The aim of the writing contest, which is sponsored by Norway, has been to encourage Vietnamese youth to learn and think about gender equality, and to create a forum for them to express their opinions on Vietnam’s current situation. The contest was carried out from mid September to early December 2009 by VTV6 - Channel for the Youth, and has attracted great attention of university students and young workers all over the country.
Massive response
More than 800 young “writers” in the age of 16 - 26 submitted their essays. Students abroad and youth from over 30 provinces in Vietnam contributed with their thoughts on gender equality. The participants proposed in their essays various solutions that could help eliminate gender inequality in Vietnam: women empowerment and assistance, accessible education for disadvantaged women, hotline assistance for domestic violence victims and training courses on gender equality at schools and mass media were among the many suggestions raised.
The winner
The Prize Award Ceremony was held in Hanoi 17 December 2009. The winner was Ba Quyet Thang, a student from the Institute of Journalism and Communication. His essay gained the highest vote and is the touching story of his own family, where his mother’s love and sacrifice has been the power of compassion and change. The essay also has a thorough analysis of the causes of inequality and some practical measures for gender equality promotion in Vietnam. Vietnam Television (VTV6 - Channel for the Youth) and a local NGO (Center for Community Empowerment – CECEM) will jointly implement research analysis based on the contest results, and hope this will be a good future reference for policy makers and those who work in the area of gender equality.