Consuls General pose for a photo with the winning contestants (front row) at the French Consulate Palace, March 4. From left are contestants from the Consulates General of the United States, Canada, Germany, France and the United Kingdom - Photo: MINH KHOI
To celebrate International Women's Day on March 8, the contest was launched at the end of February, for Vietnamese girls and women aged 13 to 22. The event originated from the idea of the German Consul General, Ms. Josefine Wallat.
Each of the above Consuls General selected a winner by considering the answers to two most important questions: "What is your wish for International Women's Day?" and "What do you wish to do for women if you become Consul General?".
Inspirational
The five first prize winners include Le Nguyen Thuy Vy (Consul General of France), Luu Thu Hang (Consul General of Germany), Nguyen Thi Truc Ly (Consul General of the UK), Nguyen Thi Thien Nga (Consul General of the UK) and Nguyen Thi Bao Ngoc (Consul General of the US).
Sharing during the exchange at the French Consulate, all 5 contestants said that the contest is a good opportunity for them to increase their confidence, gain more experience as well as inspire women and girls to pursue what they want.
On March 4, the 5 winners of the contest had the opportunity to visit and participate in some activities of the Consulates General of France, Germany, the UK, Canada and the US in Ho Chi Minh City. In the photo, Le Nguyen Thuy Vy (in white ao dai) and the Consul General of France, Ms. Emmanuelle Pavillon-Grosser visited the French International School Boules & Billes - Photo: Consulate General of France
Le Nguyen Thuy Vy (Consul General of France), a student of the Faculty of International Relations at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, said that her life had many difficulties in the past, which made Vy always have the impression that she was a small individual in society. Therefore, winning the contest initially made Thuy Vy somewhat scared.
However, the experiences she had today with French Consul General Emmanuelle Pavillon-Grosser and the Consulate General staff made Vy more confident and feel "bigger" than before.
Nguyen Thi Bao Ngoc (US Consul General), an intern at the Cultural and Information Office of the US Consulate General, said that her high school education was not good, and everyone said Ngoc could not pass the university entrance exam.
So what Ngoc is doing is to prove that the important thing in life is not giving up and that anyone can pursue what they want with effort.
Luu Thu Hang (front row, second from left) said that during her visit to the German Consulate General, Hang experienced signing a thank you letter to partners and signing some diplomatic notes - Photo: MINH KHOI
Change the big from the small
Inspiring as they are, all five winners agree that gender equality is the most pressing issue today, but no big change can be achieved without starting with smaller changes.
Talking to Tuoi Tre Online , Nguyen Thi Thien Nga (Consul General of Canada) said that she is very aware of the fact that gender equality in society will not change unless we change ourselves first.
The contest "A day as a Consul General" is a stepping stone for Nga to gain more experience and motivation to learn more skills, foreign languages, as well as further expand her outlook on life.
Nguyen Thi Truc Ly (British Consul General) said that she found a lot of motivation in studying chemical engineering at the University of Technology. At the same time, from a person who was quite shy about crowds, Ly was determined to participate in many similar competitions to improve herself step by step.
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