In her words –
To me, sustainability refers to a state of infinity, a stage that we cannot foresee ending. Not in the sense of immutable or static but rather as in dynamic and receptive.
Sustainability is not something we can reach once and for all but an ideal to motivate us to improve our behaviour and actions in accordance with research and expertise as well as an ability to refrain, feel satisfaction and show appreciation.
Applied to a country, sustainability should lead to a development path with a good future forecast for all its citizens.
Thus, a Sustainable Vietnam is a conscious Vietnam, that chooses to act on the latest best-practice to build on its strengths and address its shortcomings. In contrast, an unsustainable Vietnam is an ignorant Vietnam, who choose to turn a blind eye to bad news, favouring damage limitation over damage control.
Partnerships, I would describe as an agreement between separate entities to work together for mutual benefit.
The collaborators do not have to share a single common goal but their work together must lead to positive synergies which on the whole justifies the cooperation.
Personally, I am a strong advocate of partnership and not only between like-minded. I am convinced that diversity adds value to all forms of alliances as long as it is based on mutual respect.
To make an impact, I would say, is to leave an imprint of oneself.
The person behind the influence can still be anonymous but in one way or another its actions have left traces. I believe making an impact is unavoidable and that we all do it, more or less voluntarily, all the time. The question is how often we make the good ones and how to identify them.
About Sandra Wilderoth:
Sandra Wilderoth works as the Trade Promotion Officer at the Embassy of Sweden in Vietnam. ‘
Wilderoth holds a LLM from Lund University in Sweden, which included an exchange semester at Sheffield University in England and a 6 month internship at the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the unit of international trade and EU internal market.
Wilderoth grew up in southern Sweden, in the area around Gothenburg and came to Vietnam for the first time in September 2019 to conduct a Minor Field Study on Vietnam’s data protection legislation and to write my master thesis EU data transfer requirements for an adequacy decision and the Vietnamese legal realities (lu.se)
Click to to read about Adapt of Not in Energy on sustainability, climate change and renewable energy in Vietnam.
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