It is an open secret that the Church recognizes only one form of close relationship between a man and a woman - legal marriage. A growing number of people believes nowadays that tying the knot is not a necessity at all, because two people can love each other and live together without paper formalities. Will marriage become a prerogative of religious couples only some time in the future?

Government Committee for Religious Affairs officially launched its website at http://www.btgcp.gov.vn, on September 27.

This year, 12 August marks a crucial date for young people and societies around the world. Today, we celebrate the launch of the International Year of Youth, under the theme Dialogue and Mutual Understanding. Twenty-five years ago, in 1985, we celebrated the first International Youth Year. The challenges for youth development that were identified during that year laid the foundation for the World Programme of Action for Youth, and its 15 priority areas still provide us with a useful guide to enhance the wellbeing of young women and men. While progress has been achieved in some of these areas, much remains to be done to ensure that all our youth become skilled, healthy and productive members of society.

This year, 12 August marks a crucial date for young people and societies around the world. Today, we celebrate the launch of the International Year of Youth, under the theme Dialogue and Mutual Understanding. Twenty-five years ago, in 1985, we celebrated the first International Youth Year. The challenges for youth development that were identified during that year laid the foundation for the World Programme of Action for Youth, and its 15 priority areas still provide us with a useful guide to enhance the wellbeing of young women and men. While progress has been achieved in some of these areas, much remains to be done to ensure that all our youth become skilled, healthy and productive members of society.

Many of IFAD’s programmes target young people. Yet when we talk about involving “youth” in our programmes we often seem to forget that young women and men lead very different lives and have different needs.

The Central Highlands province of Dak Lak has set a target to have 15,000 pupils at 100 primary and secondary schools attend classes in both Vietnamese and Ede languages from now to 2015.
The plan aims to not only help improve education quality for Ede ethnic pupils, but also preserve and develop the language and culture of the minority group.

A nationwide writing contest, entitled ‘Say No to Domestic Violence’ has been launched in Hanoi in a move to raise the entire society’s awareness of a happy, progressive and equal life.

On the morning of 18th June 2010, in Hanoi, the Central Vietnam Women’s Union organized a workshop on developing the measures of prevention of human trafficking. Attending at the workshop were representatives from relating departments of the Ministry of Security, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs, High Command of Border Guard, lecturers of Police Academy, Ha Noi National University, leaders of VWU departments and experts on gender and law.

In the first half of 2010, provinces in the Mekong River Delta have generated jobs for 60,000 rural workers, including 17,000 ethnic people.

Many female labourers, particularly those working in industrial parks, suffer from low wages, overwork and inadequate living conditions, according to a survey of 34 enterprises in 10 provinces by the Viet Nam General Confederation of Labour.

On the occasion of the 35th Anniversary of the Southern Liberation Day and National Reunification (30th April 1975-30th April 2010), Quang Tri Provincial Women’s Union celebrated a ceremony of gratefulness at the Truong Son National Martyrs Cemetery and No.9 National Road Martyrs Cemetery on 24th and 25th April respectively.

The top 10 programmes supporting people with disabilities in Viet Nam for the last year were announced yesterday in Ha Noi as part of the "Life is Beautiful" campaign.

HCM CITY — Widespread gender discrimination needs to be tackled effectively to ensure more female workers access vocational training, gain knowledge and skills and increase their competitiveness, experts say.

Vietnamese Women Intellectuals in the National Industrialisation and Modernisation Process’ was high on the agenda of a workshop in Hanoi on March 16.

Around 500 people visit Hue Phuoc pagoda in Ben Tre province daily to see the elderly woman whose hair is over 5 meters long.

Reducing maternal mortality is a complex undertaking, and the Northern mountains of Viet Nam, where communities of ethnic minorities live in remote villages, pose particular problems. Maternal mortality ratio in this region is 411 deaths per 100,000 live births, and most women deliver at home without skilled attendance.

HA NOI — Viet Nam has achieved impressive results in realizing children's rights since its ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child 20 years ago but Government leaders and international organizations agreed at a conference in Ha Noi yesterday that challenges remained.

Ha Noi, 23 February 2010 - Viet Nam celebrated the 20th anniversary of the country's ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) at a national conference entitled “Convention on the Rights of the Child – From Vision to Action”.

VietNamNet Bridge - A courageous young woman suffering from a serious kidney ailment has died leaving her dream of providing books for impoverished children unfinished.

VietNamNet Bridge – She has no arms but Le Thi Tham, 11, a 6th grader in the central province of Thanh Hoa has been an excellent pupil for many years. She can embroider and draw paintings as gifts for others

HCM CITY — Limited access to credit, lengthy registration procedures and family responsibilities are major gender-related obstacles that stand in the way of women hoping to run their own businesses, according to a recent study.

What are the main climate change challenges facing Viet Nam? What policies are needed to ensure that Viet Nam continues on a path of sustainable human development? These are the main questions addressed in Viet Nam and Climate Change: A discussion paper on policies for sustainable human development which was launched today at a national climate change dialogue organized by the United Nations, the Viet Nam Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and Oxfam.

For Mrs Seako Ando, a Japanese woman, Hanoi has become her second motherland. Other members in her family also consider Hanoi as their home.

Including gender related issues in climate change policy is just one of the recommendations in a report released by the United Nations and Oxfam representatives at a workshop on climate change in Hanoi on Dec. 2.

VietNamNet Bridge - Gender equality should be made a more substantive issue, according to women deputies in the National Assembly.

A conference aimed at strengthening male and female religious followers’ commitments to HIV/AIDS prevention in Vietnam was held in the central city of Hue on November 22.

Climate change not only endangers lives and undermines livelihoods, but it threatens to enlarge the gaps between the rich and the poor and amplify the inequities between women and men, according to the State of World Population 2009 report launched today by the United Nations in Vietnam and the Ministry of Nature Resources and Environment (MONRE).

Numerous studies from around the globe confirm the links between violence against women and HIV. These studies show that women living with HIV are more likely to have experienced violence, and that, women who have experienced violence are more likely to have HIV infection.

The US-based Chevron company will provide US$300,000 for the Save the Children Foundation to implement a project which aims to help 500,000 poor women in the Mekong Delta to develop small businesses at home.

BAC NINH — Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan has called upon all sections of Vietnamese society to curb discrimination against people with HIV/AIDS, which, she said, was continuing to spread.

BRUSSELS - Sending more girls to school may help poor countries get out of the economic slump faster, the NGO Plan International says in a new report. Just a one percent rise in the number of girls attending secondary school boosts a country's annual per capita income growth by 0.3 percent.

VietNamNet Bridge – The Loreto-Viet Nam Australia Programme (LVAP) is gearing up for a large open-air musical concert featuring foreign and Vietnamese artists that will raise funds for the disabled and poor children in Viet Nam.

On October 16th, the Party Central Committee’s Commission on Propaganda and Training and the United Nations Population Funds held a seminar on updating and sharing information about population, reproductive health and sex to serve the population and family planning.

HAI PHONG — More than a thousand female workers attended the Global Call for Action Against Poverty by ActionAid Viet Nam held in the northern port city of Hai Phong yesterday to mark the World Day to Overcome Extreme Poverty which fell on Saturday.

A training workshop on how to collect information when covering domestic violence opened on September 29 in the northern city of Hai Phong for reporters from national and local newspapers.

CPV: A new multi-agency advisory taskforce working collaboratively across Vietnam and the wider region to tackle the exploitation of children is at the heart of an initiative launched today September 30 in Hanoi by the UK’s Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre.

On October 1st, 2009, 10 years after the first celebration of the International Day of Older Persons is going to be celebrated with the theme "Celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the International Year of Older Persons: Towards a Society for All Ages".

HCM CITY — Harsher punishments should be meted out to those who exploit children, according to Le Thi Xuan Lang, deputy chief inspector of HCM City’s Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (DoLISA).

Collaboration Among Leading Public and Private Sector Organizations Formed to Bring International Attention to this Injustice

NAM DINH — The People’s Court of Nam Dinh Province has put 16 people on trial for allegedly selling 266 babies for foreign adoption.

Although there are only 10,000 Vietnamese people in Africa and most of them are now resident in Angola, they have made a great contribution to the development of their host countries in many different fields.

HA NOI — Lawmakers yesterday pored over the draft law for People with Disabilities with the aim of encouraging businesses and social organisations to improve relations with disabled persons.

Vietnam plans to spend VND 97.4 billion on a national action plan for children affected by HIV/AIDS from now until 2010 in a bid to ensure that most of them will have their needs met by 2020.

Sexual and reproductive health materials for the deaf contain nothing more than male and female physiologies and hygiene and puberty. More is needed as Ta Thu Giang reports.

More than 5,000 people in HCM City’s district 1 participated in a charity walk on September 20 to raise funds for poor children.

(CPV) - Young people are an important labour force of society, and have a big impact on the development of the country and the future of the nation. Therefore, it is alarming when the trend of people infected with HIV in Vietnam is becoming younger.

NAM DINH — The People’s Court of Nam Dinh Province has put 16 people on trial for allegedly selling 266 babies for foreign adoption.

Following previous note-worthy events two years ago, GE movie night 2009 particularly for underprivileged children took place in Hanoi on September 25 and in Ho Chi Minh City on September 26.

Ta Oi and Van Kieu ethnic minority children have new kindergarten rooms built by the sweat of US veterans in partnership with Boeing Company and the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation.

The former Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Dr. Yakin Ertürk, has brought her term as mandate holder to a close with a call to States to accept the challenges of accountability, implementation and compliance which would give full effect to measures prohibiting violence against women.