AMNEP in Hanoi: Day 2

The second and last day of AMNEP  still is very interesting.

Due to the quality of speakers and ideas of the morning session, I am very certain that all participants have learnt a great deal on civil society organisations in South East Asia. The key challenges among women in South East Asia were substantially discussed by Professor Aurora Javater and Sally Moyle. Both speakers shared their experiences and interpretations of women's health, social issues and economy in our region.

The afternoon session was my highlight of the trip! It's the day we share some findings from the project and will launch the project's policy brief for NGOs and key Governmental and civil society organisations. Our workshop is set up for NGOs and delegates from different organisations who are interested in development in Mekong countries.

 

The panel includes Dr. Francisco Montiel from the United Nations Women, Tanja Van de Linde from Oxfam Novib and me. We met in the morning and discussed some commonalities among our projects and we need to be certain that the participants will be able to learn certain aspects of women's economic empowerment from our projects.

I shared our research findings and challenges for women in Lao PDR and the effects of mining industry on women and their communities. Our policy brief is obviously useful for participants and they we find that some recommendations from our project can be influential and interesting for NGOs and civil society organisations in Mekong region.

we also worked with the participants on the development of ideas and suggestions for the Australian AID on (1) implications for ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) and women in AEC, (2) opportunities for women in the region, and (3) future of economic activities.

The  conclusion of second AMNEP forum was led by questions o the future of Mekong countries and the ways in which NGOs, local and regional Governments can work together for the future of this area.

I really hope that we will be able to return to the 3rd AMNEP and discuss key comparative points from our research project with participants from various organisation. This year is truly a great year for AMNEP and we need to thank DFAT for their support for all participants.