Outstanding International Women Day Centenary Celebrations
On March 4th, 2011, the Australian Vietnamese Women’s Association celebrated the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day in a big event at Fitzroy Town Hall. The event combined the history of Western women’s struggle for equality since the 19th century with the celebration of the heroic achievements of the Trung Queen in Vietnam in 1st century AD. Seventy students from several secondary schools joined over 200 adults in exploring in concurrent discussion groups, the leadership skills and personal qualities relevant to today’s women, also the need to reconcile Eastern and Western values and attitudes and to support the identity and aspirations of young people . The forum highlighted the awareness of the importance of positive contributions to the community, courage and compassion, initiative and self confidence to achieve success. In particular, an appreciation of the Vietnamese cultural heritage and tradition is crucial to maintaining the links between Australian Vietnamese youths, the elders & forebears. There were traditional dances and songs and a lively ao dai (Vietnamese tunic) competition for mother and young child(ren) teams.
