Vietnam Women's Union

VWU President delivering remarks at the meeting

At the meeting, VWU President expressed her gratitude to the international friends and partners, who have cooperated with and supported Vietnamese women and VWU over the time.

Over the past years, the VWU has developed itself into a strong and prestigious organization nationally and internationally with nearly 19 million members and a network at 4 levels nationwide. In the current international integration period, the support by international partners has become even more effective in providing VWU with new operation models, thereby opening up new directions and approaches in some areas.

With the companionship of many partners, the VWU has become one of the pioneering microfinance providers. Some models have become the VWU's brand name such as the Community Hygiene Output-Based Aid (called CHOBA for short), which contributes largely to the environment related targets in the National Target Program on New Rural Development.

The Peace House Shelter to support gender-based violence survivors has been well recognized by the Government, thus has been allocated with State budget and included in the Government's Program for replication.

In addition, international cooperation has also contributed significantly to enhancing the capacity of VWU staff at all levels through technical support and training to improve their knowledge, skills, experience and management capacity in various fields.

Especially, internationally funded programs and projects have brought practical benefits to women and the community, especially disadvantaged and specific groups of women in many fields, e.g. health care, education, poverty reduction, economic empowerment, innovative business start-ups, science and technology, safe migration, prevention of gender-based violence, women’s participation in leadership, management, climate change response and adaptation, ect.

Many recent initiatives have been highly appreciated, such as "Safe Year for Women and Children", Women Innovation Day", "Women Start-up Day", and gender mainstreaming into policies and national target programs, thereby helping to improve the VWU staff’s capacity and women’s quality of life and advancement in general.

Ms. Elisa Fernandez – Country Representative of UN Women in Vietnam at the event

Speaking on behalf of development partners and corporations, Ms. Elisa Fernandez – Country Representative of UN Women in Vietnam and Ms. Le Thi Hong Nhi - Senior Manager of Unilever in Vietnam - highly appreciated VWU’s role in promoting gender equality and empowering women. UN Women, Unilever and many others always consider VWU as a strategic partner and commit to continually accompany VWU in improving women's livelihood, economic empowerment, and ensuring safety for all Vietnamese women and children.

*Besides the meeting, delegates also spent time experiencing traditional culture and enjoying the natural scenery along the Red River at the Culture, Cuisine and Tourism village “Sunlight of Red River”. Below are some photos of the cultural experiences: