Vietnam's Fatherland Front to eliminate paper documents

The Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee is accelerating its digital transformation efforts, with a strong directive to cease the use of paper documents within its system. This push was a key focus at a recent conference reviewing the first six months of implementing Resolution No. 57 and planning for the latter half of the year.

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this is a way of working according to old thinking.

Significant progress has been made, including the pilot implementation of a digital operating system across the entire Front and its affiliated political-social organizations. This system boasts nearly 50,000 user accounts. In collaboration with the Ministry of Public Security, over 10.6 million member data records have been verified and cleaned, establishing a solid foundation for digital management.

However, a notable challenge remains: the continued prevalence of paper documents. Bùi Quang Huy, Vice Chairman of the Central Committee and First Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, criticized this as a "way of working according to old thinking." He has instructed the Youth Union's văn thư (document management office) to refuse any paper documents unless they are classified as secret.

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After the operating system software was in place, I directed the Central Youth Union's văn thư not to receive any paper documents unless they are secret documents.

During the conference, Hà Thị Nga, Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of the Central Committee, urged attendees to learn from the Youth Union's experience and decisively stop accepting paper documents. She stressed that this should be integrated into year-end performance evaluations, moving beyond mere "formal excellent completion."

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The biggest bottleneck lies in perception. New model but old thinking, old ways of doing things cannot yield desired results.

Nga identified "mindset" as the biggest bottleneck, stating, "New model but old thinking, old ways of doing things cannot yield desired results." She also called for the digital transformation department to propose a system for periodically ranking the digital transformation progress of each department, unit, and member organization. Emphasizing user adoption, she noted that technology is only appealing if it offers convenience, warning that complexity will deter public engagement.

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Technology is only attractive when it brings convenience; if it's not convenient, too complex, people won't engage.