According to the United Nations World Water Development Report, groundwater is an important natural resource that supplies nearly half of the world’s drinking water, about 40% of the water for irrigation in agriculture, and around a third of the water used for industrial purposes. In honoring the value of water resources, the World Water Day 2022 focus on “Groundwater” to emphasise the critical role of groundwater and raise public awareness of the urgency in preserving this invisible but precious water resource.

Through social research, CKC has had a number of chances to talk with indigenous households in remote and isolated areas where the national clean water system has not been accessed yet. For them, groundwater is all they possess to survive and sustain their livelihoods based on farming or aquaculture activities.

Not only is it an essential resource for life, CKC understands that natural water also carries priceless cultural and spiritual values through the sharing of the communities that CKC has had opportunities to connect. Particularly, “the water wharf” of Ede people and the “drop of water” of Gia Rai people are both the main water source and the places connecting spiritual and cultural values that these communities have reserved in their daily activities and annual festivals through generations.

It is undeniable that water (in general) and groundwater (in particular) are invaluable assets that nature presents to human beings. Especially in the context of climate change and increasingly severe pollution, groundwater is considered the key to all sustainable development. Let’s join hands with CKC and spread the spirit of protecting water resources, protecting the Earth, and protecting our life.

From March to May 2022, Center for Knowledge Co-creation and Development Research (CKC) will implement the Project “Gender-sensitive storytelling: A new approach for teachers to promote gender equality in primary education” in five primary schools in Hue city. The Project is funded by the Australian Volunteers Program Impact Fund of Australian Volunteers International (AVI) and approved by Thua Thien Hue Provincial People’s Committee to carry out in the near future.

In order to promote gender equality in co-educational environments, the Project aims to empower primary teachers in practicing gender-sensitive education methods to redefine existing gender norms and raise gender equality awareness within the local education system.

Sincere gratitude to AVI for entrusting CKC to take on the Project to promote gender equality through an educational approach in primary school settings.

In 2020, CKC started its first social survey in the Mekong River Delta, especially in Soc Trang province. At the end of 2021, CKC had the opportunity to communicate with local people in Ben Tre province through a remote survey amid the Covid-19 travel restrictions.

In February 2022, CKC goes on the working opportunities in the western provinces with two field trips in Can Tho city and Tra Vinh province. Nearly 400 households from over 12 wards and communes enthusiastically participated in household interviews and focus group discussions, which helped CKC’s research team to fully collect socio-economic information of the communities affected by energy development projects. What permanently remains in each research member is the warmth, openness, and intimacy of the local people. Those good impressions are the motivation to help us overcome obstacles in weather conditions, travel, and even work pressure in the “new normal” context of the Covid-19 pandemic.