Scalabrini Migration Center successfully held an Exodus seminar on internal migration in Vietnam from January 9 to 12 at Caritas-Vietnam in Ho Chi Minh City. The workshop titled, “Internal Migration in Vietnam: Issues, Practices and Prospects” was a four-day event of lectures and workshop sessions that brought together about 30 participants providing direct services to migrants in Vietnam.

The seminar, coordinated by SMC director Fr. Graziano Battistella, aimed to encourage participants to deepen their knowledge on internal migration in Vietnam and on the teaching and experience of the Church in working with migrants. Guest speakers included Dr. Luu Bich Ngoc (National Economics University, Hanoi) and Dr. Dang Nguyen Anh (Institute of Sociology, Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, Hanoi), Fr. Joseph Dao Nguyen Vu (ECMI Vietnam) and Fr. Paulo Prigol (Scalabrini Center for People on the Move, Philippines). During the workshops, participants discussed their views on the needs and concerns of migrants, the challenges of providing assistance and services to them, and the good practices they have identified based on their experiences. An afternoon visit to selected schools for migrant children in Ho Chi Minh City also provided opportunities for participants to learn more about the conditions of internal migrants and their children. In the final workshop session, the participants discussed areas and prospects for cooperation and networking, and more importantly, possibilities for improving services to internal migrants.