Read this reflective journal: "1. Introduction

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) play an increasingly vital role in addressing global challenges, acting as advocates for marginalized communities, and facilitating developmental initiatives. In Vietnam, where socio-political and regulatory landscapes are complex, NGOs face a unique set of challenges that require adaptability, strategic partnerships, and innovative approaches to financing. Insights from Mr. Minh Donovan, a Child Development and Special Needs Education Officer at Saigon Children’s Charity, shed light on the obstacles and opportunities NGOs face in Vietnam. In this reflective journal, I draw from Mr. Donovan’s experiences and connect them with my personal engagements at the UNICEF Youth Council and the European Chamber of Commerce (EuroCham) in Vietnam to explore key lessons about navigating regulatory frameworks, aligning resources with mission, and the critical role of collaboration.

2. Navigating Regulatory Complexities

One of the most striking takeaways from Mr. Donovan’s sharing was the regulatory hurdles NGOs must navigate in Vietnam. Decree 58, which prohibits international NGOs from raising local funds, compels organizations to rely almost exclusively on foreign donations, further complicating their efforts to achieve financial sustainability. This regulatory framework creates an environment where NGOs must develop an intimate understanding of local laws and maintain a constant balancing act between compliance and mission-driven initiatives.

This challenge mirrors my experience at EuroCham Vietnam, where the organization’s advocacy for European businesses requires precise navigation through Vietnam’s regulatory landscape. EuroCham’s advocacy work—whether related to trade policies or green growth initiatives—necessitates close cooperation with government officials and policymakers. NGOs, while operating in a different sphere, face a similar need for strategic engagement with local authorities to ensure that their programs can proceed without interruption. Larger organizations, like UNICEF, with their extensive administrative capacities, are better equipped to handle these complexities, but for smaller NGOs, this can be a significant barrier to effective action.

EuroCham’s involvement in critical policy frameworks, such as the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), demonstrates the importance of understanding and working within these regulations to achieve broader strategic goals. For NGOs in Vietnam, understanding regulatory environments isn’t just a legal necessity—it’s central to their survival and growth. The parallels between advocacy in business and non-profit sectors highlight that both types of organizations must wield a deep understanding of local governance to influence policy and gain operational traction.

3. Aligning Resource Strategy with Mission

Another critical issue Mr. Donovan raised is the financial vulnerability many NGOs face. The reliance on donor funding, especially in a country where local fundraising is restricted, leaves organizations exposed to the fluctuating interests of international donors. Saigon Children’s Charity has sought to overcome this challenge by forming strategic partnerships and diversifying its revenue streams, a necessary move for any organization seeking long-term impact.

In my role at EuroCham Vietnam, I’ve seen how resource diversification is key to financial sustainability. EuroCham leverages membership fees, corporate sponsorships, and events such as the Green Economy Forum to maintain a steady flow of funds while advancing its advocacy agenda. This approach provides a potential model for NGOs, which can align their financial strategies with their mission-driven objectives, as seen in the concept of social impact investing. Social impact investing, as discussed by Logue (2017), allows organizations to generate financial returns while delivering measurable social outcomes. By adopting such approaches, NGOs can reduce their dependency on traditional donor funding and align more closely with sustainable, long-term goals.

Similarly, my experience at the UNICEF Youth Council revealed how important it is for advocacy efforts to be backed by strategic financial planning. The Youth Council, which connects young changemakers globally, relies on partnerships with global stakeholders—including private sector players, donors, and local NGOs—to amplify the voices of youth advocates. This fusion of advocacy and financial strategy not only secures the Council’s longevity but also ensures that youth voices can effectively influence policy and drive social change. For NGOs in Vietnam, finding this balance between mission and financial sustainability is key to scaling their efforts and expanding their impact.

4. Expanding Collaborative Networks

Collaboration emerged as a recurring theme in Mr. Donovan’s discussion, and rightly so. In the world of NGOs, partnerships are not merely an add-on—they are the backbone of effective operations. Whether it’s Saigon Children’s Charity collaborating with local communities to provide educational support or larger organizations working with the private sector to pool resources, partnerships enable NGOs to expand their reach and impact. Mr. Donovan’s experiences illustrate that in the Vietnamese context, collaboration is particularly important, given the regulatory and financial limitations.

This emphasis on partnerships is reflected in both my work at the UNICEF Youth Council and EuroCham Vietnam. At the Youth Council, collaboration between young advocates, international stakeholders, and organizations like UNICEF has enabled us to drive meaningful change at both the community and global levels. Our collective action fosters dialogue on critical issues such as youth policy advocacy and amplifies the work being done in specific regions like East Asia and the Pacific. This pooling of resources and expertise echoes the collaborative model NGOs must adopt to address the vast socio-economic challenges they face in Vietnam.

EuroCham’s role in promoting green growth and fostering EU-Vietnam relations underscores the power of partnerships as well. By working closely with the Vietnamese government, European businesses, and international bodies, EuroCham has facilitated discussions around sustainability, investment, and economic development. NGOs could benefit immensely from adopting similar cross-sector partnerships, which would allow them to leverage the private sector’s resources and expertise to drive systemic change. In Vietnam, where both regulatory and financial pressures can stifle progress, these collaborations are essential for amplifying an NGO’s mission and ensuring its sustainability.

5. Reflection on Societal Impact and Future Directions

The broader societal impact of NGOs is where Mr. Donovan’s discussion was most profound. Through targeted interventions in education, such as building schools and supporting special needs children, Saigon Children’s Charity is transforming lives and fostering long-term community development. These programs illustrate the power of targeted, locally-driven initiatives in addressing deep-rooted social issues.

At UNICEF Youth Council, we are similarly focused on societal transformation, albeit from a different angle. Our goal is to connect youth advocates from around the world, enabling them to create change in their communities through global collaboration. This model of youth empowerment is rooted in the belief that young people, given the right support and resources, can drive both local and global change.

Looking forward, NGOs must embrace emerging technologies and data-driven approaches to measure their societal impact more effectively. By integrating data analytics, NGOs can optimize their programs, ensuring that they remain responsive to the communities they serve. Cross-sector collaborations, particularly with private companies and government entities, will also be crucial for NGOs looking to scale their operations and create systemic change. Vietnam’s rapidly evolving socio-economic landscape offers both challenges and opportunities for NGOs willing to innovate and adapt.

Conclusion

Mr. Minh Donovan’s reflections on the challenges and opportunities facing NGOs in Vietnam reveal the delicate balancing act required to operate effectively within the country’s complex regulatory and financial environments. Drawing parallels with my experiences at UNICEF Youth Council and EuroCham Vietnam, it is clear that NGOs must navigate regulatory hurdles, align their resource strategies with their mission, and, most importantly, build strong collaborative networks to succeed. As Vietnam’s socio-economic context continues to evolve, NGOs will need to embrace strategic adaptability, financial innovation, and partnerships to drive meaningful, long-lasting change. These lessons not only inform my current engagements but also shape my understanding of how to contribute meaningfully to the socio-economic landscapes of both Vietnam and the world."  Then, Change the "Looking forward..." paragraph to another one that picks up some critical and most importantly, highly relevant to Minh Donovan's sharing and my experience with the UNICEF Youth Council and the European Chamber of Commerce (EuroCham) in Vietnam, from the below journal article: "Many workplaces in Vietnam, such as international non-government organisations (INGOs), where Vietnamese staff collaborate with people from different cultures, have become increasingly culturally diverse and interdisciplinary. This paper is based on the findings of broader qualitative research conducted between December 2010 and November 2012 that explored young Vietnamese graduates’ experiences of working at the intersection of different cultural worlds in the context of development projects at INGOs in Vietnam. Interviewees were nineteen young Vietnamese graduates and six international directors or deputy directors. This paper discusses their experiences of working for INGOs. Young graduates developed intercultural communication skills, became empathetic with others, and reconciled disparate cultural practices. While helping local communities adapt to development projects, graduates harmoniously combined the cultural values and customs of both sides. They disseminated information, promoted mutual understanding, formed culturally relativistic attitudes, promoted cross-cultural empathy, spread international goodwill and reconciled disparate cultural practices, facilitated communication, and interacted with persons or groups of different cultures.

KEYWORDS: Intercultural competencegraduates’ attributesinternational non-government organisationVietnam
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Introduction
Globalisation widens, deepens, and accelerates worldwide interconnectedness, enhances growing interdependence and convergence among nations throughout the world (Marginson and Van der Wende Citation2009), and intensifies worldwide social relations (Giddens Citation2013). Globalisation also promotes flows with less visible effects, such as the diversification of languages, cultures, pedagogy, scholarship, and competitive differentiation (Marginson Citation2008).

In today’s Vietnam, globalisation occurs under specific political and economic conditions, marked by the 1986 policy of renewal (Doi Moi), or the replacement of a centrally planned economy with a regulated market. Doi Moi facilitated new aspects of the Vietnamese society, namely, multilateralisation and diversification, marked by an influx of international non-government organisations (INGOs) to Vietnam to provide humanitarian services. Since most INGOs do not have in place a pool of experienced staff to run their organisations, they need to bring in international persons and recruit Vietnamese to work alongside. After Doi Moi, when the Vietnamese central government and its agencies lacked sufficient resources to respond to immediate needs, the number of INGOs increased rapidly (Dang Citation2009, 51–52; Salemink Citation2006). Progressing from ad hoc provision, INGOs introduced development projects to make poverty alleviation efforts sustainable.

Historically, the role of INGOs has changed according to the social, economic, and political circumstances at certain times. From the perspective of modernisation theory, traditional countries could be developed in the same manner as more developed ones if they were assisted (Brohman Citation1996; Lewis and Kanji Citation2009; Willis Citation2011). Modernisation theory assumes that many forms of cultural practice were obstacles to development because they were ‘non-rational, collective, traditional ways of life, unsuited to individualistic capitalist development’ (Willis Citation2011, 133). The work of INGOs is also subject to critique. For example, the ideas of ‘development’ imposed by outsiders (Fernando Citation2003), the projects developed by INGOs are heavily dependent on outside experts (Salemink Citation2006), the collaborative role played by INGOs in this process is against the interests of the people they claim to serve (Fernando Citation2003).

The work environment of international non-government organisations is intercultural. In many respects, INGOs in Vietnam operated in a state-led context (Ghosh Citation2009, 483; Gray Citation1999). INGOs even have the role of facilitating and inspiring other organisations, supporting Civil Society Organisations and government institutions (Nørlund Citation2007, 11). Moreover, there are 54 different ethnic groups in Vietnam. Many of these groups live in rural or remote areas in difficult geographical and social conditions and are often the primary targets of development projects. The ethnic diversity of the target groups of INGO projects, together with diverse human resources at INGOs, all make the work context at INGO projects culturally complex. Young graduates were neither trained in intercultural competence nor experienced intercultural contexts. Consequently, they might cope with difficulties in working at INGOs, particularly at the beginning.

The Vietnamese higher education system has changed in line with socio-economic reforms, though at a slower pace. To some extent, the delay in education reform in Vietnam was because of the influence of Confucianism (Kim Citation2009; Nguyen, Terlouw, and Pilot Citation2006). One remarkably influential principle is the emphasis on the value of education, seen in the veneration of learning. Confucianism also encourages a hierarchical family system, family loyalty, and obedience to one’s elders. Another principle relates to hierarchical social relationships, placing value on age rather than on youth, males more than females, and teachers of higher status than students (Kim Citation2009; Nguyen, Terlouw, and Pilot Citation2006). Given these influences, learners in Asia readily accept information from their teachers and rarely express their opinions or ask questions (Kim Citation2009). This traditional approach to teaching and learning prevails at Vietnamese universities, inducing students to focus on the routine repetition of knowledge passed on (Nguyen Citation2008). Subjects in institutions of higher education were too theoretically focused and not linked with market needs (Harman and Nguyen Citation2010; Bodewig et al. Citation2014). While many Vietnamese graduates were unable to find jobs or had to settle for work in professions not included in their area of study, several young graduates found positions with international non-government organisations (INGOs). This paper discusses young Vietnamese graduates’ experiences of working at INGOs in Vietnam, exploring the way they develop intercultural competences to fulfill their tasks.

Intercultural competence
Byram (Citation1997) defines intercultural competence as the attributes a person needs to become competent in intercultural communication. It helps to understand the relationship between different cultures. Byram’s definition has been used in many pieces of research on intercultural competence. Confirmation can be found in other kinds of research, for example, intercultural competence is ‘a complex of abilities needed to perform effectively and appropriately when interacting with others who are linguistically and culturally different from oneself’ (Deardorff Citation2009; Fantini Citation2006, 12).

An important application of the intercultural competence concept can be seen in UNESCO’s (Citation2013, 16) document which defines it as having adequate relevant knowledge about particular cultures, general knowledge about issues arising when members of different cultures interact, holding receptive attitudes that encourage establishing and maintaining contact with diverse others and having the skills required to draw upon both knowledge and attitudes when interacting with others from different cultures. Other researchers add culture-sensitive knowledge and mindfulness and reflexivity (Ting-Toomey and Kurogi Citation1998), and skills such as flexibility, self-confidence, self-efficacy, motivation, cultural empathy, and openness (Mamman Citation1995), particularly the capacity to fulfill the role of cultural intermediary between one’s own culture and the foreign culture and to deal effectively with intercultural misunderstanding and conflict situations (Prechtl and Lund Citation2008, 469).

In the EU ‘Intercultural Competence Assessment’ project (INCA Citation2004a; Prechtl and Lund Citation2008) the Attitude component of Byram’s model was expanded by adding Tolerance, Behavioural flexibility, Communicative awareness, Respect for otherness, and Empathy. The INCA intercultural competence model also highlights the importance of foreign language skills for immigrants (INCA Citation2004b).

Nguyen, Terlouw, and Pilot (Citation2005) argue that in Asian countries Collectivist Confucian heritage culture (CHC) is dominant, the virtue of harmony reigns supreme, confrontations and conflicts should be avoided (cf. Ting-Toomey and Kurogi Citation1998), and losing face can cause extremely serious personal damage. Prevalent personal traits include self-restraint, self-discipline, filial piety, loyalty, personal duty, and positive interpersonal behaviour (Kim Citation2009).

Hofstede (Citation2011) agree that in collectivistic societies ‘one conceives as oneself much more as belonging to a community, whether this is ethnic, regional, or national, and one’s sense of identity derives mainly from that group affiliation’. Triandis (Citation2000) argues that in the group of high-context cultures people keep the meaning hidden in their ways of communication, the listener is already ‘contexted’, so does not need to be given much background information. People from high-context cultures are less likely to question and challenge the authority and tend to keep the meaning hidden in their ways of communication (Barkai Citation2008; Triandis Citation2000). They interpret messages in terms of the broader context of shared social and cultural assumptions, rely on the inferred meaning rather than the literal meanings.

Intercultural competences are also among the high level in Barrie’s (Citation2006) four-level framework of graduate attributes. In the third level are enabling attributes that are capabilities that give graduates a particular perspective or worldview (a way of relating to the world, to knowledge, or to themselves). The highest level is the translational attribute that includes the abilities of linked personal attributes, cognitive abilities, and skills in an application that allows graduates to make use of or apply disciplinary knowledge, thus potentially changing and transforming knowledge through its application (Barrie Citation2006). These high-level attributes are perceived to provide a reusable framework that enables students/graduates to acquire and shape new knowledge as required – even in the context of other disciplines (Barrie Citation2006; Bennett, Dunne and Carré Citation2000).

The research
Guided by the data and emerging themes (Thomas Citation2006, 238; Corbin and Strauss Citation2014; Strauss and Corbin Citation1998), the inductive study constructed the theory from the concepts derived from data collected during the research process, but not chosen before beginning the research’ (Corbin and Strauss Citation2014, 7). The research with an area of study allowed the theory to emerge from the data (Strauss and Corbin Citation1998). After initial data are collected, the researcher analyzes that data and the concepts derived from the analysis form the basis for the subsequent data collection’ (Corbin and Strauss Citation2014, 7). To understand the context of the INGO workplace, the researcher explored twenty-two job advertisements for positions such as project assistant, research assistant, internship, project secretary, project officer, and project manager advertised on the official website of the VUFO-NGO resource centre during the 2009–2013 periods. The research checked the range and consistency of the requirements to understand the criteria for different positions at INGOs. The qualifications and duties advertised led to the selection of university disciplines. Also, the job advertisements raised questions to be checked and further explored in the interviews with the employers and young graduates.

The primary requirement for all job advertisements was a specific university degree or degree qualification in a relevant subject, English language skills, and a particular focus on relevant work experiences, even for intern positions. Interviews with international employers reconfirmed this requirement. For example, Mr. Thomson – an American employer, said (pseudonyms for foreign participants adopted from common English names in books and films):

When the job advertisement posted we looked for four years of experience; Something like that, ideally with another NGO or also past experiences working with USAID funded project, or, particularly for the admin staff … Because that would be helpful since there are a lot of specific kinds of work requirements … (Mr. Thomson, international director).

To understand how young graduates develop the necessary competences, the researcher looked for informants who had graduated no later than five years before the date of the interviews and who were working or used to work at INGOs. Informants came from community development, public health, and education projects. The selection of informants was conducted in a culturally appropriate way, initially through previous contacts who acted as the brokers between the researcher and the informants. Nineteen young Vietnamese graduates (4 men and 15 women, aged 22–27) came from six groups of university disciplines (Public health, English language, Economics, Law, Technology, and International study). They worked in four positions (Intern: 2; Project Assistant/ Research Assistant: 12; Project Officer: 4; Project Manager: 2). Six international managers (4 men and two women, aged 40–50) came from the USA, Sweden, the Netherlands, and the UK. The gender mix of the young informants reflected the overwhelming number of female staff at INGOs (about three-quarters of the total). All interviews, each lasted 45 to 60 minutes, were in English after the informants agreed to answer.

The results of interviews conducted in December 2010-January 2011 showed that graduates encountered misunderstandings during the communication process with the international staff due to cultural differences. Various problems and challenges for young graduates were rooted in them being in-experienced, lacking intercultural knowledge, skills, and competences. To have an in-depth understanding of the experiences of young graduates, the researcher conducted more interviews from September to November 2012.

The researcher applied Dervin’s (Citation1992) ‘sense-making interview’ protocol that assumes that there are discontinuities in all existence between reality and human sensors between human sensors and the mind, humans at time one and human at time two. The interview guide of the current research was to draw out as much information as possible to address the overall goal.

Data analysis
The results of the interviews were analysed using the graduate attribute model (Barrie Citation2006) and the intercultural competence conception of Byram (Citation1997) and Deardorff (Citation2006). The data analysis looked for evidence of attributes, agency, and intercultural competence. The open coding system guides the interpretation of the data (cf Price and Cameron Citation2010, 157). Young graduates used words as ‘shock’, ‘confusion’, ‘anger’, ‘cultural differences’, ‘giving feedback’, ‘boss’, and ‘doers’ to describe their experiences. The concepts that emerged from the interviews were ‘lack of awareness of cultural differences’, ‘inappropriateness of skills’, ‘lack of appropriate knowledge’, ‘trial and error’, ‘being cautious’, ‘in-between position’, ‘advocating’, and ‘facilitating’. These concepts are ‘resources’ and ‘strategies’ that link to the research.

The free codes were ‘cultural differences’ ‘innovation’ ‘organisational regulation’ ‘local practices’ ‘cultural mediation’ and ‘cultural intermediary’ that were related to mediating conflicts during the implementation of the development projects and those were functioning as intermediaries for novel initiatives against traditional practices (Bowen Citation2008, 13). The researcher founded the ‘cultural intermediary’ and ‘cultural mediation’ themes. She divided them into subcategories of intercultural knowledge, intercultural attitudes, and intercultural skills.

In terms of the limitations associated with our methodology, this research may be subject to selection bias as we mainly used individual in-depth interviews. The weak point of the interview technique is the tendency that the interviewee tries to please the interviewer. However, the open-ended and semi-structured interview allowed the interviewees to recall their experiences and to explain them in their way, increasing the validity of their comments (Seidman Citation2019). Moreover, cross-checking the information from different sources reduces the subjective bias of the researcher. Nonetheless, the research bases on a small sample of young graduates and international experts working at INGOs; thus, it is cautious when generalise. Future research should explore other private and state economic sectors where intercultural interactions are becoming common.

Findings
Intercultural competence development during university study of graduates
In the main, the accounts given by young graduates describing their experience of university study all indicated that the focus was on didactic teaching and relatively passive learning. According to the graduates, this traditional Vietnamese teaching-learning approach persisted in the tertiary curriculum. As explained by Mr. Vi (the pseudonyms for the Vietnamese participants are common family names in Vietnam), students who wished to maintain their academic standing always had to take notes and memorise the instructions given by the teachers:

In the course on Vietnamese culture, the teaching method was that the teacher lectured and students took notes, just as they did in the literature subjects at high school but at a higher level (Mr. Vi, Project Assistant).

This common practice at the university level was similar to that noted in the findings of Nguyen (Citation2008), Pham and Tran (Citation2013). These authors confirmed that a significant power differential between teachers and students exist under the influence of the authoritarian view of the roles of teachers and students in the classroom. Students were passive in their learning even when they were allowed to develop critical thinking skills and leadership skills through teamwork. In the words of Ms. My:

For a group presentation, a group of a dozen [students] passed on [their work] to one person to present, usually the group leader or deputy. Most other members still did not dare to volunteer (Ms. My, Project Assistant).

None of these young informants mentioned any potential intercultural issues that arose at INGOs.

The type of workplace at INGOs is culturally diverse. People from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds and disciplines work together to adopt new knowledge and skills to the local culture and local practice. Potential conflicts or misunderstandings between people working at and with INGOs were very likely to happen. Yet, the international expatriates were not aware of these intercultural issues either.

Intercultural experiences of international employers
International employers at INGOs introduced development projects to make poverty alleviation efforts sustainable. The target groups for INGO projects were ethnic communities in remote areas. They have their cultural norms, practices, and customs. To disseminate information, international employers needed to overcome not only language problems but also cultural differences. The communication effectiveness depended on ‘the ability to decentre and take up the perspective of the listener or reader’ (Byram Citation1997, 3).

Social hierarchy
INGO international employers could hardly understand the communication context because they lacked the necessary knowledge of Vietnamese customs, cultural practices, norms, and traditions such as the hierarchical social relationships or family system (Kim Citation2009; Nguyen, Terlouw, and Pilot Citation2006). For example, Mr. Smith – an English director, did not know that according to Vietnamese tradition, he should come to greet the oldest villager first before starting his work in the community. As in his words:

[A state official advised an INGO international employer that] when the new person [new foreign director] comes to the village, he should go to see the village chief … (Mr. Smith, international employer).

Mrs. Anda, a Swedish woman who had lived in Vietnam for many years, commented on this hierarchical system that accords respect for age in Vietnamese society:

Certain things are typical Vietnamese, after all. You know, like hierarchy in work, right? Like age, position, and so on. So, sometimes it is difficult to tell a younger person to ask an older person to do something, right? But sometimes you forget that because in Europe that is normal (Mrs. Anda, international director).

Concealing emotions
Vietnamese culture encourages people to conceal their emotions, ‘give face’ to each other (Nguyen, Terlouw, and Pilot Citation2006), not to embarrass each other in public (Ting-Toomey and Kurogi Citation1998, 466), and show respect for their seniors (Kim Citation2009). Mrs. Natale – an American manager who also had worked in Vietnam for many years, was fully aware of this:

You never, never want people to lose face or be embarrassed in front of other people. I think it is a really important matter. But it’s very important everywhere, I mean, in the USA or wherever. You don’t want that. But it is even more of a problem in Asia (Mrs. Natale, international manager).

The difference in cultural norms may lead to misunderstanding in the communication process. International employers are accustomed to giving straight forward feedback and offer constructive critique. Vietnamese colleagues, however, might take offence at such direct comments. In the words of Mr. Thomson, an American director:

I think Vietnamese people have a very different culture. If you get angry? I think in my country, people don’t get as upset as the Vietnamese people do if you get angry with them. When I first came, I mean, I don’t think I was bad-tempered; I didn’t get angry very much. But I did one time. Soon after I came, I spoke very sharply to one of our Vietnamese staff. I didn’t mean to offend her or anything. But she got very upset. (Mr. Thomson, international director).

From the findings of the INCA project (Citation2004a), problems in intercultural communication often occur because the communication partners follow different linguistic conventions. As reported in the work of Nguyen, Terlouw, and Pilot (Citation2006) and Kim (Citation2009), the Vietnamese tended to be guarded in their comments on difficult topics when the situation involved senior authority. It is hard, therefore, for employers to understand the hidden meaning of a conversation. Although many of them had rich experiences in other cultures, they could not understand Vietnamese behaviour. Possibly, they were unable to recognise the culturally generated problems of their Vietnamese staff.

Intercultural experiences of young graduates
The Vietnamese staff at INGOs need to interpret for international expatriates, who were their international employers, to transfer new knowledge and skills to the local communities. The accounts given by young graduates showed that they were engaged in mediating activities between the international expatriates and the local, by interpreting, translating, or facilitating communication in other ways. Some indicated that they oscillated between the roles of cultural mediator and the cultural intermediary (Bochner Citation1981; Byram Citation1997, Citation2003).

Language mediation
In their account, all young graduates started in junior positions, which mainly involved interpreting between the international consultants and the local people. As all young participants had satisfied the requirement of English language competence for working at INGOs, they performed well in translating English to Vietnamese. One example is Mr. Ta. He was the field project officer for an INGO that focused on the promotion of child rights. His project aimed to reduce early marriage among girls of ethnic minority identity living in a mountainous province. His daily task mainly involved interpreting, even facilitating the communication process:

I translated and interpreted. And I assisted in creating a more open environment among the learners. If the learners kept silent when the consultants raised questions, I warmed them up or clarified the words so that the learners understood and could answer. The most important thing was the learners’ answers. That was what the consultants wanted to hear (Mr. Ta, Project Officer).

Culture differences
Ms. My took some temporary work before she found employment with an INGO, in the position of project assistant in a monitoring and evaluation team. Her role was to support an international consultant to conduct monitoring trips to project sites. Ms. My helped the international consultant to understand the customs and traditional practices of the local community. She interpreted and explained cultural traditions and practices in Vietnamese commune and the way to use Vietnamese language terms and norms for addressing people according to age, family relationship, or social relationship with the speaker. The international consultant needed such advice from the Vietnamese staff because incorrect forms of address could cause embarrassment in the communication process.

The consultant asked a lot of questions. For example, when dealing with a new situation, she asked me how to address people in Vietnamese and how to thank or greet people of different ages appropriately (Ms. My, Project Assistant).

Another interviewee, Ms. Mau was involved in a project for implementing a new pedagogical approach in the school system in Vietnam. It was difficult for her to understand the contents the consultant taught and the practices of the Vietnamese teachers.

The proposed activity might be easy to implement in a foreign country [the international expert’s]. But in Vietnam. Many things need to be into account. Such as the living conditions of the teachers, and so on. (Ms. Mau, Project Assistant).

Lacking knowledge of people from different cultures (Byram Citation1997; Deardorff Citation2006), Ms. Mau encountered difficulties in understanding the meaning in the values and experiences of both sides (Bochner Citation1981; Taft Citation1981; Ting-Toomey and Kurogi Citation1998).

I was like the person in between. It means that sometimes some expressions were quite different from the culture of Vietnam. Vietnamese people did not want to hear. I had to find out whether the international consultant had said things inappropriately. If that I had to find ways to explain, as a kind of troubleshooting (Ms. Mau, Project Assistant).

Ms. Mau was not familiar with the way of giving straight-forward comments, which reflects the cultural dimension of uncertainty avoidance, and emotional conceal (Nguyen, Terlouw, and Pilot Citation2006). Ms. Mau senses self as the follower of the senior and her boss at work (Nguyen, Terlouw, and Pilot Citation2005, Citation2006). To express her ideas, she has to find the right words, so to try not to lose the face of anyone (Nguyen, Terlouw, and Pilot Citation2005). These sequences of thinking also reveal that she is changing towards letting out her opinions, becoming more extroverted.

Intercultural communication
Another graduate, Ms. Nguyen was a project manager of the project that wanted to introduce a new educational method – the applied pedagogical theory – into the context in Vietnam. It was not easy for her to introduce a new idea into a local policy. She had to negotiate the similarities and differences between the applied pedagogy method proposed by the international experts and the actual practices happening at schools and within the education system in Vietnam.

Actually, in Vietnam, there existed a system for generating innovations in teaching method; however, the Vietnamese teachers did not have a unified approach for writing up their innovative ideas. When we discussed with the ministry officers that we would like to provide training on skills for creating innovations from teaching experiences, they agreed (Ms. Nguyen, Project Officer).

For Byram (Citation1997) a person competent in intercultural communication is ‘a mediator between cultures’ who can negotiate in both and be reflexive in combining aspects of multiple cultures in performance. Intercultural awareness is essential for the communication process. The exchange of information depends not only on understanding what one says or writes but on how it will be perceived and interpreted in another cultural context (Byram Citation1997). For example, Ms. Mau was confused with getting direct feedback from the boss because, in Vietnamese culture, people often try to retrain comments to keep harmonious with others (Nguyen, Terlouw, and Pilot Citation2005).

… .when you had a problem, they [the international experts] gave very straight feedback, and they were very straight forward. At first, I was unfamiliar with that way (Ms. Mau, Project Assistant).

Language mediation is not just a simple transfer of linguistic meaning. It also means mediating the actual meaning of the instructions or technical advice (Byram Citation2003). To use the language as a tool to translate, one has to be open, to know local customs, understand cultural practices, norms, and traditions, and be able to see relationships between different cultures (Byram Citation1997; Deardorff Citation2006).

In the account of Ms. Hoa, once she had to negotiate between the international consultant and the local medical staff. The Australian expert introduced medical anthropology to medical lecturers, using case studies from Australia, unfamiliar to the cultures in Vietnam, particularly in the ethnic minority areas. The learners did not find the case-study relevant to their work. Besides, medical anthropology was a new method in Vietnam, though been used elsewhere. Neither the project staff nor the medical lecturers understood it. It was necessary to have case studies in the local context to disseminate this new knowledge to the local people.

It seemed that the Australian expert had been here in Vietnam for too short a time to understand the needs of the learners. My task was to bring the learners’ needs to the notice of the trainer. The gap, for example, was the fact that he provided too many examples from Australia; however, the Vietnamese learners wanted to know about the Vietnamese and research methods. The Australian expert then revised the workshop agenda (Ms. Hoa, Project Associate).

Ms. Hoa developed communication skills for the intercultural context. She had a critical, analytical understanding of (part of) the Vietnamese culture and other cultures. She became conscious of others’ perspectives, of how their thinking was culturally determined, rather than believing that their understanding and perspective were normative (Byram Citation1997).

In short, graduates performed language mediation, went through cultural differences, and practiced intercultural communication skills such as flexibility, self-confidence, self-efficacy, openness, and motivation, orientation to knowledge, cultural empathy, openness to information and optimism (Mamman Citation1995). They had culture-sensitive knowledge, mindfulness and reflexivity (Ting-Toomey and Kurogi Citation1998). They were able to see relationships, both internal and external (Byram Citation1997), between different cultures, hence became competent in intercultural communication.

Working in INGOs in Vietnam required not only discipline knowledge and skills but also several less tangible attributes, particularly intercultural communication skills. Key factors influencing effective collaboration in Vietnamese culture include good communication skills that obey the rule of keeping face and gaining trust, and particularly the teamwork spirit. Vietnamese young graduates valued harmony between team members above all and saw the communication style of international employers as direct and straight forward in giving feedback. They learned to speak out their thinking when communicating with their boss while being careful choosing words in negotiating the project ideas with the local people at the project sites. Importantly, neither international expatriates nor young graduates were aware of the cultural knowledge, practice, and skills of the local communities, which were more suitable for the local contexts. The development model brought in by international experts was successfully applied if it took into account the local experiences, traditions, norms, and values.

Conclusion
Both international directors/deputy directors and the young graduates showed that they all paid attention to discipline knowledge and skills. However, they were not aware of the necessity of intercultural competence. The expatriates did not learn the Vietnamese language to communicate with the Vietnamese. Though all young graduates obtained good English language skills to translate international expatriates’ views, ideas and comments into Vietnamese, just English skills were not enough to mediate between foreign project models and local customs, traditions, and practices. Through daily interactions at INGOs, young graduates learned that intercultural competence, such as making inquiries and speaking out were features that affected one’s work. Significantly, the learning at work seemed to be reciprocal and their supervisors were open to new ideas suggested by these young graduates. It appeared that learning was taking place by their employers as well.

An insight from this research is the significance of intercultural competence for working in organisations like INGOs. It is where global agencies connect with national authorities and local communities in complex intercultural. Young graduates caught between the state, local communities (Gray Citation1999), and international expatriates. They sought to understand the culture of others, tried to share and find common ground to fulfill the goals of the organisations. More than disseminating information, they promoted mutual understanding, formed culturally relativistic attitudes, promoted cross-cultural empathy, spread international goodwill, and reconciled disparate cultural practices (Bochner Citation1981). They also facilitated communication, understanding, and action between persons or groups of different cultures (Taft Citation1981).

This research suggests that providing opportunities for students to participate in intercultural contexts of learning while at university is very important. It prepares them to enter the world of work. Knowledge, attitudes, skills of interpreting and relating, and skills of discovery and interaction can acquire through experience and reflection, without the intervention of teachers and educational institutions (Byram Citation1997). However, there is an option for the teacher to help them acquire these competences by embedding the learning process within a broader educational philosophy (Deardorff Citation2020). By saying so, Deardoff means that it is essential to start with individuals.

At Universities in Vietnam, some programmes attract foreign students to come to study with Vietnamese students. These provide opportunities for Vietnamese students to engage with perspectives from different cultures, and hence, develop their intercultural communicative competences. Universities can even diversify their students’ cultural experiences by exchanging them to universities in other parts of the country to be exposed to various cultures of different ethnic groups in Vietnam. Overall, the curriculum can integrate courses on ethnic cultures in Vietnam along with the existing courses on cultures of English speaking countries to lead students to knowledge of others."