Over 30 Vietnamese volunteers are participating in a Denmark-funded training course on how to prevent violence against women and girls through social media. The event, taking place from August 3 to 5 in Hanoi, is jointly organized by the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) and the Vietnam Volunteer Center (VVC), according to the Vietnam News Agency. Participants are the leaders of the clubs, teams, and volunteer groups that belong to the VVC’s volunteer network. The course provides trainees with basic knowledge about gender and gender equality and the forms, causes and consequences of violence against women and girls. Course takers are equipped with necessary skills to persuade other young men to prevent violence against women through social media. Specifically, under the guidance of instructors, students will directly build media plans on social networks in order to raise awareness and engage the youth in the prevention of violence against women and girls. Vu Phuong Ly, a specialist of the UN Women, said: "At present, Vietnam is in a phase of ‘golden population’ with a high youth ratio in its demographics. Therefore, the participation of the youth in changing the backward gender preconceptions and promoting good, healthy and non-violent relationships is very necessary and important.” Programs to combat violence against women and girls cannot be effective without the active participation of the youth, Ly said. The training course is a part of the first phase of the project “Mobilizing the Participation of Young People in the Prevention of Violence against Women and Girls through Social Media Channels,” which is jointly run by the UN Women and the VVC. The project, funded by Denmark, was initiated on the basis of identifying social media as one of the effective means to approach, mobilize and promote the younger generation to take action to end violence against women and girls.

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