On Thursday, the Head of the Department of Publicity and Training, Mr Nguyen Thanh Quang, chaired a meeting to discuss the regulations for selecting and honouring 20 local citizens for their remarkable achievements towards the city’s progress over the 2 decades since Da Nang was recognised as a centrally governed city in 1997.

Under the assessment criteria, the honourees must be Vietnamese citizens who have either permanent or temporary residence in the city.  No regard will be taken of age, gender, occupation, religion or race.

As for the evaluation procedures, local Party organisations and the Fatherland Front Committees at all levels, local government agencies, socio-political associations and media agencies will nominate one or 2 staff members each for the honours.  In a similar vein, the district and ward-level authorities will also recommend the same number of outstanding residents from their locations.

Their dossiers must be sent to the headquarters of the Department of Publicity and Training no later than 5 November.  A list of the nominees will be completed 2 days later, and then a shortlist of the best will be prepared based on a careful assessment of their dossiers.  The biographical information of the shortlised nominees will be displayed from 11 to 30 November via local media agencies, the municipal Party Committee’s website, the city’s e-portal, and websites of other relevant local agencies.  The intention is to collect and consider public opinion about these nominees before the successful 20 are decided by a judging council.

A nominee’s dossier must contain a letter of introduction from their employer and one from the authorities in the local district and ward where they reside.  Also, a report on the nominee’s remarkable achievements, plus any Certificates of Merit they have received, should be included in the dossier. 

The 20 most outstanding citizens will be honoured at a grand ceremony on 31 December to mark the 20^th anniversary of the city’s recognition as a centrally-governed city.  The honourees will receive campaign medals and Certificates of Merit from the municipal People’s Committee, plus 20 million VND each.