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This seminar is the first of its kind in Vietnam, but forms a part of a series of seminars entitled “Nora’s sisters” that have been organized in a number of countries worldwide since 2006, as part of the commemoration of 100 years since the death of the famous Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen.
The purpose of the “Nora’s Sisters” seminar in Hanoi was to bring the issue of gender equality to the forefront in Vietnam by using Ibsen’s works as a source of inspiration. The specific topic of the seminar was “Women’s Equal Rights in the Family” and this issue was approached from both a cultural and a political perspective.
The seminar was built up around the performance “A Dolls House" at the Youth Theater, which was followed by a half-day seminar with keynote speeches from Vietnam and Norway. MOLISA held a presentation on Implementation of Gender Equality policy in Vietnam. State Secretary from the Prime Ministers Office in Norway, Rita Skjærvik, spoke about Norwegian policy on gender equality. A Norwegian delegation from the Department of Family Affairs and Equality at the Ministry of Children and Equality assisted as experts in a Q&A session. A panel debate, with significant Vietnamese representatives from both political and cultural spheres finalized the event. The debate was moderated by Dr Minh Thai a renowned journalist, theatre critic and Ibsen connaisseur from Faculty of Journalism at the University of Social Science and Humanities in Hanoi (USSH).
Participants included representatives of the National Assembly, different ministries, NCFAW, Women’s Union, members of the cultural community, UN and other national and international organisations as well as students.
The event enjoyed significant interest from a broad range of Vietnamese media, which resulted in very good media coverage, including televised interviews with the Ambassador and the State Secretary.
As a follow-up on the Human Rights Dialogue between Norway and Vietnam a delegation of Norwegian gender equality experts visited Vietnam with the goal to establish a an institutional cooperation in the field of gender equality. Cooperation with MOLISA is now in progress. |