VOVWorld’s Director Pho Cam Hoa (Photo: Le Chi/VOV5)

VOVWorld produces content in 12 foreign languages and Vietnamese, serving foreign listeners around the world and more than six million overseas Vietnamese. In addition to radio broadcasts, the Department operates a multilingual website at vovworld.vn in 13 languages and actively shares its content via a Facebook fanpage to quickly and effectively reach digital audiences.

VOVWorld is the only Vietnamese media agency that offers programs and content in Korean, German, and Indonesian, the languages not currently offered by any other external communication agency in Vietnam. The Department is implementing a four-goal strategy for digital radio development to align itself with global digital media trends and make the most of its resources as Vietnam’s largest multilingual media agency.

VOVWorld’s Director Pho Cam Hoa said: “First of all, we affirm that radio broadcast remains the fundamental channel of VOVWorld. We aim to further develop radio on digital platforms, not just general digital content like other online newspapers. Digital radio around the world retains its core radio essence while being delivered on digital platforms, with specialized segments created for digital dissemination. We will push this idea forward of not simply uploading radio products but also producing content such as podcasts specifically for digital platforms.”

Ms. Hoa said this digital radio development strategy will be implemented in stages. For a second strategic focus in the meantime, Hoa said, the Department will significantly improve the radio broadcast content and format of English, French, and Vietnamese programs which have broad coverage, and will build teams with strong production capacity and adequate staffing. These things will be the priority before further improvements are made in other language services.

For digital content development as the third strategic focus, Ms. Hoa said the English and Vietnamese services will be the first priority and there will be noticeable improvements to the website at vovworld.vn and on digital platforms like Facebook and Spotify.

Through audience surveys, email feedback, and comments on its website and Facebook fanpage, VOVWorld is studying ways to improve the content of its programs. New, more audience-specific content is expected to roll out by the end of this year or early next year, said Ms. Hoa, who then elaborated on a fourth  strategic goal of VOVWorld.

“By 2026, we intend to gradually expand the focus to other languages, particularly Chinese, Cambodian, and Lao. But initially, we must focus on English, French, and Overseas Vietnamese,” said Ms. Hoa.

Reporter Cam Thi interviews Bill Pearl, the author of Hearts on Fire-1968, at VOVWorld's studio.

Throughout its digital transformation, VOVWorld has remained committed to its role as an official channel of external information for the Party and State.

VOVWorld recognizes the importance of training its reporters and editors to take advantage of digital tools, AI tools in particular, to improve work efficiency and offset staff shortages.

“We’ve already held training sessions on AI tools and are planning an advanced course for our staff this July. We will then use AI more extensively for translation and voice-over. But AI is a double-edged sword. It must be used with caution. For one thing, it’s not perfect and is still prone to mistranslating. For another thing, if we rely on it too heavily, our young reporters won’t improve their professional skills. Once our experienced staff retire, we won’t have a capable next generation to handle proofreading and editing. That’s a major concern for us,” said Ms. Hoa.

According to Ms. Hoa, traditional radio must rapidly reform to maintain the influence, credibility, and appeal of mainstream journalism and broaden its listener and social media user base.

Amid the current digital revolution, VOVWorld is striving to create a healthy, fair working environment that motivates dedicated journalists to be the core of Vietnam’s external communications and integrate the Voice of Vietnam with the international digital community.