After 85 years of establishment and development under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam and President Ho Chi Minh, the VWU has seen unceasing maturity and grown up into a political organisation gathering over 15 million female Vietnamese from both at home and abroad.
The proud achievements of the women’s movement over the past years have resulted from the joint efforts of the whole Party and people; the active and effective coordination and assistance from all sectors and levels across the country; and the unceasing efforts made by generations of the VWU’s officials and members, especially heroic Vietnamese mothers and female martyrs who sacrificed their lives to the revolutionary cause of the whole Party and people, the cause of women’s liberation and the development of the VWU.
Nowadays, the country is stepping into an era of integration and boosting national industrialisation and modernisation, opening up numerous opportunities for development of the VWU and the women’s movement. The patriotic emulation movements over the past time have brought about positive results in society and satisfied the demands of various classes of women, notably the “Saving day for poor women”, “Assisting women to earn employment and raise income”, and “Women actively studying and building happy families”. Many campaigns have received enthusiastic response from VWU members, becoming widespread movements with practical results, notably including “Vietnamese women studying and following morale examples of President Ho Chi Minh”, “Women help each other develop family economy and build the country”, and “Building charity houses for poor women”.
2016 will be the year to organise all-level women’s congresses towards the 12th National Women’s Congress for the 2017-2020 tenure, and also the year in which Vietnam, along with other countries in the world, strives to realise the United Nations’ sustainable development goals, including the fifth goal of achieving gender equity and empowering all women and girls. This can be considered a good chance for the VWU to make profound and comprehensive reforms in its operational contents and methods, aiming to meet the fundamental demands of its members and affirming its status in the new stage of national development.
In order to effectively participate in fulfilling the country’s socio-economic and cultural development goals, the VWU needs to closely follow its political tasks, renovate operational methods and ensure harmony between communication and care for women’s practical interests, as well as between support provision and promotion of internal power of members. The union should also be actively involved in supervision and social criticism and contribute to Party and administration building, while paying continued attention to providing employment and vocational training for members; improving the qualifications of its officials at all levels; diversifying models of collecting females of all classes to contribute to development of the country; and expanding people-to-people diplomacy and bilateral/multilateral relations, thereby affirming its position in the women’s movement in the region and around the world.
Officials and members of all-level VWU branches pledge to promote the union’s 85-year traditions and use their talent and intellect to build a strong and prosperous Vietnam.
