On the afternoon of December 7, 2021, Ms. Hoang Ha – Director of the Center for Eco-Community Development (ECODE), one of three representatives of NGOs and CSOs in Vietnam, participated in the event. “Reimagining Resilience: A Journey for Gender Equality and Climate Action.” This event is within the framework of the “EmPower – Women Resilient to Climate Change” project under the United Nations Environment Program for Asia and the Pacific, starting in 2018.
Through the EmPower project, UN Women has identified gender and climate experts who have driven change to gender-responsive climate action in Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Vietnam. The event was held on human rights day to share the stories of representative representatives through a virtual photo exhibition. It highlights the importance of meaningful interaction between men and women to ensure that gender equality and human rights are integrated into climate change and disaster resilience.
Ms. Hoang Ha, ECODE director representing Vietnam’s NGOs and CSOs participated in the event
The program has the participation of UNEP Goodwill Ambassadors; a Program Specialist on Gender and Climate Change, UN Women ROAP; a Communication Specialist on Gender and Climate Change, UN Women ROAP; Deputy Regional Director of OIC, UN Women ROAP and three representatives from Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Vietnam.
During the event, a delegate from Vietnam, Ms. Hoang Ha, presented her story of the process of working on gender and climate change as an expert and guide.
Ms. Hoang Ha in the afternoon event on December 7, 2021
Following time, the director of the ECODE center talked about her experience at the conservation project in Ha Long Bay (the first project she implemented) and the opportunity for her to be exposed to gender issues in the community copper. She found that in addition to limited participation in decision-making, women and girls in fishing communities are particularly at risk because of poor living conditions and survival skills limit. As a project officer, she worked with her organization designing games and activities to encourage women and girls to learn more about these risks.
The project in Ha Long is the beginning of Ms. Hoang Ha’s work on gender and climate change
However, she added: “Unfortunately, our knowledge of gender was basic and uncomplicated at the time. We could have intervened more extensively and successfully if we had had the methodological understanding we have today.”
Looking back at her time working on gender and climate change over 20 years, she hopes to contribute to the sustainability of ecological communities. By providing evidence of the disparity between the effects of climate change on men and women, Ms. Hoang Ha aims to increase the participation of both men and women in climate change, disaster risk reduction, and climate adaptation.
Increasing the participation of both men and women in disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation is the value of Ms. Hoang Ha.
“I hope that in climate change or gender mainstreaming projects, we rethink and revise our plans and activities so that strategies and solutions can be developed to significantly and effectively enhance resilience.” – she shared. At the end of the event, the organizers arranged an online photo gallery of typical representatives from different countries. Please see more here: https://artspaces.kunstmatrix.com/en/exhibition/8339392/re-envision-resilience-journeys-for-gender-equality-and-climate-action
