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of Vietnam’s reunification, Dr. Tran Dinh Lam – Director of the Center for Vietnamese and Southeast Asian Studies – had a chance to meet up with Prof. Kenton Clymer, an expert on Asian history, of the Department of History, NIU (the US).

At the invitation of Prof. Kyung Taek OH, Head of the International Cooperation Office, Dr. Tran Dinh Lam gave a seminar to 30 students of the Department of Politics at the Chonnam National University (CNU) on April 28, 2015.

On the morning of April 24, 2015, a seminar on Confucian studies and its global values took place at the HCMC University of Social Sciences and Humanities (USSH), led by Prof. Roger Ames, an expert with many years of experience in studying and translating papers about Confucianism at the University of Hawaii, and Dr. Nguyen Nam, a guest speaker. Two papers at the seminar covered burning issues concerning Confucianism as well as international cultural, political and social values. Present at the seminar were Assoc.Prof.Dr. Vo Van Sen, HCMC USSH’s President, along with representatives of the Center for Vietnamese and Southeast Asian Studies, Faculty of Oriental Studies, Faculty of Chinese Linguistics and Literature, Faculty of Cultural Studies, Center for Religion Studies and numerous students of the two faculties of Cultural Studies and Anthropology.