In response to World Food Day 2021 (October 16) with this year’s theme “Our Actions are our Future – Better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life”, CKC Employee Well-being (CEW) team invited CKC members to join the “7-day at-home breakfast” challenge, which took place from 13th to 19th October 2021.

 

Throughout the seven-day challenge, participants were required to prepare their own breakfast at home based on the hygiene, taste, nutrition, diversity, and convenience guidelines. Through this activity, CKC members can develop their own healthy habits, reduce food waste and plastic waste, contributing to environment protection. Eating breakfast at home has several benefits, especially in the context of COVID-19 pandemic and the prolonged rainy season in Hue city.

With the enthusiastic engagement of all CKC members in Vietnam and Australia, the Challenge was really a food exchange. An exciting array of dishes made at home by the participants are very diverse, showing cultural identities of Hue and other regions in Vietnam and Australia, especially Melbourne city. A special congratulation would be sent to Philip Thomas and Lan Chi with the most votes for their impressive breakfasts.

Please don’t miss any breakfast to begin an active working day! If you are stuck with breakfast ideas, here are a few suggestions for delicious and nutritious dishes prepared by CKC members during the Challenge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tu Nguyen

 

“The light shines brightly within our hearts and souls,” is a simple and heartfelt message about gender equality that visually impaired women wish to express through a song they have co-created and performed.

 

 

The song “Shining from within” is a narrative about a blind mother with her sense of life and a message to her child about how each person’s genuine light emanates from the heart and soul. That light transcends physical eyesight and gender differences. The mother wishes that her child tries to spread the light of love, knowledge, and inner happiness, because that is something that all people share, regardless of appearance, race, religion, gender, or ability. Only by truly cherishing the light within each person, can the awareness of equality actually begin.

 

 

The song is the result of a gender equality training, many honest conversations, many hours of working and practicing of the blind female musician and other visually impaired women participating in the Project, as well as the contribution of many other individuals and organisations. The Center for Research and Development and Knowledge Co-Creation (CKC) would like to express our heartfelt gratitude on behalf of all Project members for all such efforts and support, particularly the partnership of the Center for Education Promotion and Empowerment of Women (CEPEW) and the Thua Thien Hue Association of the Blind.

 

 

The song is part of the Project “Music-Based Storytelling: A New Approach for Promoting Gender Equality of Blind Women in Thua Thien Hue Province,” which was initiated by CKC and collaborated with CEPEW through i4Equality Fund, with the participation of 19 visually impaired women from Thua Thien Hue Association of the Blind.

 

Gender Equality Innovation Fund – i4Equality (Innovations for Equality) was initiated by CEPEW to seek and support new ideas from individuals/groups towards promoting gender equality in Vietnam.

 

With the goal of “Rethinking Equality,” i4Equality encourages initiatives aimed at increasing gender equality awareness, providing critical reflections on diverse gender equality discourses, and promoting dialogue about gender equality in a variety of contexts and offering novel approaches to addressing the root causes of gender inequality.

 

Chi Duong

Center for Knowledge Co-creation and Development Research (CKC) organised “Circle of Peace” – gender equality training-sharing and music co-writing activities on September 27, 2021, with the participation of blind women from the Niem Tin Massage Center and the Hue City Association of the Blind.

 

The training-sharing activity facilitated by a gender expert not only provided participants with fundamental knowledge about gender equality but also created a secure and open sharing circle, promoting reflections on the challenges, roles, and rights of women with disabilities in society. Many inspiring and heart-touching stories were told in this circle in which their privacy is protected, voices are heard, feelings are respected, and positions are recognised.

 

Participants continued to contribute and convey their own aspirations and messages into the song based on the shared stories through a music co-writing session coordinated by a female blind composer. Parenting without sight, seeing the world through positive lens, and mutual support of disability community are main topics of interest discussed in this music co-writing session. Participants highly appreciate these training as this is an opportunity to build their confidence and widen thier horizons, as shared by a young blind female.

 

 

 

 

The activities were carried out as part of the Project “Music-Based Storytelling: A New Approach for Promoting Gender Equality of Blind Women in Thua Thien Hue Province,” with the collaboration of the Center for Education Promotion and Empowerment of Women (CEPEW) through i4Equality Fund (Innovations for Equality). Following the foregoing activities, a music product based on the shared stories will be produced by the participants in order to convey the message of women with disabilities towards gender equality.

 

Chi Duong