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10/08/2012

On August 4th, 2012 a communication event was organized by Quang Ninh woman union in Nam Hoa commune (Quang Ninh province). Participants were club leaders of Women’s Union parenting clubs (an intiative of the 05 million mother programme) and Education&Life clubs (an intiative of VVOB Vietnam).

The idea was sparked by 2 concerns of Quang Ninh WU: the new club leader need training and the WU national programme should be linked with the VVOB Education programme.

Since 2010 National WU has started up the 5 million mother programme, which shares similarities with VVOB education programme, in 14 pilot provinces across Vietnam.

Although Quang Ninh is not among those pilots, thanks to the support from local authority and the determination of the WU, Quang Ninh has proposed and set up new clubs for 5 million mother programme in 3 pilot district of Dong Trieu, Van Don and Ba Che.

The event organized in Nam Hoa commune (one of the VVOB pilot communes) was the opportunity for the newly established clubs to experience the procedure of a club meeting and for club leaders to share practices of club facilitation and management. Participants in the event included representatives from the WU of different levels, from local authority and from the education sector (school leaders and teachers), also included were members of VVOB clubs (in 2 districts: Quang Yen and Hoanh Bo district) and key persons of 5 million mother clubs (in 3 districts: Dong Trieu, Van Don and Ba Che) .

Topics covered were experiential observation of club activities; round table talks among five districts about experience in operating and managing clubs, video show on the performance and impact of the Education and life club. The participants were excited to watch the dynamic group activities using participatory methods as well as sharing practical experience in running the club.

Ms. Nguyen Hong Chuyen, club leader of Hung Dao commune, Dong Trieu district, said she learned how to create and maintain a harmonious relationship with the other club members from the experience of Education and life club in Nam Hoa commune: apart from good communication skills, club leaders need to create a friendly and respectful relationship with club members not only during meeting but also in real life.

Representatives of woman union from Dong Trieu district and Hung Dao commune related that before this event they only accessed training materials on the Internet, however, now they have a reliable source to learn from.

Newly established clubs or very new clubs, (like Van Don, Ba Che, preparing for the 1st club meeting) can now visualize the procedure from beginning to end, thanks to this opportunity to observe Nam Hoa club activities.

The meeting is not only useful for the newly established “Good parenting club”, it also brought valuable experience to Education and life clubs. "Through the meeting today I understand many things, especially about the scripts for club activities. Although the provincial Women Union has provided a good frame, it still needs to be adapted to local situation, so the passion can be sustained in each meeting"- Hoang Bo District Women Union shared.

We conclude that this communication event has benefitted the chairpersons of the club and has contributed to connecting the Education for Life Clubs with 5 million mother project in Quang Ninh. Since the VVOB programme will be finalized by the end of 2013 this is a timely activity to further transfer ownership to the provincial WU.