Co-working with the community has long become a familiar and inspiring assignment for each CKC member. In early May 2023, CKC had the opportunity to research and learn about the lives of people in Quang Yen town, Quang Ninh province. Through intensive three-day on-site engagements, via focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and household interviews, we had a better understanding of the current situation and strategies of local communities in transition from traditional agriculture to new industry and service development opportunities. CKC hopes that our research in impact assessment and relevant risk mitigation and management of different projects will bring the voice of local people closer to sustainable community development plans and strategies.
Tu Nguyen
“Empowering women through knowledge co-creation” was selected as one of “50 stories of Australian alumni’s contributions to Vietnam” at the Australian Alumni Symposiums 2023, celebrating the 50th anniversary of Australia-Vietnam diplomatic relations.
In the Symposium, Center for Knowledge Co-creation and Development Research (CKC) presented its three initiated development projects funded by Australian Government through Australian Alumni Grants Fund and Australian Volunteers Program. The three projects converge on the knowledge co-creation journey in empowering women albeit through raising women’s voices on issues affecting their community through multistakeholder dialogues, exploring their existing capitals to improve their lives, or breaking omnipresent gender stereotypes to promote gender equality.
Knowledge co-creation is central to community development initiatives implemented by CKC, especially for women’s groups. The Symposium is a valuable opportunity for CKC to share our sustainability experiences with Australian and Vietnamese development practitioners and organisations, widen our professional network, and enrich our development journey.
Photos: Australian Alumni in Vietnam
Returning to Laos in early April, CKC had the opportunity to work in Champasak and Salavan, located in the South of Lao PDR. Our team of 11 Vietnamese and Laotian members conducted social research in 12 communities in three districts of these two provinces.
With the “co-working” philosophy, CKC continues to collaborate with Laotian surveyors who have accompanied CKC since the first trip to Laos and continuously supported us to come closer to communities and deeply learn about their cultural, religious, and community values, especially the Phu Thai and Ta Oy ethnic communities.
(Vinh Tran)