On 14 Dec 2016, ADC in collaboration with iSEE and EMWG successfully organized the Learning Forum with the theme “Ethnic minority women: Active and Passive?”

Attending the Forum were distinguished guests from The Vietnam Women's Union (VWU), representatives from VNGOs as CARE, Oxfam, Plan, iSEE, MDF, AECOM, CERDA, CSDM, XUNBIO, representatives of Media Company and consulting, research and policy advocacy firms as well as ethnic minority women’s representatives from Bac Kan, Thanh Hoa, Lao Cai and Hoa Binh provinces. The forum was to share useful content and closely related to the theme actually empowering the voices of women and ethnic minorities in socio-economic development and responding to climate change. During the event, several topics such as “EM Women’s empowerment or imposing burden on EM women?”, “One is not born, but rather becomes, woman (Simone de Beauvoir)”, “Are women passive?” “Why needs to awake EM women’s potential” and so on, were keenly discussed. 

Assoc.Prof. Dr. Pham Quynh Phuong, Anthropologist, iSEE,  sharing about how ethnic minority women perceive themselves

Especially, the ADC had a realistic sharing on the supporting process to enhance women’s leadership and empowerment in socio-economic development and climate change adaptation. ADC using terms with distinct meanings, which is a comprehensive and sustainable approach, were “The leadership of EM women does not mean that they ought to be in a position in the local authority, but that they are fully capable of detecting and solving their own problems as well as the issues of their community, and take actions on their own behalf”, and “Women’s empowerment does not mean that they only have gender equality, but that they are self-confident of which they can make anything happen”. These conceptions contributed to the success of ADC with the method “taking EM women as a focus to create big changes beyond expectations”. In addition, ADC openly shared about the sustainability, replicability of the approach and the difficulties that ADC encountered from the very first day, which were questioned and highly appreciated by guests.

Mr. Bui Tuan Tuan – the representative sharing at the forum

Furthermore, during the talk show on “the Leadership of EM women”, realistic and typical stories of change of EM women in the participatory process of projects supporting by ADC and iSEE were delivered. Sharing also emphasized the leadership role of EM women, gender equality, reduction of domestic violence and social prejudice.

Talk show on the Leadership role of EM women

This Forum is part of the framework “Regular Learning Forum on the development issues of ethnic minorities” - an initiative for partners, organizations, and individuals interested in the problems of the ethnic minorities in Vietnam within the scope of the program "Civil action for the socio-economic integration of minority communities in northern Vietnam" (CASI) co-organized by CARE International in Vietnam, ADC, iSEE, and CIRUM.

Mrs. Tong Thi Van shared about the native banana

Mrs. Tong Thi Van, Tay ethnic women in Bac Kan shared about their native banana, and their initiative was integrated in the Socio-Economic Development Plans of commune and Bac Kan provincial Climate Change Action Plan Action in the period 2011-2020, replicating in the community.