Twenty three years of age, with a very good knowledge of Vietnamese and love “Tuong” – Vietnamese Classical Opera, and “Cheo” – Popular Opera, Australian Eleanor Clapham has surprised so many in Vietnam.

In the morning of June 19th, the workshop of discussion on steering measures and implementation of the project “Community based Communication on Prevention of and Combating against Trafficking in Women and Children” was organized at the Head office of Vietnam Women’s Union

Responding to the World Drug Prevention Day, June 26, the Vietnam Women's Union (VWU) organized a seminar on women and the role of the family in drug prevention at Van Ho Exhibition Center on June 26.

Directed towards the Day of Martyrs and Wounded Soldiers, 27 July, the Women’s Union in Le Thanh Commune, My Duc District Ha Tay province recently came together with Bao Minh Ha Tay Company to begin construction of a house of gratitude for Mrs. Pham Thi La, a poor member of the Women’s Union.

The closing and prize awarding ceremony for the contest “Following the Age of 20’s Tradition – to lead a fair and meaningful/useful life” was held in Hanoi on May 30, 2006.

The Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Welfare has submitted to the Government a project proposal entitled “Accept and support women and children who are returned – trafficked victims” with a budget of 77 billion VND.

In most of software companies, the number of women in charge of Quality Control Engineer _QCE or testing software is often higher than men.

A young woman by the name of Bui Thi Thuong was persecuted and beat ruthlessly by her employer Trinh Tien Hai – owner of Thanh Loan Wild Beast Restaurant, Luong Son District, Hoa Binh province The Women’s Union and community was extremely angry with this bestial action

The above number was reported by Ministry of Education and Training in the Review Meeting on five year implementation of the Nation Strategy for the Advancement of Women in Vietnam .

On May 16th, 2006, Ho Chi Minh City Women's Union held a talk between the Women’s Union and the Ho Chi Minh City's Committee of Population, Family and Children to discuss and exchange experiences and co-operate on activities concerning population and family planning.

In order to strengthen and enhance the effectiveness of work/activities in taking care and bringing into full play the elderly women’s role among the VWU’s network, VWU has elaborated the Action Plan to implement the “National Program of Action on Vietnamese Elderly People for the period 2006 - 2010” to be widened to the Union at all levels throughout the country.

On 19 June 2006, Ms. Truong Thi Anh, President of Ho Chi Minh City Women’s Union, led the charity mission that also included the Women’s Cultural House and Women’s Newspaper. This mission involved meeting and giving capital to 32 households located in districts such as Thanh Khe, Son Tra, Lien Chieu, Hai Chau and Hoa Vang (Da Nang city).

To echo actively “2006 Action’s Month for Children”, Central VWU had guidelines written No 08/HD-ĐCT to enhance propaganda activities joining education, protection and taking care of children work with VWU’s movement.

A three-day conference on human trafficking of the Southeast Asian grouping ASEAN opened on July 3rd in Ho Chi Minh City, aimed at implementing a resolution of the ASEAN Inter-parliamentary Organization.

In visiting the southern provinces on 7th June, 2006, Madame Ha Thi Khiet, member of Party Central Committee, VWU’s President, Chairwoman of National committee for the Advancement of Vietnamese women, visited Can Tho City Centre of receiving and assisting women and children in difficulties (AFESIP Centre).

Two Americans in Ho Chi Minh City were bestowed medals at a ceremony on Saturday recognizing them as citizens of honor for their contributions to the city’s public health prevention programs.

Viet Nam has exerted concerted efforts to promote gender equality, asserted the President of the Viet Nam Women's Union (VWU) at the East Asian Ministerial Conference on Gender Equality which was opened in Tokyo, Japan, on June 30.

Paintings which are made with photos on children are unique works by painter Nguyen Phep and photographer Le Thi Phuoc.

Vietnamese and Chinese police are likely to conduct a crack-down on women and children trafficking cases along the border in July and August.

Viet Nam Women’s Union will for the first time award the “Women Moving Vietnamese Hearts” title to ten Vietnamese shining females.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has granted VND 3 billion for a project to carry out the third Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS III) on children and women in Vietnam

“For Women’s Future” club in Xuan Khanh ward (Ninh Kieu district, Can Tho city), was established to help women who have made a mistake reintegrate into the community, to take part in social evil prevention and rejection trespassed into women’s life. Over the last 3 years, the club has contributed to limiting social evil effectively within the local province

After a probation period, a very young woman, Nguyen Ngoc Ha, voluntarily stayed in the Friendship village in Van Canh, Hoai Duc, Ha Tay province to take care of unlucky disabled children. With love and the sense of responsibility, she has overcome daily difficulties and considers them as relatives

On June, 2nd 2006, in a meeting session, presided over by Deputy Chairman of National Assembly Nguyen Phuc Thanh, members of National Assembly debated the draft of Gender Equality Law.

Through the Vietnam Television’s news program on the channel VTV 4, the overseas compatriots have followed news and images about the damage to the Middle region caused by storm no.1 (Chanchu storm).

The United Nations announced on June 8 it has chosen Ambassador Haya Rashed al-Khalifa, from Bahrain, as president of the 61st session, beginning in September.

A Vietnamese delegation, led by Vice State President Truong My Hoa, is attending the 16th Global Summit of Women, which opened in Cairo, Egypt, on June 10.

With the agreement of the Prime Minister, on May 12th, 2006, the National Committee for the Advancement of Vietnamese Women and the Ministry of Investment and Planning co-organized a National Workshop on the Assessment of the Implementation of mid-term goals of the National Strategy for the Advancement of Women to 2010 and the orientation in the next term.

Disabled women in HCM City are to benefit from a Swedish-funded project launched this week worth VND199.8 million (US$12,490) to help them better integrate into society.

Due to a training needs survey/assessment of females in 17 communes of 8 districts and towns in 2005, the Vocational training center of Bac Kan Women’s Union has intensified its vocational training activities.

The first training in 2006 for the new recruits of brigade No.146 in charge of Truong Sa (Spratly Islands) ended on May 15, 2006 with eighty one of them volunteering to serve in Spratly Islands after the training course.

The 12th final contest of Japanese eloquence 14 May, 2006 took place at the Ben Thanh Theater (the 1stdistrict, Ho Chi Minh City), in cooperation with the Japanese Consulate General and some local agencies.

On the occasion of the 80th birthday of Former Vice - President Nguyen Thi Binh (26/5/1927-26/5/2006), leaders of VWU visited and offered flowers to wish her a happy birthday.

In order to contribute to the implementation of Ho Chi Minh City’s initiative for former drug addicts, Ho Chi Minh City Women’s Union developed the project “Enhance the Integration of People Living with AIDS”.

Cities and provinces around the country yesterday celebrated Children's Day, which falls tomorrow, and inaugurated the Action Month of Children campaign.

On the morning of 11th May 2006, the HCMC Women’s Union and the Department of Education and Training (DOET) signed a cooperation agreement of literacy training and primary education universalization during 2006-2010.

The Presidium of VWU decided to support 3 provinces: Da Nang, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, 10 million VND for each province. VWU’s cadres also had donated 16 million VND, helping in time to people in distress area to overcome natural disaster’s affection, stable their lives.

The Vocational Training Center for the Invalid of Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), under Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs will organize free academic and vocational courses for the invalid.

Save the Children UK opened Friday a two-day seminar on child protection and child trafficking prevention in Vietnam which also introduced a strategy for the 2005-2010 period

The chairwoman of Austria’s Federal Council Sissy Roth Halvax arrived in Ha Noi today on a six-day working visit to Viet Nam from May 22 to 27.

Hearing two word “Vietnam”, Lil Green’s face becomes radiant as she smiles. She seems to return to the events and memories of more than 40 years ago.

Over the past years, the Vietnam Women’s Union (VWU) has had several programs on health care, supporting children in mountainous and remote areas with stationery and learning materials and granted thousands of scholarships to difficult pupils who are talented at learning. For example:

On the afternoon of 18 April 2006, a meeting was held in the VWU head office for the female delegates to the 10th National Party Congress.

On the afternoon of 18 April 2006, a meeting was held in the VWU head office for the female delegates to the 10th National Party Congress.

Being a mother but never giving birth, orphaned but still having mother. This is happiness and reality to hundreds of children and mothers in Danang SOS Children Village.

After the class, Nguyen Thi Ha, the eighth grader from Nghi Thiet Junior Secondary School, Nghi Loc district, Nghe An province, returns to her little house in the middle of rice field in Bac Thinh village. The house, without hands of a man but is very tidy and clean.

The "Midwife in the Village" programme implemented by Tu Du Hospital has become popular and helped to improve reproductive heath care for women in remote areas in Central Highlands.

Vietnam has seen much progress in terms of gender equality compared with other countries in the region, said Klaus Rohland, World Bank Country Director in Vietnam, at a mid-term conference to review the implementation of the National Strategy for Vietnamese Women's Advancement in Hanoi on May 12.

Accounting for more than half of the 600,000 sightless people, blind women face many difficulties and challenges.

Hai Phong Women’s Union has set up a Law Advisory Center in charge of consulting families and couples in areas related to foreign marriage and divorce, introduction law on civil and criminal affairs,

Representatives from the governments of Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam gathered in Phnompenh, Cambodia on May 10-12 to update and review the Sub-regional Plan of Action over the past three years and the implementation of the fight against human trafficking in Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS).

The Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee approved the project "Assisting women & children being trafficked and sexual slavery" and it is funded by Agir pour Les Femmes en Situation Precaire (AFESIP) organization.

The Ministry of Industry has approved Decision 468/QD-BCN. This decision is about rewarding authors of works who obtained the “Award of Creative Scientific Women” on March, 2nd 2006, in industrial sector.

Mrs. Pham Thi Bich Hue is the Vice Principle of Kim Dong Primary School in Quang Khue commune, Dak Glong district, Dak Nong province. It is she who has devoted 1,000m2 of land to build a school for hundreds of Catholic and Protestant children in the locality

Luong Tai district has 4 catholic communes and the town has 994 women who are Women’s Union (WU) members, accounting for 54% of catholic women from 18 years and above. These figures makes Luong Tai district a good example on mobilizing catholic women to join WU.

The 26th of March 2006 was an unforgettable day for Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong Dung – a student of the gifted-student class in physics – Course K9 – at the University of Natural Sciences (under Hanoi National University).

The competition “Golden Hands in Clothes Making”, organized by the Association for the Protection of the Disabled and Orphans and the Women’s Union in Thai Binh province received 48 entries from disabled individuals. The competition is a chance for the disabled people to prove their abilities.

Dong Nai creates many favorable conditions for women’s contribution in all areas

Following the activities of building and completing the draft Law on gender equality, with the assistance from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), on April 15th 2006, the Central Vietnam Women’s Union joined efforts with the Hai Phong Women’s Union to organize a workshop making suggestions for the 7th draft Law on gender equality.

From 13-15 April in Quang Nam province, the Commission on Social Affairs of National Assembly organized a workshop entitled “Law on gender equality”.

The Gia Lam Women’s Health Care and Consultation Centre, located at the general hospital in the Gia Lam District, Ha Noi, has become a haven for women trying to escape violence in the home.

A love of books and learning made Ms. Elizabeth Sibley join the library profession 38 years ago and she has served in over a dozen different libraries mostly in the San Francisco Bay Area where she lives with her husband Chuck.

The eight-year-old Le Thi Tham, a Grade 2 pupil in Dong Son District of the northern province of Thanh Hoa, writes, draws and does daily activities using only her feet.

Yesterday (Apr. 28), together with a letter to the Chosun Daily, VWU sent letters to several Korean organizations, namely the Ministry of Gender Equality, Korea Women’s Inventors Association, Dasi Hamkle Center, Korea Women’s Hot Line, Korea Women’s Development Institute and Korea Women Entrepreneurs Association, as follows:

Yesterday (Apr. 27), VWU sent a letter to the Korean Chosun Daily as follows:

Right after the conclusion of the Xth Party National Congress in the morning of Apr. 24, 2006, that afternoon the Party, Trade Union and Youth Union of the Vietnam Women’s Union head office organized a celebration of the Party success.

The Ministry of Public Security and the UN Organisation for Drugs and Crimes (UNODC)-Viet Nam Office have agreed on a target of a 50 percent reduction the number of human trafficking crimes by 2010.

On April 24 – 30, Korean Television KBS, LG Company, and the Korean Fund for Social Activities will inaugurate ‘Love Request”, a charitable program for children in Ho Chi Minh City.

After 20 years of implementing the Doi Moi (Renewal) process initiated and led by the Party, Vietnam has recorded tremendous achievements. As a result, women’s material and spiritual lives and position have constantly improved while gender quality has made remarkable progress, said Ha Thi Khiet, Chairwoman of the Vietnam Women’s Union in her report at the 10th Party Congress.

When a trafficked woman returns to her homeland from China, more than likely she will come back to a life full of loneliness and regrets.

Just a click away, web browsers can now place orders for handicrafts at an online market recently launched by two young people in Hanoi.

Women should have the same retirement age as men but with a choice of retiring earlier without their pension being affected, Ho Chi Minh City legislators said.

Using body language, disabled children politely serve customers at a coffee bar in Da Lat city, as they cannot pronounce a Vietnamese sentence.

Labor unions should help women get jobs, a Vietnamese labor official said at a conference in Hanoi Tuesday on the role of the unions in preventing trafficking of women and children.

An exhibition entitled “Vietnam – 20 Years of Renovation,” is one of the activities to welcome the upcoming 10th Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam, and opens at the Centre for Culture and Art Exhibition in Hoa Lu street, Hanoi.