Over recent years, Facebook has been proved itself as an effective and rapid response tool for the Da Nang authorities to address any opinions and complaints raised from local residents on different life issues. 2013 marked the birth of the Facebook page ‘Da Nang Urban Management: Comfort - Green - Clean -Beautiful’, on which any urban issues citywide are reflected publicly and handled quickly and transparently by the local authorities, with the intention of making the city more convenient, greener, cleaner, and more beautiful.

The eye-catching interface of the Facebook page ‘Da Nang Urban Management: Comfort - Green - Clean -Beautiful’

After more than 7 years of operation, the Facebook page has become the largest Fanpage of the Da Nang community with more than 120,000 members, of whom 93,000 now live and work in Da Nang. Encouragingly, not only locals in the city, people from Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City, or even from overseas, have also joined in offering constructive solutions to the city.

The page’s administration team consists of many highly-qualified public servants from municipal departments and agencies.

The majority of posts on this highly popular page reflect locals-raised complaints about such concerning issues needing to be resolved in a prompt fashion as environment pollution, social disorder, violations of traffic rules, tourism harassment, robberies and other illegal actions.

Instead of sending their written letters of complaint, local residents simply compose their messages and post on the page, from where the issues will be handled. Accordingly, they feel free and comfortable to write, take pictures, and shoot videos about the pressing problems in order to help the local authorities quickly discover them, and then find the fastest way to resolve them.

For the time being, an average of 700 recommendations and complaints are posted on the page each month, and all of them are resolved by functional local bodies in a rapid yet effective manner. Each post usually receives over 50,000 views and thousands of shares.

There is no denying that the page has helped the local administration adjust wrongful and out-of-date procedures while building trust in the community and creating an open dialogue with local citizens.

Thanks to this page, the local authorities can follow information about the city wherever they are, regardless of trips outside the city. It also helps residents see how officials are working on reported issues, motivating them to work harder.

In recognition of their great efforts over the past years, the page’s administration team has been secured their berth in the recently-released list of ‘Da Nang’s Most Outstanding Individual and Units in Local Compatriot Emulation Movements over the 2015 - 2020 Period’.

A local resident eagerly said, in the past, she and other locals had to wait for a response to a complaint from local administration for months, but it’s quicker now. In particular, she complimented that any issues relating to public cleanliness, power supply, clean water or damage to public works are completely resolved within a day or a few hours.

In fact, the local administration has taken action more quickly rather than the sluggish pace in the past, which received high public satisfaction and applause. A member of this Facebook page’s administration team said, “We have one thing common in our mind, that once we start working on the problems, we must settle them as fast as possible,” he added. “If we know, but don’t solve problems and someone gets hurt, it’s our guilt.”

It is also noticeable that, a large number of video clips and footage showcasing good deeds made by local individuals and groups have been posted on the page.

Last year, for instance, a footage showing a group of young people in Da Nang voluntarily clearing rubbish left along a section of a major downtown street at night went viral on social network, receiving numerous comments full of compliments from followers.

Within only 30 minutes since its posting, the clip received hundreds of likes, shares, and positive and complimentary comments from Facebookers for conveying a good message about environmental protection and community responsibilities.

“Hopefully, the local authorities would promote the significance of the page, remedy any shortcomings more quickly, thereby making Da Nang secure its noticeable stature as worth-living city in the eyes of domestic and international visitors”, said a resident in Thanh Khe District.

In the light of burgeoning era of digital economy and Industry 4.0, Facebook and other social networks have helped Da Nang, and Viet Nam at large, undergo an online facelift in a ‘green and smart’ way.

By XUAN DUNG- Translated by A.T