UNESCO Vietnam has just released a message calling on the online community to share inspirational stories, images, and documents to encourage girls, especially those from underprivileged groups in Vietnam to continue going to school when the nation ‘kick-offs’ a ‘new normal’ stage after Covid-19.

UNESCO is calling for the entries for the #KeepingGirlsinthePicture campaign on social media. Poster courtesy of UNESCO in Vietnam.

“With the belief that everyone can be an inspirational ambassador to encourage ethnic minority girls to continue their education and pursue their passions, we officially launch the #KeepingGirlsinthePicture campaign on social media,” UNESCO Vietnam stated.

UNESCO invites everyone who is interested in joining the campaign by sharing their inspirational stories. “They can be any stories about a learning effort that might lead someone to their dreams, or stories of looking back at school doors that someone might leave due to difficulties constraining their schooling. The narratives breaking gender stereotypes are encouraged, for example, ‘careers have no gender’,” UNESCO Vietnam suggested. 

Those stories must be in Vietnamese with 500 to 800-word limitation and illustrated photos. They should also be emailed to hanoi@unesco.org by September 5, 2021. The most meaningful stories will be posted on https://www.facebook.com/UNESCOinVietNam during August and September.

Globally, the Covid-19 pandemic has caused the largest school closures and education disruption in history, with more than 1.5 billion students affected at the height of the crisis, according to UNESCO. Over 767 million of these students were girls.

By UNESCO estimates over 11 million girls - from pre-primary to tertiary education - may have not returned to school in 2020.

This alarming number not only threatens decades of progress made towards gender equality, but also puts girls around the world at risk of child labor, forced marriage, and violence.

In that context, the global #KeepingGirlsinthePicture was launched by the Global Education Coalition to call for efforts to safeguard progress made on girls’ education, ensure girls’ learning continuity during school closures, and promote girls’ safe return to school once these reopen.

In Vietnam, the campaign is implemented under the project ‘We are ABLE – Achieving Better Living and Education’, promoting gender equality and education for girls in ethnic minority areas of Vietnam.

The project also has the collaboration of the Ministry of Education, with support from CJ Group, aiming to promote education for ethnic minority girls in the northern mountain province of Ha Giang and the southern provinces of Soc Trang and Ninh Thuan.