Returning to the Central Highlands at the end of March 2022, CKC had the opportunity to revisit our community researchers and the Ede culture of Dak Lak province that were connected during surveys in 2021.
This trip has extended and liaised CKC with new locations and exciting humans, not just a special reunion with familiar friends. Coming across Ede indigenous culture is overwhelming with the richness and magnificence of culture. The lingo, handwriting, and festivals imbued with the people’s cultural identity have been preserved and maintained through generations.
It is precious to accompany enthusiastic Ede fellow community researchers who supported CKC during the field site. Ede collaborators are not only experienced surveyors but also hospitable indigenous people, connecting CKC and this highland.
The majestic mountainous scenery, the fresh breeze, and the locals’ warm welcoming are the most nostalgic things that remind us about this highland province. For CKC, all pre-existing or just newly initiated connections are precious gifts that we had the privilege of attending to, visiting, comprehending, and sharing through our journeys.
Han Nguyen
After a long period of social distancing due to the Covid-19 pandemic, CKC members finally had the opportunity to spend a holiday filled with memories and laughter.
“Awayday” is an annual activity that CKC always maintains with the hope that all members can temporarily put aside work to give themselves time to rest after a period of hard work and also an opportunity that all staff of CKC can be closer together. CKC hopes that the members of the Center have had moments of relaxation with interesting experiential activities and are ready with energy to continue to contribute to the next community projects.
This trip is also very special for CKC to welcome new faces who are enthusiastic and dynamic members, and to congratulate the new leadership who are dedicated and professional accompanying CKC on the next journeys.
CKC would like to say “thank you” to CKC-ers, collaborators, and partners of CKC for their unremitting efforts and dedication to jointly creating good values for society.
Wishing all of you International Labour Day moments of relaxation and happiness.
Anh Huynh
On 16 and 17 April 2022, the “Breaking gender stereotypes in teaching practice and promoting gender equality through gender-sensitive storytelling” workshop for primary teachers in Hue city was successfully implemented by the Center for Knowledge Co-creation and Development Research (CKC).
CKC is highly honored to accompany the Boards of Principals and 50 teachers from five primary schools: Huong Long, Xuan Phu, Ly Thuong Kiet, Quang Trung, and Tran Quoc Toan participating in the workshop. CKC greatly appreciates the guidance and support from Thua Thien Hue Department of Education and Training and the Hue City Division of Education and Training on the workshop organisation.
During the two-day workshop, experts in the fields of Gender, Education, and Literature guided the participating teachers to reflect on their own unconscious biases, pointing out existing gender stereotypes and redefining gender perception openly and respectfully. Gender mainstreaming methods in education were introduced in the workshop, based on the discussions between the experts and participating teachers. Teachers then began to practice story writing using a gender-sensitive approach to promote gender equality in the classroom.
CKC is delighted to receive positive feedback from the participating teachers on the applicability of the gender-responsive teaching approach integrated in the classroom. The participating schools’ Boards of Principals expressed their willingness to expand the activities to all teachers and pupils to communicate gender equality. Throughout the workshop, participating teachers with enhanced knowledge and skills will be the pioneers in defining appropriate gender perception for pupils, contributing to promoting gender equality in the local educational environment.
In the next activity, the participating teachers will create new stories or rewrite existing fairy tales from a gender perspective, using the knowledge obtained throughout the two-day workshop and engage in a story-telling contest. The selected stories will be published as part of the Project’s publication to spread the messages of gender equality to wider communities.
The workshop is part of the “Gender-sensitive storytelling: A new approach for teachers to promote gender equality in primary education” project, initiated by CKC and funded by the Australian Volunteers International (AVI) through the Australian Volunteers Program Impact Fund.
Han Nguyen