During 8 and 10 August 2018, 36 representatives from Ha Giang Department on Ethnic Minority Affairs; Departments of Investment and Planning, Agriculture and Rural Development, Culture-Sports-Tourism; and relevant officials and staff of Vi Xuyen district and Thuong Son and Minh Tan communes participated in the three-day training workshop about integrating gender and climate change into the development of communal sustainable poverty reduction and socio-economic development planning. The training provided and refreshed knowledge of gender and climate change as well as tools to evaluate and facilitate discussions during these planning processes.

Mrs. Tu, a statistics staff in Ha Giang province. Photo: Truong Quang Hong

Mr. Dang Dinh Nhieu, Vice Chairman of the provincial Department on Ethnic Minority Affairs, said: “We have paid attention to gender and climate change issues. However we haven’t been able to do so in a systematic and comprehensive way. This training will help us with the right approach and sequencing.”

According to Mrs. Tu, a statistics staff of Minh Tan commune, the commune has added climate change topics in their planning, yet it is still at a very general level. “The training helped [us] understand more clearly the existing gender stereotypes and practical gender and climate change assessment tools. Our communal staff can understand these, which will help us in the process of analysing problems and finding solutions in our planning,” said Mrs. Tu.

The training is part of the Partnership for Ethnic Minorities’ Equitable and Inclusive Development (P4EM) project that is co-implemented by CARE and Ha Giang Department on Ethnic Minority Affairs and funded by the Irish Aid via the Irish Embassy in Vietnam.