People’s Participation Working Group

Partnership Note
Hanoi, October 2004

I. Update on PPWG activities in 2004

The objectives of the PPWG - as formulated in the mission statement – is to promote:
i) an enabling environment and capacity building for enhancing people’s participation
and ii) coordination of activities for efficient use of resources invested in this area.

Towards this end, activities – mainly in the form of workshops and meetings – the PPWG
contributes to the production of three outputs:
i) information, experience and knowledge sharing
ii) clarification of concepts and
iii) promotion of dialogue

To ensure the effectiveness of group interactions, a voluntary core group of regular

PPWG participants was formed in 2004 to take on a coordination role. The core group
met regularly throughout the year and helped to organise five PPWG meetings in the
course of the year.

Key activities carried out in 2004 include:

 Thematic meetings:
- ‘Clarification of concepts’ (April);
- ‘Participation, NGOs and Local Governance’ (June);
- ‘National goals and strategies through the lens of people’s participation’
(November);
 Regular group meetings (February and October): exchanging information about
ongoing activities and discussing group activities;
 Update of the inventory of donor/INGO activities in the area of people’s
participation;
 Ongoing update of the Web site of the Group:
http://www.un.org.vn/donor/civil.htm (including ‘civil society readings’)
 Preparation of Partnership Note for the bi-annual Consultative Group meetings;
 Formulation of work plan for 2005 - including regular annual activities and
proposed ad hoc activities.

The PPWG continues to provide a forum for exchange of information and networking
between international organizations engaged in promoting people’s participation. In the
course of 2004 the group has further strengthened its dialogue and partnership with
Vietnamese governmental bodies and non-governmental organizations. Especially the
thematic meetings have provided a forum for dialogue between different stakeholders.

New regulatory developments together with ongoing efforts to review the implementation
of existing regulations for people’s participation and grassroots democracy (see below)

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provides momentum for Government and donors to engage in dialogue about how these
principles can further promoted. In drawing up the work plan for 2005 the PPWG will
aim to further strengthen the participation of Vietnamese organizations in order to widen
and deepen this dialogue.

II. Recent developments and events in the area of Grassroots Democracy and
People's Participation in 2004

 Following the promulgation of the (revised) Grassroots Democracy Decree 79 in

July 2003 a circular guiding its implementation was issued in February 2004.

The first Grassroots Democracy Decree was promulgated in 1998 and in the past year
efforts have been made by the Government as well as the international donor community
to review the implementation of the Decree, providing a basis for further dialogue on
how to strengthen Grassroots Democracy in Vietnam.

The Grassroots Democracy Decree provides the basis for increased participation by
people in local government affairs through four modes of participation: information,
discussion, decision-making, and monitoring of works undertaken by the local
government. Recent reviews suggest that people today are better informed about local
government policies and plans than they were before. Evidence also suggests, that in
localities where implementation of the Grassroots Democracy Decree has been linked
with other Public Administration Reform efforts the quality of the local political-
administrative system has been strengthened. However, while the Grassroots Democracy
Decree seems to have some positive impact at the commune level there is a need to
extend the principles of Grassroots Democracy to the district and province levels too and
to take special measures to strengthen the participation of the poor and disadvantaged.

 Following the promulgation of the Decree on Associations 88 in July 2003 a

circular guiding its implementation was issued in January 2004.

The scope and status of Decree 88 in relation to other regulations and to existing
organisations has been clarified through a series of workshops and meetings conducted
by and with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA). The international donor community
and especially NGOs have actively engaged in this process and the Decree has generated
considerable interest among local groups exploring the possibilities to establish under its
auspices. So far, only limited information is available regarding organizations that have
actually been established under the Decree.

In addition to guiding the implementation of Decree 88, MOHA is leading current efforts
to draft a new Law on Associations, which is expected submitted to the National
Assembly by 2006. While experiences emerging from the implementation of Decree 88
will provide input to the drafting of the new Law, MOHA has indicated that the new Law
will be drafted from afresh.

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  Recent developments providing a strengthened basis for promoting grassroots
democracy and people’s participation include:

Resolution No. 8 on Decentralisation from June 2004, which provides strategic

guidelines for decentralisation in a number of areas, including ‘socialisation’ of public
services, and serves as a legal foundation to deepen the decentralisation process; the new
regulations on the election of deputies to People’s Councils (2003/2004); as well as
continued implementation of the Public Administration Reform Master Plan (2001) and
the revised State Budget Law (2002).

 The ASEM 5 People’s Forum was organised in Hanoi in September 2004 by the
International Organising Committee and VUFO/PACCOM.

The event attracted over 500 participants from NGOs from ASEM member countries,
INGOs working in Vietnam and Vietnamese people’s organisations. Under the heading of
“People’s Actions for Human Security in Asia and Europe”, the following themes were
discussed in 29 workshops: Peace and Security; Economic and Social Security; and
Democratization and People’s Rights.

The forum was successfully organized and it was a good opportunity for dialogue among
the participants on common concerns. It created a healthy environment for discussion,
including of sensitive issues such as the linkages between social and political movements.
It was the first time Vietnam organized such big event and observers have noted that
overall it was a success and an excellent learning opportunity for the organisers. While
the actual impact of the Forum is still unknown it has been noted that participation of
local Vietnamese organizations and international media coverage could be strengthened
in future similar events.

iv)

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