Adaptation - Shaping a Future

Group wheelchair dance: "Youth aspiration"

The event attracted more than 150 delegates, including the presence of Ph.D. Tran Duc Hung - Deputy General Director of the National Action Centre for Toxic Chemicals and Environmental Treatment (NACCET) – Head of Central Project Management Board; Mrs. Tran Tuyet Anh – Director General of Family Department, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism; Mrs. Dinh Thi Thuy - Deputy Chief of the Office of the National Committee for Persons with Disabilities in Vietnam; Mr. Pham Hoai Chung - Deputy Director of Transport Development and Strategy Institute- Ministry of Transport; Mr. Nguyen Van Quynh - Vice President of Vietnam Association for Invalids and Disabilities Enterprise; Mrs. Le Ha Van - Head of Disability Support Department,  Reconciliation and Inclusive Development Department of USAID/Vietnam; Mrs. Vu Thi Tuyet Mai - Chief Representative of CBM Vietnam; Mrs. Nguyen Thi Kim Hoa – Director of National Center for Special Education, Mr. Dang Van Thanh - Permanent Vice Chairman and Mrs. Duong Thi Van - Vice Chairman of Vietnam Federation on Disability (VFD), Mr. Tran Vu Hoang – Project Director, Centre for Social Initiatives Promotion (CSIP), Mr. Tran Hung Minh – Director of Center for Creative Initiatives in Health and Population; Mrs. Nguyen Thi Lan Anh – Director of the Action to the Community Development Institute (ACDC), and other representatives of organizations of and for persons with disabilities and news agencies.

People’s Teacher. Ph.D. Dang Huynh Mai - Former Vice Minister of the Ministry of Education and Training, Chairman of the Vietnam Federation on Disability gave a congratulatory speech on Vietnamese Day of Persons with Disabilities

At the beginning of the event, leaders and representatives of organizations gave flowers, congratulated, and shared their enthusiasm for the Vietnamese community of persons with disabilities. People’s Teacher. Ph.D. Dang Huynh Mai - Former Vice Minister of the Ministry of Education and Training, Chairman of the Vietnam Federation on Disability said: “The Vietnamese day of Persons with Disabilities Day this year is celebrated when the Government is implementing aggressive measures to adapt to the Covid-19 pandemic while recovering and making socio-economic developments. In response to this spirit, VFD has decided our theme for this year to be “Adaptation - Shaping a Future” so that all the local associations to strive for. At the same time, the VFD will also cooperate with the Action to the Community Development Institute (ACDC) and the Centre for Social Initiatives Promotion (CSIP) to celebrate the day of 2022. Hopefully, Vietnamese persons with disabilities will continue to receive attention from state management agencies, communities and individual philanthropists so that all their post-pandemic difficulties will be well addressed. This will also help persons with disabilities actively participate and find appropriate measures to adapt with new changes and contribute to the society and the country.”

Mrs. Ann Marie Yastishock - Director of The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Vietnam shared their enthusiasm and programs for supporting the community of persons with disabilities in Vietnam

In her congratulatory speech, Mrs. Ann Marie Yastishock - Director of The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Vietnam emphasized: Today is an important day that recognizes the strength, resilience, and adaptation of persons with disability. Today, I urge everyone to focus less on the disabilities and concentrate instead on the individual and his or her many abilities. This is the intent of USAID’s disability program. USAID’s vision of international development includes its focus on ensuring aid equity. This means making our system more accountable in terms of its impact and making sure that the voices and the needs of the most vulnerable population are reflected in our work. Around the world, USAID works to make the development process more transparent and inclusive, and to promote the leadership of local actors who understand local needs. The head of USAID, Administrator Samatha Power has said, “If we truly want to make aids inclusive, local needs is to be the center of everything we do. We’ve got to tap into the knowledge of the local community and their lives’ experiences, otherwise, we risk reinforcing the systematic inequities that are already in place. This is why here in Vietnam, across our programming, USAID supports outstanding actors who are advocating for universal rights and welfare of the people. And it is why our programs are driven and implemented by local partners, non-governmental organizations, national and local government agencies, businesses, caregivers and organizations of persons with disability.

Delegates at the Celebration of Vietnamese Day of Persons with Disabilities

She also said: “I’d like to take a moment to recognize our friends, colleagues, and fellow citizens with disabilities as we think about how we can help promote inclusive and adaptive society. This event highlights the importance of enhancing the participation of persons with disability in a more inclusive and accessible world, taking into account the emergence of recent challenges, as we all learn to live with COVID-19. Thank you for all your strong commitment and great efforts to adapt to a challenging post-COVID-19 situation and to provide services for persons with disability in Vietnam.

Especially, in response to the Vietnamese Day of Persons with Disabilities, the Award Ceremony of the Initiative Contest “Covid-19 Adaptation” was also held at the event. The contest has been launched since December 3, 2021 with the aim of finding initiatives, ideas, and innovative projects with solutions focusing on the following areas: Education, healthcare, and accessible transport to promote the effective and participation of persons with disabilities in the community. After more than 4 months of launching, the contest has received 15 initiatives from organizations across the country. The variety of ideas shows enthusiasm and desire to contribute to the development of the persons with disabilities community. Thank for the serious and fair assessment of the Jury, 8 most impressive, groundbreaking and feasible initiatives were selected for awards after 3 rounds. In which, the best initiative will receive financial and technical support for practical implementation.

The Listen by eyes Team with the initiative “Deaf people with Vietnamese” won the First Prize

The first prize was awarded to the initiative “Deaf people with Vietnamese” of the Listen by eyes Team. The second prize went to the initiative "Online support for rehabilitation for children with cerebral palsy in the context of Covid-19" by the Cerebral Palsy Family Association Vietnam (CPFAV). The third prize belonged to the initiative "A vendor cart - A shoulder tap" by SANG and the initiative: "Training TOT - Trainer Mental health resources for 5 deaf clubs in the North and Central" by the Co., Ltd. to support and connect the Deaf and the community (SCDeaf). Four consolation prizes were awarded to the following initiatives: Capacity building on stress management and post-Covid-19 psychological disorders (Can Tho Organization of Persons with Disabilities), Sound Journey 2022 (Vietnam Associations of Parents of Hearing Loss Children), Strengthening the efficient operation of the Transition house, contributing to health care and rehabilitation for persons with disabilities during the Covid-19 pandemic (Thua Thien Hue Organization of Persons with Disabilities), Listen to your hand (Sign Language Training Center). In addition, the Cerebral Palsy Family Association Vietnam also won in the category of the Community Award.

Group photo

In a period when the world has been changing rapidly, especially in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, people need to have high adaptability. This leads to a challenge that vulnerable people, including persons with disabilities, cannot keep up with the trend. Therefore, the community and society need to shape and build an inclusive future for all, including persons with disabilities, to ensure "no one is left behind" as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) committed. With the theme "Adaptation - Shaping a Future" of April 18 announced by VFD, this year's Celebration wishes that this year will be an opportunity for Governments at all levels, social organizations, and organizations of persons with disabilities to be concerned more about activities for persons with disabilities, thereby encouraging their participation in all areas of social life to improve the quality of life and equality for the Vietnamese community of persons with disabilities.

Translator: Thuy Hai