On October 9th, 2020 Colombo Plan’s newly established partnership with Vietnam was instituted in a follow on conference in Hanoi, Vietnam titled “Gender Roles in the Modern Family” where Her Excellency Ambassador Dr. Phan Kieu Thu, CP’s Secretary General, delivered a talk on the current status of gender roles and the challenges dealt within the family unit. H.E. Ambassador Dr. Phan Kieu Thu, discussed the pivotal role of the modern family, debating the role of men and women and how they are socialized and depicted in different dimensions, influenced through cultural norms as well as demographically from region to region. Men and women are categorized either as “masculine” or “feminine”. Within various societies, these socialized acts define the differences between male and female attributes. Therefore, it is safe to conclude that primarily gender roles and its socialization are nurtured first and foremost within the family culture.
H.E. Ambassador Dr. Phan Kieu Thu, Secretary General, stated, that “The Colombo Plan’s Gender Affairs Program in collaboration with the Vietnam Women’s Union have come together to underline and demonstrate our commitment to this issue and to discuss on the importance of how effectively we could enhance and develop equality and unity within the prevailing modern-day family. We all can agree that the ever changing gender roles in our society influences the lifestyle of a modern family, particularly the children.”
Since the beginning of time, gender roles has portrayed a pivotal part in the make-up of society. Furthermore, the conference brought together students and faculty of the Gender Academy supported through Vietnam Women’s Union with contributions from Colombo Plan. Distinguished guests included Assoc. Prof. Dr. Trần Quang Tiến – President, Vietnam Women’s Academy, Dr. Dương Kim Anh, the Vice President of Vietnam Women’s Academy, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Vũ Mạnh Lợi - Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences and Dr. Nguyễn Thị Thanh Thủy, Deputy Director of the Institute of Women’s Studies at the Vietnam Women’s’ Academy. The conference introduced both in person and online for those guests not able to travel to Hanoi. Papers and participation from Colombo Plan member nations, including Bangladesh, and Afghanistan among others were shared.
The following themes, papers and discussions took place on the issue at hand:
Session 1: Empowering Women in the Family
Session 2: Performing Economic Functions in Modern Families
Session 3: Gender roles in child care, education and protection
Session 4: Law and Policy Promoting Gender Equality in the Family
Distinguished participation on the theme of the conference was adopted and lectured by the following officials:
REPRESENTATIVES | |
H.E Amb. Dr. Phan Kieu Thu | Secretary General, The Colombo Plan, Colombo, Sri Lanka. |
Nguyễn Thị Doan | Former Vice President of Vietnam President of Vietnam Association for Study Promotion |
Phạm Thị Trân Châu | President of the Vietnam Women's Intellectual Association |
Bà Lê Thị Khánh Vân | Vice President of the Vietnam Women's Intellectual Association |
Bà Nguyễn Thị Hồi | Former Director, General Secretary of the National Commission for UNESCO |
Bà Trần Bích Loan | Deputy Director of Gender Equality Department - Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs |
Representative | Committee on Social Affairs of the National Assembly |
Representative | Propaganda Department Central |
Representative | Vietnam Association of Women Entrepreneurs |
Bộ Văn hóa, TT | Family Department, Ministry of Culture and Information |
Cục Trẻ em, Bộ LĐTB&XH | Department of Children, Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs |
Cục Việc làm, Bộ LĐTB&XH | Department of Employment, Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs |
President | Vietnam Women’s Union |
Vice President | Vietnam Women’s Union |
Officials | Vietnam Women’s Union |
Lecturers, Staff | Vietnam Women’s Academy |
Representative from 15 EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
Representative from International organization (online and offline) (40)
Representative | Sri Lanka Embassy in Vietnam |
Vũ Phương Ly | UN Women |
Lê Kim Dung | Care International |
Representative | Oxfam |
Representative | ActionAid Việt Nam |
Representative | UNDP Việt Nam |
Representative | CARD, the Philippines |
Representative | Australian Volunteers International in Vietnam |
Representative | Solidarity Center, AFL-CIO |
Experts and staffs | The Colombo Plan |
Elizabeth Dewi | Indonesia University |
Professor John Winterdyk | Mount Royal University, Canada |
Rie Okamura and Yasuko Sasaki | Ochanomizu University |
Experts and lecturers | Korean Institute for Gender Equality Promotion and Education |
Representative | JICA - Japan International Cooperation Agency in Vietnam |
Lecturers | Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand |
Lecturers | Korean Women's Development Institute |
Prof. Ramona Mihaila | Dimitrie Cantemir University, Rumania |
Masako Tanaka | Faculty of Global Studies Sophia University Tokyo, JAPAN |