Intranet access

• FR
• EN

Log in

Or

If you don't have a LuxDev email account

I forgot my password

Help

LuxDev, Luxembourg Development Cooperation Agency

• 2017
• • 20 March
  • By Katja MAJCEN
  • 
  • Asia Office VIE/033
  • Share Tweet

  Vietnam - Tam Giang-Cau Hai Lagoon’s Untapped Potential for Community-Based Ecotourism

  With a 128 km coastline and its 22 000 ha Tam Giang-Cau Hai Lagoon, Vietnam’s central province of Thua Thien Hue (TT Hue) is frequently exposed to natural hazards and increasingly facing environmental impact and damage. At the same time, however, the unique environment of this largest lagoon system in Southeast Asia, and the scenic beauty of its surroundings, have the potential to develop a community-based ecotourism (CBET) sector and significantly contribute to strengthening people’s livelihoods, and increasing their economic resilience to climate change.

  

  Figure 1 - View of Tam Giang Cau Hai lagoon from a fishing village in Phu Loc district, Thuan Thien Hue 

  Whereas national policies and strategies for tourism development are in place, and TT Hue developed a “Socio-Economic Development Plan for the Tam Giang-Cau Hai Lagoon up to 2020”, the province has faced challenges to get CBET off the ground. On the demand side, due to lack of marketing and promotion, the lagoon remains largely unknown to the many tourists that are visiting Hue City, the former imperial capital of Vietnam. On the supply side, local people are not familiar with the concept of community-based tourism, lack the necessary skills and technical support, and do not have the funding for investments in upgrading community and homestay facilities. 

  

  Figure 2 - Picture of TT Hue's lagoon on cover page of Vietnam's main English language newspaper (20/01/2017) as part of an article on tourism potential.

  Recognising the uniqueness and potential of the lagoon, and with its focus on climate change adaptation and local development, project VIE/033 started working with communities, civil society, local government and the private sector to establish a number of CBET models, one in each of the three project districts. The aim of these models is to demonstrate how CBET can contribute to economic growth, while at the same time, through community mobilisation, ownership and management of natural resources, also help protect the fragile environment.  

  As one of the first steps, the project organised a few exposure visits. First, to a number of International Labour office (ILO) and UNESCO supported community-based models in neighbouring Quang Nam province, subsequently to Inle Lake in Myanmar, where a very similar environment attracts some 200 000 tourists a year. The latter trip was supported by LuxDev’s MYA/001 tourism project. All leaders from the government provincial and district tourism departments in TT Hue and specialists of the Department of Planning and Investment participated, along with representatives of civil society and the private sector.

  Figure 3 – VIE/033 Myanmar exposure visit participants at the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism in Naypyitaw 

  Following these learning experiences, detailed plans for three pilot models were jointly developed, and a first two-day training on CBET provided by TT Hue’s Tourism College took place in Hue City with representatives of provincial, district and commune level as well as 27 village leaders. The training generally aimed at enhancing the awareness and knowledge of CBET destination management, and at strengthening community capacities for planning, management and tourism services in the three pilot communes of Quang Ngan, Phu An and Loc Binh. During the event, local regulations on CBET operations were jointly defined.

  An interesting feature of the CBET pilots is the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) setup, with the private sector stepping in as co-facilitator and specialised partner, to support local communities in organising things on the supply side, while at the same time help promote lagoon eco-tourism and create a demand for the services and programmes on offer. A 20-year business plan, with clear agreements and responsibilities was signed between a local cooperative as the leading civil society partner and a Hue-based tour agent. The cooperation between these two partners, and implementation of their business plan, is supported by the three district Divisions of Culture, Information and Tourism, with whom LuxDev has signed Delegation Agreements, and as such are in the lead for implementation.

  This close cooperation between project, local government, the private sector and cooperatives enables communities in lagoon-based villages in TT Hue to offer visitors a special and authentic cultural experience, and creates opportunities to tap into the growing domestic tourism market and since the recent opening of the ASEAN the regional tourism potential as well. 

       

  ↑ To the top
• 2016
• • 26 October
  • By Anouk LINEL
  • 
  • Asia Office VIE/036
  • Share Tweet

  Vietnam – How to identify and control crop diseasesTraining on Pest Control

  In Cao Bang province, many farmers are unable to identify the symptoms when their crops such as rice, tobacco or maize show signs of diseases. Usually, it results in an inappropriate use of pesticides in terms of volume, type, time of spraying, etc. A considerable number of fields are badly affected and even destroyed by such misuse of pesticides, even more so since most of the pesticides are cheap imports from China, often unbranded and without comprehensible usage instructions. It goes without saying that such behaviour directly impacts the quality of the agriculture products, followed by a decreasing interest of consumers for locally-produced agricultural products. Via an information campaign, the provincial level requested producers to make better use of pesticides but the lack of skills to recognise the symptoms of crop diseases and using pesticides incorrectly is a real issue amongst farmers.

  Therefore, trainings on techniques of identification and pest control measures provided by the Crop and Plant Protection Division (CPPD) supported by project VIE/036 were an efficient way to improve farmers’ skills in that respect.

  The target beneficiary of these trainings were 125 farmers within Duc Xuan and Le Lai communes, in Thach An district, distributed among 5 villages, each class attended by 25 farmers.

  Moreover, the trainings were an opportunity for the CPPD to develop their coaching approach while working with farmers in the fields. Also, those trainings were an opportunity for farmers to enjoy services provided by CPPD directly at their commune and to strengthen their confidence in proactively seeking technical support at CPPD offices when they are faced with any crop or plant issues.

  Those trainings are the first batch of a series of activities in which CPPD will introduce an effective way to spray pesticides and at the same time to have a better understanding of the local situation and characteristics of farmers spraying pesticides in their field.

  For seeking a suitable and relevant method to reduce the use of unbranded chemicals (mostly coming from China) while improving control over sales and purchases of Chinese pesticides, CPPD has collaborated with the Cao Bang Department of Police to undertake a study to assess the circulation and movement of unbranded chemicals.  

  The CPPD also wishes to elaborate, propose and help farmers to apply at least 4 kinds of pesticide solutions that are responsive to the local characteristics and needs. At the same time CPPD will build its capacity to conduct studies on agricultural cultivating techniques for enriching a shared public knowledge library on agriculture practice for universal accessibility and inheritance.

  VIE/036 will certainly continue to provide support to CPPD and other agricultural departments to ultimately improve the agricultural production in the most sustainable manner.

  

  ↑ To the top
• • 26 October
  • By Sandrine THINNES
  • 
  • Asia Office VIE/032
  • Inclusive and innovative finance
  • Share Tweet

  Bridging Viet Nam and Luxembourg in Capital MarketsVIE/032 Project Launch

  Friday 7 October 2016 set the mark for the official launch of the Luxembourg funded support project for capacity development in the Vietnam financial sector. VIE/032 project follows a successful first phase implemented between 2008 and 2013. This new phase will certainly build up on former achievements and will also support the Vietnam State Securities Commission (SSC) to cater more efficiently to the needs of a rapidly developing finance sector, be it via reformation of the existing legislative framework, inviting high-level experts to exchange knowledge and experience, as well as to upgrade existing IT systems.

  

  LuxDev will be partnering with the Luxembourg training entity know as House of Training, which now includes the “Agence de Transfert de Technology Financière” (ATTF) to provide experts for training and technical assistance assignments for the development of Vietnam’s securities market. To even create a greater bond between Luxembourg and Vietnam in view of a platform for networking, exploring new ventures and business opportunities, the project has established an Alumni Association. This association assembles all graduates that have benefitted from ATTF’s trainings in the framework of the Luxembourg Development Cooperation activities in the Vietnam finance sector.

  Aside from extensively working with SSC, the Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchanges, the Vietnam Securities Depository, securities firms and listed companies, the project will also seek synergies with other involved donors such as the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and the International Finance Cooperation.

  First off after the launch, the project will hire experts to support the updating of the legal framework and for derivatives training workshops to support capacity development ahead of the planned launch of the derivatives market in 2017. The project will seek to leverage Luxembourg expertise to provide these deliverables.

  

  ↑ To the top
• • 22 September
  • By Sandrine Thinnes
  • 
  • Asia Office VIE/021 VIE/034
  • Share Tweet

  Vietnam – Record-breaking intake at Bac Kan Vocational College 257 new students enrolled for the 2016-17 academic year on Admission Day – 5 September 2016

  Bac Kan Vocational College (BKVC), previously known as Bac Kan Intermediate Vocational School, was funded by Luxembourg Development Cooperation under project VIE/021 from 2007-2011 and now continues to receive support for a second phase. Starting with only two departments, it currently offers a wide range of training programmes, including electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, automotive engineering, construction, agro-forestry, IT, as well as accounting and has seen increasing numbers of students over the years.

  

  Since early 2016, the BKVC Recruitment Centre kicked off a multimedia blitz advertising campaign covering Bac Kan television, newspapers and banners displayed in district schools. They organised career orientation days at almost all secondary schools in the province and visited potential students’ families in villages. Prospective students were also invited to BKVC for a campus tour, from which they had a chance to see for themselves what BKVC has to offer in terms of not only training programmes but also the living and studying environment.

  

  On 5 September, secondary school graduates and their parents from all districts in Bac Kan province gathered at BKVC campus for Admission Day. A mixed feeling of nervousness and excitement was easily discerned on those young faces who are about to part from their parents and family home for the first time in their life. Carrying backpacks or bags of various shapes and sizes, they queued in line for their turn to register. Students who already made a decision over what to study simply filled in the enrolment form, submitted and then waited to be taken to their dormitory. There are also consultation desks where dedicated faculty members gave helpful advice and guidance to still-undecided students.

  

  After finishing the paperwork, students got together in a hall for an introduction session to BKVC. The college’s Director, Mr Trinh Tien Long, provided students with information about different policies, support and conveyed a bright outlook, further solidifying their confidence in the choices they made and ensuring the time they will be spending on campus will be a rewarding experience. 

  

  Admission procedures did not cease until the end of the day. Results showed that recruitment efforts have paid off. Total number of new enrolment was reported to have reached 257 – the highest enrolment ever recorded on an admission day and more are expected to follow. The most enrolled occupations include automotive engineering, veterinary and mechanical technology. Recruitment activities will continue until the end of 2016 with support of the VIE/034 project in order to reach the target of 440 new students.

  ↑ To the top
• • 7 April
  • By Pietro Lombardini
  • 
  • LAO/024
  • Share Tweet

  Promoting Basic Hygiene in LaosWashing hands and brushing teeth can save lives!

  Hygiene standards in rural Laos are generally low and local populations do not seem to fully understand the importance of following basic hygiene practices in daily life. The sanitary conditions at the primary schools are usually a good example of the lack of hygiene standards: broken toilets (which leads to open defecation by students), animal waste inside classrooms due to doors left open after school, lack of hand washing (as there is usually no clean, running water is available), etc. All this results in a high frequency of diseases among children, particularly diarrhoea, which can be dangerous.  

  In this regard, the Khammouane Local Development Project supports hygiene education in all 34 target villages across the three districts of Boualapha, Mahaxay and Nakai of Khammouane province.

  

  Last month, the hygiene education pilot started in four villages of Boualapha district. The training aims at improving hygiene behaviour among kindergarten and primary schools pupils. Over 750 villagers (pupils and their parents, teachers, school directors and village authorities) will benefit from hygiene courses and complementary facilities that will be installed close to the toilets of the eight schools in the four villages. The facilities include water taps and “Tippy tap” hand washers (see picture below).

  

  The training follows the so-called “children to parents approach”, whereby children that have become accustomed to hygienic behaviour taught in school adopt the same at home in hopes that it will influence the behaviour of their parents and siblings.

  The training, conducted by a team from the French non-governmental organisation Sourires d’Enfants, uses interactive materials (such as the hygiene education toolkit called Blue Box, roleplaying, visual support, etc.) to focus on key behavioural changes in personal hygiene such as hand washing and brushing teeth. The programme also teaches safe management of drinking water and use of latrines in preference to open defecation in order to to induce lasting behavioural changes.

  

  Such changes can only be perpetuated if the actions are applied and repeated, not only by the children, but also by teachers and ultimately the whole village. Furthermore, the Village Educational Development Committees reinforce behavioural change by establishing training support and promoting hygiene education. These Committees are often composed of village authorities, elders and some parents and are the main actor responsible for guaranteeing the continuity and sustainability of these hygiene practices in schools.

  Finally, this approach also includes strong involvement and empowerment of authorities at the district and provincial levels, especially the Provincial School Health Task Force. Their capacity to train, encourage, follow-up on and raise awareness regarding good hygiene practices in the concerned villages will equally be essential for successfully implementing behavioural changes. Later this year, once the capacity of this Task Force is enhanced and lessons have been drawn from the pilot phase, the same activities will be implemented in KHALODEP’s other target villages.

  ↑ To the top
• • 6 April
  • By Rik Delnoije
  • 
  • LAO/026
  • Share Tweet

  Lao Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry visits Luxembourg and the Netherlands

  On 25 March, a delegation from the Lao Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, including Vice Minister Dr. Phouangparisack Pravongviengkham, visited the Luxembourg Ministry of Agriculture and Consumer Protection as well as the Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs. The Lao delegates met, among others, with Mr Fernand Etgen, Minister of Agriculture, Viticulture and Consumer Protection and Mr Romain Schneider, Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs.

  

  The visit to Luxembourg complemented a study tour to the Netherlands during which the Lao delegation learned about the Dutch agriculture sector and particularly about the essential role that organized farmers and producers play in Dutch agribusiness. The visit took place from 20-29 March and was organized and financed by the LAO/026 project “Technical Assistance to the IFAD-financed SSSJ Rural Development Programme”. 

  

  The purpose of the study tour was to learn from the success of the Dutch agricultural sector and comparatively assess which success factors could become driving forces for the further development of the Lao agricultural sector. Such success factors include:

  1. strong and well-organized farmer organisations that function independent of the government,
  2. due investment in agricultural education (from vocational to academic levels) and agricultural research, and
  3. clear and complementary roles of concerned stakeholders, producers, the private sector and government that includes multi-stakeholder bodies, like Commodity Boards, ensuring consistency and inclusion of farmer’s interests in policy formulation and coordination during implementation.

  

  In the Netherlands, the delegation visited farmer organisations and agro-cooperatives as well as the Flora Holland Auction, the largest and leading trading entity for flowers worldwide, owned and governed by 45 000 flower growers. In addition, educational and research organisations like the Wageningen Agriculture and Research Centre offered participants an insight into leading research about food security and sustainable agriculture.

  During the visit to Luxembourg, the delegates visited Beckerich to learn about community development in Luxembourg and the importance of citizens’ participation to promote ownership and sustainability of investments.

  

  The Lao delegates enthusiastically took in the new experiences and adapted the lessons learned into action points for application to their specific context and situation at home.

  ↑ To the top
• • 16 March
  • By Pietro Lombardini
  • 
  • LAO/024
  • Share Tweet

  Laos - KHALODEP Scholarship promotion enters the second round

  The second year of the Khammouane Local Development Project (KHALODEP) scholarship outreach activity has been completed.

  The scholarship aims to strengthen human resource development and career alternatives through secondary school enrolment support as well as technical/vocational training, targeting marginalized people and mainstreaming gender to promote equality. The scholarship focuses on increasing and ensuring access, enrolment and retention of boys and especially girls in secondary schools throughout KHALODEP’s 34 target villages located in the three districts of Mahaxay, Nakai and Boualapha.

  

  Scholarships are granted to young individuals between 14 and 25 years old, living in one of the target villages. Each student can receive a maximum of one scholarship per year. For vocational training or secondary school scholarships lasting more than one year, students may apply for a second scholarship if their studies remain at a satisfactory level. Eligible applicants will have completed primary school and fulfil poverty criteria stipulated by Laotian standards.

  

  The planning and implementation of the activity is the result of an intensive and constructive collaboration between the project’s technical advisors and the provincial/district officers. For three consecutive weeks, from 15 February until 4 March, a team composed of provincial/district officers from the Department of Education and Sports and a teacher from the Vocational Training School of Thakhek informed the villagers and students in the 34 target villages about the application requirements and the subjects covered by KHALODEP’s scholarship. Using music and other media, the promotion team gave colourful presentations, distributed application forms and answered students’ and villagers’ questions, while particularly encouraging women’s participation and specifically targeting the poorest households.

  

  Once all applications are collected, the scholarship selection team will short-list candidates. Individual house visits by the selection team to meet the pre-selected candidates will take place before the final decision is made. Later on, during an official ceremony recognizing their achievement, the Vice-Governors of each district will give half of the scholarship amount to the selected students. The remaining amount will be given to the student only after the selection team has received proof of the student’s satisfactory mid-term reports.

  Pietro LOMBARDINI | Junior Technical Advisor | KHALODEP - LAO/024

  ↑ To the top
• • 19 January
  • By Sandrine Thinnes
  • 
  • Asia Office LAO/026
  • Share Tweet

  Laos - “Happy family” video series combines entertainment with learning about nutrition

  

  The IFAD funded Soum Son Seun Jai (SSSJ) Programme, which is co-funded by the Luxembourg Government through LAO/026 project, aims at contributing to the reduction of extreme poverty and hunger in two provinces in Laos targeting 17.000 poor rural households living in 225 target villages.

  The programme has recently launched an innovative video series linking agriculture and nutrition. These series allow the programme to scale up the support to its nutrition sensitive interventions by reaching out to a large number of poor households in a consistent and efficient manner using broadcasting technology.

  Currently, every second child in the rural areas in Laos is severely malnourished or stunted. Malnutrition rates are particularly high among the SSSJ target group living in remote rural areas and ethnic minority communities. Nutrition education is crucial in fighting the current epidemic malnutrition. However, in the past the effectiveness of nutrition education in Laos was limited because of a lack of appealing educational materials that are available in local languages. The SSSJ-LAO/026 project has responded to this need by developing an innovative video tool kit that emphasizes on key messages customized to remote and rural areas. The video tool kit is made available in local languages like Lao, Hmong and Khamu. LAO/026 project has co-financed the production, particularly in making the videos available in local languages. Moreover, LAO/026 advisers have been instrumental in providing technical advice and in facilitating the shooting and production of the video series.

  The series contain 12 short videos that all address specific themes regarding nutrition, from food production to consumption. Various agricultural production topics such as chicken raising, fish raising, vegetable production are covered. A particular note is also made regarding the availability of healthy and nutritious food from the wild. Production oriented messages are merged with messages that encourage consumption of healthy food instead of instant food readily available on the market. The videos also provide dietary recommendations and nutritious recipes for homemade dishes. As only showing/viewing the videos will not be sufficient to create behavioral change among the targeted groups, additional materials like discussion guidelines and posters are developed to facilitate focused discussions and dialogue with villagers to better understand the problem and raise their awareness to hopefully change to a more healthy diet. The complete package is broadly distributed and enthusiastically received by other organizations and already used by UNICEF, the World Food Programme, the Food and Agricultural Organization and non-governmental organization like Care and Plan International.

  In order for the messages to appeal to rural villagers and not be another “boring extension message”, the videos are packaged into a rural soap opera that plays in one of the project target villages.

  There are Phone and Xay who secretly fall in love; a grumpy grandmother who wants everything the way it was, because she is fond of the saying “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks”; a clever husband who learns from his daughter to pick nutritious wild foods and build up his physical strength by eating healthy food. There is Noy, a health volunteer and wonderful cook, who is advising pregnant and breast feeding friends. Absolute star of the series is the little Sonephet who, after a delicious homemade bean snack, scored a goal against the Lao national soccer team.  

  All actors are villagers from SSSJ target villages, increasing the real life appearance and making it easier for rural people to identify with the messages the series want to share.

  The videos (Lao version with English sub-titles) are uploaded on YouTube and can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLeO0-UIO6Q-76Z58Pv9XGTKct-fC-oOS8

  We encourage you to have a look.

  ↑ To the top
• • 11 January
  • By Sandrine Thinnes
  • 
  • Asia Office
  • Share Tweet

  Vietnam - Uganda’s Ministry of Health gains insight from Vietnam’s immunization programme

  Representatives from the Uganda Ministry of Health (MOH) visited Hanoi for the first time at the beginning of January to conduct a study tour to learn from our Vietnam’s successful Expanded Programme on Immunizations (EPI). The group of five delegates attended a presentation at the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology (NIHE). The former Chief Technical Adviser of the support project to the NIHE (VIE/025) was also present to exchange on the lessons learnt. The groups visited a national vaccine storage facility used to receive and distribute vaccinations as the first link in the nationwide vaccine cold chain extending to 5,000 communes, 700 districts and 63 provincial level cold chain facilities which were equipped primarily under the long standing Luxembourg support lasting over a decade. The EPI programme received support from the Luxembourg Government between 1995 and 2012, as well as other organizations like WHO, UNICEF, JICA and GAVI.

  

   “We feel that Vietnam has come a long way in trying to understand the team performance of the cold chain systems, which we are not doing back home,” said Dr. Luzze Henry, acting manager of Uganda’s National EPI. “We will be able to learn from this and take this practice back home.”

  NIHE, PATH and LuxDev representatives discussed the implementation and maintenance of the EPI programme, which has improved drastically in the last decade. Over the years, Vietnam has grown and enhanced its vaccine cold chain, the process by which vaccinations are stored and transported in refrigerated equipment to ensure that they are safely delivered to patients.

  Joanie Robertson, Technical Adviser of vaccine and pharmaceutical technologies at PATH, Geneva, Switzerland helped to coordinate the meeting in order for the Ugandan MOH EPI team to learn about the successes and challenges Vietnam faced while expanding its cold chain model.

  “We had a meeting, and they shared a picture from both sides, and one of the main thing is getting the Government to commit sufficient resources – that’s a common challenge that they both have”, Robertson said of the Ugandan and Vietnamese agencies. “They both introduced new vaccines in the last 10 years, and that’s also a challenge.”

  ​

  Vietnam introduced two new vaccines in 2014 to protect citizens from Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) and measles-rubella (MR). Prior to that, Vietnam made strides in its vaccination programme by eradicating polio in 2000, followed by maternal and neonatal tetanus in 2005. The nation has also greatly reduced the rate of measles, Hepatitis B and other diseases that are targeted by the EPI programme.

  Vietnam’s current cold chain model is unrecognizable from the system it had in 2009. At that time, only 57% of the 179 refrigerators in one northern province of Vietnam were functional. The distance of transporting vaccinations was an issue, as well as outdated equipment powered by gas. The system lacked systematic monitoring and documentation of equipment, clear responsibilities and communication, and resources to make repairs to equipment.

  The project VIE/025 tackled these issues by training provincial and national equipment managers to manage and maintain the cold chain equipment. It also provided a set of tools and basic spare parts to all 63 provinces, and the maintenance of the equipment was outsourced during the span of the project. Equipment was added and upgraded, and all areas of the country now have reliable electricity-powered facilities.

  Perhaps most importantly, the project focused on the importance of strengthening personnel, which is the true key to the EPI programme’s success, according to Raja Chowdhry, former Chief Technical Adviser to VIE/025:

  “Our objective was to change the mindset of the staff. That was the first step,” Chowdhry said. “EPI in Vietnam has a successful programme – the programme side is very good, and I saw that they meet often, but they didn’t talk about all the EPI numbers and vaccinations. They never talked about how it is done, what are the logistics. So our first success was after years of trying, when EPI started to report the functional levels of the refrigerators in the facilities, which was the first success. Now they have received the message that it’s also important to report on how the cold chain is functioning at each level.”

  ↑ To the top
• 2015
• • 11 December
  • By Alain Jaquemin
  • 
  • VIE/033
  • Share Tweet

  Vietnam - LuxDev project joins hands with United Nations ORANGE Campaign

  From 25 November through 10 December, Human Rights Day, the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence aim to raise public awareness and mobilizing people everywhere to bring about change.

  

  Starting November 25, UN Women promotes the global 16-day ORANGE campaign, which aims to put this violence against women and girls in the spotlight, through many different actions and interventions by governments, civil society organisations, private businesses and individuals worldwide.

  Studies and statistics demonstrate that such action is also necessary in Vietnam, where a study found out, that one in three women are beaten or sexually abused by their husbands or partners. If emotional abuse is added, the figure goes up to six out of ten. Further, a recent small-scale survey conducted in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City found that 87% of women and girls interviewed had experienced some form of sexual harassment in public places.

  As a local development project in TT Hue province, VIE/033 takes a strong focus on women. Indeed, in spite of the overall achievements in socio-economic development, poverty remains a fact of life for many people and women are over-represented. Furthermore, many women who are not officially categorised as ‘poor’ or ‘near-poor’, are most vulnerable and at risk of falling into poverty quickly from the moment something goes wrong – for example as a result of a climate or weather-related event, to which the province is prone to.

  The project, therefore, supports and works closely with the Women’s Union, specifically on the broad issues of Gender Equality and Women’s Economic Empowerment. As part of that support, we decided to jointly engage in the global campaign as well as "Orange Hue City".

  

  The main event of this 16-day campaign took place on Campaign Day, in the morning of 5 December, at TT Hue’s main cultural centre, with music and dance performances, speeches by provincial leaders, the UN Women Country Representative and Lux-Development. They were joined by a campaign team of 500 enthusiasts – every single one of them dressed in the colour of the day.

  

  Thousands of leaflets were distributed at key places around the city, and an Orange parade on bicycles rode the city’s streets, which had been decorated in the colours of the 16-day campaign and brought the Campaign Day to an impressive close.   

  

  As the UN Women’s Country Representative stated in her speech: “fear of violence leads women to withdraw from society and from jobs, and causes girls to drop out of school”. Through this Orange campaign, and the wide media coverage in newspapers and on TV, people’s awareness about the forms and level of violence against women and girls, and what action can be taken against it, has been raised. In combination with the active support of the local authorities to tackle the issues, we are hopeful that it will contribute to a safer environment for women and girls and foster their socio-economic prospects.

  

  ↑ To the top

Display previous news

<1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738394041>