Vietnam Women's Union

Training to develop skills in alternative report writing for the Beijing +10 review

01/12/2004

From November 6 to 10, 2004, the Vietnam Women’s Union held a training workshop in Hanoi to develop writing skills for the Alternative Report to review Vietnam’s implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action (Beijing +10). Action Aid Vietnam was kind enough to provide funding, and IWRAW (International Women's Rights Action Watch) Asia and Pacific contributed the technical assistance. Twenty participants came from thirteen organizations, including mass organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and research centers and institutes working on the issues of gender and women in Vietnam.

Ms. Shanthi Diariam, the director of IWRAW Asia and Pacific, guided the group and facilitated discussions. During the course of five intensive days, the participants formulated a framework for the Report and prioritized issues to address. The participants volunteered to take responsibility for writing various sections of the Report according to their respective organizations' strengths, work experience, and available information to create a common voice from Vietnamese civil society for the Beijing +10 review process.

It is expected that this Report will be used as an “Alternative Shadow Report” with the Government’s Report on 10-Year Review of the Beijing Platform for Action as well as CEDAW implementation in Vietnam. The Vietnam Women's Union and NGOs in Vietnam will use the Report as a basis for gender advocacy and planning. This is an effort to network for further effective cooperation and the promotion of civil organizations’ voice, together with the Government, to supervise the implementation of gender equality in Vietnam.

The Report is expected to be finished before February 2005 as one of the preparations for Vietnam’s participation in the Beijing +10 Review, which the United Nations will convene in New York from February 28 to March 11, 2005, along with other Beijing follow-up activities.

(Organizations participating in the Report preparations: Action Aid Vietnam, Vietnam Women’s Union, Vietnam Farmer’s Association, Vietnam Sponsoring Association for the Handicapped and Orphans,Youth Research Center, Institute for Family and Gender Studies, Research Center for Gender and Development, Center for Education Promotion and Empowerment of Women, Development for Women and Children, Center for Reproductive and Family Health, Research Center for Aging Support, Center for STDs/HIV/AIDS Prevention, and Quaker Service).