Page 6 - BB_Textbook

6
BENDING BAMBOO
INTRODUCTION
As part of its agenda to promote economic growth and better livelihoods, the Government of Vietnam has called for English language fluency by 2025, and a public school system that embeds study of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in its curriculum by 2030. Bending Bamboo summarizes these two learning objectives as equipping students and teachers to become “bilingual with purpose to grow the future of Vietnam.”
Vietnam today is one of the most dynamic countries in East Asia. Progressive policies and poverty reduction over the past 30 years have transformed Vietnam into a lower-middle income country, with remarkable achievements in health, education, and living standards.
Still there are challenges. Perhaps the most fundamental is climate change. Vietnam is among five countries likely to face
the most severe impacts of sea level rise. Many of Vietnam’s 96 million citizens and key agricultural and industrial sectors are located along the country’s 2,030-mile coastline. A warming climate also means increased drought, salinization of lands used for rice production, and more intense tropical cyclones. All of this has implications for employment, health, migration and quality of life. Moreover, climate change compounds the burden of poverty and inaccess to key social services.
The challenges are great, but they are also opportunities. They underscore the need for smart development solutions and bilingual regional-global discourse and collaboration.