Leading scientists from France, the United States, Germany, Canada, Norway, China, Japan and Viet Nam are gathering in Da Nang for a workshop entitled ‘From the Port to the World: A Global History of Indochina Ports (1858-1956)’.

The event was jointly organised by the University of Education - the University of Da Nang, the University of South Brittany in France, and some domestic and international partners.

Taking place on October 27 and 28, the workshop featured discussions about the role of Indochina seaports in the process of colonisation and control of territories, and Vietnamese seaports under military and geostrategic approaches.

The participants discussed commercial factors of seaports in Indochina and their impacts on the development of seaport cities in particular, and Indochina in general; the vital role of shipping companies in connecting Indochina ports and integrating into the regional and global economy; space and social structure of the port cities in Indochina; organissations, associations and social movements in port cities; seaports and port cities in relation to modern cities in Viet Nam nowadays; and port heritages and colonial and postcolonial heritages in literature, journalism, painting, photographs or posters.

According to experts, the event opens up opportunities for the participants to study the global history of colonial Indochina seaports and ports, and build research archives on maritime and port topics from an interdisciplinary approach.

Notably, in the current context, when sea trade is constantly increasing and export activities become the main development lever for the Southeast Asian economy in general and Viet Nam in particular, the study of history can open the opportunity to assess the current opportunities and challenges for marine trade activities such as port infrastructure, strategic locations or regional economic development in the era of trade globalisation.

Reporting by NGOC HA - Translating by M.DUNG