The social experience of every nation has particular themes and foci, attracting the attention and deliberation of scholars, public and media. These are areas of interest for commentary and conflict, often most pressing where they are recognised as challenges, at the sharp end of discussion, mattering often beyond their specificity. The scholars who wrote the papers gathered here want to make a critical, informed, evaluation of the circumstances facing Vietnam today. This collection addresses issues for Vietnam where contemporary challenges are transforming social life, impacted by both long-term and short-term factors. The longer term factor is primarily the socio-economic demographic expansion of the middle-class and their concerns, more immediate impacts include how the aftermath of COVID-19 has compelled new forms of action in various sectors, from governance and education to heritage and tourism. Some of the more significant changes include new takes on topics like migration or workplace, but some grapple with new technologies and the reformatting of socio-cultural forms, for example how workplace activity and unionism are transformed by mobile telephony.
