Viet Nam’s progress towards achieving Gender Equality highlighted during event with the media

Following the launching of the Gender Equality and Girls’ Education Initiative in Viet Nam, significant progress has been achieved towards enhancing the capacity of the Education Sector to ensure gender equality in planning and management and gender mainstreaming in curriculum and textbook development and teaching practices.

Considering the important role that the media holds as actors and advocators of gender equality in Viet Nam, the active involvement of journalists and reporters is key to the success of the Initiative. The media briefing was attended by more than 40 media professionals, including reporters and journalists from various media agencies as well as representatives of the Standing Unit for Textbook and Curriculum Renovation, Personnel Department, Committee for the Advancement of Women (CFAW), Voice of Viet Nam (VOV) and UNESCO, presenting a valuable opportunity for implementing partners to communicate progress and raise awareness about the Initiative’s achievements and next steps.

Ms. Tran Thi Phuong Nhung, UNESCO Programme Manager, presented key documents including the 2016-2020 Action Plan on Gender Equality for the Education Sector, a set of recommendations on strengthening the inclusion of gender equality into the second phase of the Education Development Strategic Plan (EDSP) and a guideline for gender mainstreaming and the elimination of gender stereotypes in education curricula, textbooks and materials as some of the major developments of the initiative so far.  The Initiative  involves 12 implementing partners, including functional Departments of MOET, VOV, the Viet Nam Association for Learning Promotion (VALP), the Vietnamese Women’s Museum as well as specialized technical assistance from UN Women and UNFPA in the areas of reproductive healthcare, sex and safe-sex education, school-related gender-based violence, bullying and domestic violence prevention.

A total of 196 education officials have participated in consultation and training workshops through which they have enhanced their capacity in gender responsive planning and results-based management (RBM) for the post-2015 Action Plan as well as in gender mainstreaming and the elimination of gender stereotypes in post-2015 curricula and textbooks.

Representatives of the Standing Unit for Textbook and Curriculum Renovation underlined the efficacy of the Guiding Document on Gender Mainstreaming in Curriculum and Textbook Development and stressed the importance of the guiding document as a tool to ensure the elimination of gender stereotypes and to help address gender gaps in access to education and gender-based violence.

Mr. Tran Kim Tu, Deputy Director of the Personnel Department and Vice-Chairman of CFAW spoke on the progress thus of the 2016-2020 Action Plan for Gender Equality for the Education Sector. The Action Plan is currently in its second draft and comprises 7 indicators and 36 targets and solutions addressing prioritized issues in the Education Sector, such as gender awareness, gender equality and the importance of sex-disaggregated data.

Mr. Ngo Minh Hien, Head of Voice of Viet Nam’s International Cooperation Department, expressed the importance of raising the awareness and enhancing the capacity of media professionals to better promote messages on gender equality and girls’ and women’s’ education within communities. Currently, training materials are being developed in coordination with VOV to increase media professionals’ capacity to report on challenges and successes in achieving gender equality in Viet Nam.

Ms. Sun Lei, UNESCO Officer-in-Charge, highlighted the outstanding role of the media in creating and shaping public opinion and strengthening society. Ms. Sun Lei further affirmed that the media plays a key role in the enhancement of an enabling environment for the implementation of the legal right of girls and women to education by shaping public discourses on gender issues.

For more information, please contact Ms. Tran Thi Phuong Nhung at tt.nhung@unesco.org.