STATE ALUMNI MEMBER OF THE MONTH DO MINH THUY SELECTED FOR RAISING JOURNALISM STANDARDS IN VIETNAM

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
U.S. Department of State Honors Do Minh Thuy of Vietnam as State Alumni Member of the Month
Media Note Office of the Spokesperson Washington, DC
July 2, 2012
The U.S. Department of State selected Do Minh Thuy as July’s State Alumni Member of the Month in recognition of her dedication to raising the professional and ethical standards of Vietnamese journalism. An alumna of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ (ECA) 2005 Fulbright Foreign Student Program, Thuy studied at the Indiana University School of Journalism (Bloomington). Upon finishing her program, Thuy perceived a need for more training and mentoring for young journalists and journalism students in Vietnam and in response partnered with other journalism professionals to create Vietnam’s first-ever journalism training project.

Since its formation in 2009, Thuy’s journalism training team has conducted 41 workshops, reaching thousands of young journalists and journalism students at the Vietnam National University Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City as well as students at Vietnam’s Academy of Journalism and Communications. These workshops engage students on topics including professional ethics, critical thinking skills, source verification skills, interview skills, new media, and TV news production and reportage. To support these trainings, Thuy and her team have drawn on the skills and expertise of nearly 20 Vietnamese Fulbright, Humphrey, and IVLP (International Visitor Leadership Program) alumni as well as other respected speakers from local and international news agencies.

Thanks to Thuy’s trainings, a new network that connects young and established Vietnamese journalists has emerged in support of increased professionalism and ethics in Vietnamese journalism. The reach of this network continues to expand as these young media practitioners share what they have learned with other young reporters who are now creating their own journalism groups to discuss these important topics.
For more information visit the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ website athttp://exchanges.state.gov/alumni/alumnus.html or the program’s website.