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The summarize of the training course "Youth and Gender Equality "

04/10/2023

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Those are 3 of many sharing by 40 ethnic minority youths from 14 communes in Van Ho district (Son La province) after the training course “Youth and Gender Equality” which took place from April 4 to 6, 2023. This is the second activity carried out as part of VSF’s project “No voice - No equal future”. Mrs. Tran Hong Diep - Deputy Director of VSF and Ms. Hoang Thi Huong - a gender activist directly facilitated in the training course.

“I used to think that gender equality only served the women's benefit. Now I have fully understood that gender equality will bring the freedom and happiness to both gender”.

“It turned out that gender norms and gender stereotypes are quite common in my family and community. I myself used to believe that those things were true and normal.”

"I had recognized that I still have gender norms and stereotypes in my mind. It might not be easy for me to eradicate as soon as possible, but my friends and I will do our best to change and mobilize everyone to change together. Only by doing so will life be better for all of us”.

Through experiential games, the close and creative operating methods from 2 facilitators, young people had learned to describe some basic definitions of gender and gender equality, identified the gender inequality issues related to other issues in their locality, and practiced the skill of synthesizing information and sharing the above issues. Not only that, they had confidently shown their abilities and their ethnic identity pride.

In the course, the participants selected 4 groups of issues in their locality: (1) valuing man above woman; (2) domestic violence; (3) child sexual abuse; and (4) child marriage. Since then, they have created many creative forms of communication products, such as pictures, improvisational comedies, etc. Not only state the current situations, causes, and consequences of each problem, but also proposed solutions in order to tackle it.

The good news for VSF is that one day after the training course ended, the youths had deployed the communication activities about gender and gender equality in their own classes. Their teachers and friends were so enthusiastic and engaged in identifying and eradicating gender stereotypes and gender norms.

Let’s look back the event via these pictures below.