[governance-vn] UN, Ministry of Foreign Affairs project offers women leaders a bright future

[Vern Weitzel]

Ministry of Foreign Affairs United Nations Development Programme New
UN, Ministry of Foreign Affairs project offers women leaders a bright
future

HA NOI, 21 July, 2008 -- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and
the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) announced today a USD
5.05 million initiative to empower talented women employed in Viet
Nam’s public sector to take on leadership roles in various fields. The
initiative will also create opportunities for women to undertake
advanced study and research at the University of Cambridge in the U.K.

Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Dao Viet Trung emphasized at the
signing ceremony that in the history of Vietnamese people, many women
have played very important roles in protecting and building the
country. In the current era, the Party and the Government pay
particular consideration to the advancement of women.

This new project, entitled “Empowerment of Women in the Public Sector
in the Context of International Economic Integration,” will help women
in the public sector to develop their leadership abilities and to
break through the glass ceiling that now confronts them in their
public sector careers. A series of studies will be written to identify
the obstacles and challenges faced by women working in the public
sector. The project will then help formulate a comprehensive package
of policy recommendations to the Government to empower women working
in various areas of the public sector in the context of broader and
deeper international integration. The project will also provide a
group of exceptionally talented women with the opportunity to
undertake postgraduate training in any discipline at the University of
Cambridge. The Cambridge Overseas Trust, a foundation affiliated with
the University of Cambridge, has agreed to provide matching grants in
support of tuition fees and living allowances for these future female
leaders.

These and other women will be provided with the opportunity to
undertake practical policy research projects in collaboration with
Cambridge scholars. This will provide valuable experience in
evidence-based policy making and in the case of doctoral students,
will finance dissertation research.

“Training, recruiting and retaining highly qualified civil servants is
key to the efficient management of state affairs. One can already see
that this will be a key challenge for Viet Nam in the years to come,”
said UNDP Deputy Country Director Christophe Bahuet. “This project
takes an innovative approach, but one that hopes to meet the
Government’s emerging requirements for excellence in its civil service
in the era of globalization, whilst contributing to greater
participation of Vietnamese women in the country’s leadership,” he
added. The project was signed at an official ceremony attended by Vice
Minister of Foreign Affairs Dao Viet Trung, representatives of UNDP,
the British Embassy, MOFA, the Ministry of Planning and Investment,
the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Education and Training, the
Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, the Office of the
Government, the Vietnamese Women Members of Parliament Group and the
Viet Nam Women’s Union.

Vice Minister Dao Viet Trung said that, “The new project will provide
many talented women leaders with enhanced ability, and then these
women leaders will contribute to the comprehensive, powerful
development of Viet Nam in the context of international economic
integration.” He further expressed the Vietnamese Government’s
appreciation for UNDP’s valuable and effective assistance in designing
and funding this important project.

***

For more information contact:

UNDP: Ms. Nguyen Viet Lan, UN Communications Unit,
nguyen.viet.lan at undp.org 84-4-822 4383 ext. 121 Ministry of Foreign
Affairs: Mr. Le Hong Hai, Department of Multilateral Economic
Cooperation, MOFA lehonghai at mofa.gov.vn, 84-4-799 3612