Ground breaking learning tool for 2016 election women candidates goes live

The eLearning course “Ready for Success”, developed by the joint UN Development Programme (UNDP) and Ministry of Foreign Affairs project “Women’s Leadership”, is ready to be used at the site www.sansangdethanhcong.com.

Only 24 percent of the current elected officials across the country are women. Viet Nam needs to increase the number of women who are ready and confident to participate in elections if it is to meet the target of at least 35 percent women’s representation of elected delegates set forth in Resolution No. 11 of the Party Politburo and the National Strategy on Gender Equality. The eLearning course “Ready for Success” is therefore aimed at supporting Viet Nam to achieve equal representation for both genders in elected offices.



Addressing the eLearning launching ceremony, Dr Pratibha Mehta, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Viet Nam, mentioned time, distance and financial resources as some of the barriers to women’s political participation. “The eLearning course aims to break down these barriers,” she said.

Emphasizing on the innovation, Mr. Duong Chi Dung, Assistant to the Minister, Head of Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, expressed his confidence that the eLearning course offers flexible approach and is accessible to learners from both urban and rural areas. “The course has high flexibility. Learners can access to the course online whenever possible or download it to multimedia devices such as tablets or smartphones.”



The course includes lectures from high-profile leaders of the National Assembly, Viet Nam Women’s Union, Viet Nam Fatherland Front, Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs, Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs; as well as national and international experts in the fields of policy analysis and women’s political representation.



“Ready for Success” is designed to build the confidence of potential women candidates by providing them a roadmap for more effectively engagement as a candidate in the nomination and election process. The course provides learners with fundamental knowledge about Viet Nam’s political system, the candidate nomination process and the role of different agencies in the candidate selection and election process.



The eLearning tool also provides learners with vital skills such as designing and presenting an election action plan, public speaking, voter contacting, and working with the media. Moreover, the course encourages active interaction between learners and the professional advisory board by offering quizzes, assignments and discussion forums.



The course consists of eight modules. It is free of charge and can be either accessed online or downloaded for offline usage. The learners are encouraged to spend one hour every day in two continuous months following the lecturers, reading documents, quizzes and assignment. Upon completion of the course, the learners will get a certificate by the UN Development Programme and the Viet Nam Women’s Union.  



“To fully prepare potential women candidates for the upcoming National Assembly and People’s Council elections in 2016, capacity building efforts are needed and it is not physically possible to train all the women candidates throughout the country in face-to-face sessions,” Dr Mehta noted.  “With the use of technology however, this mission is possible. Our vision is to have women in every corner of Viet Nam participating and gaining from this course.”



Praising the initiative between the UN Development Programme and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Hoa, Member of the Party Central Committee, President of the Viet Nam Women’s Union, one of the lecturers affirmed the Union’s commitment to promoting the course. “We hope that the women participants in this online course can obtain more knowledge about the political system, the election process, thus to become more self-confident in the voters contacting conferences, and become good leaders and politicians.”



The eLearning course comes at an opportune time as Viet Nam prepares early for the upcoming elections. Being launched just a week before the world leaders adopt the Sustainable Development Goals, this learning tool is in line with Goal 5 on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment, especially the target of ensuring women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life.

For more information, please contact:

Nguyen Viet Lan  – Communications Analyst, UNDP

Tel: 84 4 38500158

Email: nguyen.viet.lan@undp.org



Do Viet Ha  – Communications Coordinator, Women’s Leadership Project

Tel: 84 4 39448527

Email: lanhdaonu@gmail.com