Opening Ceremony of the Exhibition “Women and the Internet: Opportunities and Change”

Tired, but full of excitement, local women from Hung Yen Province took part in the opening ceremony of the exhibition “Women and the Internet: Opportunities and Change” at the Vietnamese Women’s Museum. Nearly 30 local people attended, including the women who were the main interview subjects of the exhibition. They also performed songs and dancing to welcome participants who attended the opening ceremony on November 26th, 2014 at the Vietnamese Women’s Museum

Local women performing at the opening ceremony

The exhibition “Women and the Internet: Opportunities and Change” was a result of the project “Internet changes rural women’s life” that was hosted by the Vietnamese Women’s Museum, and was sponsored by the Ministry of Finnish Foreign Affairs in cooperation with the Fairspectrum Oy Company.

The project was conducted in May 2014 at Ban Yen Nhan Town, Nhan Hoa Commune, and Di Su Commune in My Hao District, Hung Yen Province. After six months of the project’s implementation, more than 30 in-depth interviews, photographs, and a short film are now being displayed in the exhibition.

Distinguished guests visiting the exhibition

Through local women’s voices and truthful images, the exhibition will provide visitors with plentiful information on the real situations of the socio-economy of Ban Yen Nhan Town, Nhan Hoa Commune, and Di Su Commune in My Hao District, Hung Yen Province. Its subjects include Local women using the Internet; Effects of the Internet on rural women’s lives; Opportunities and challenges that women face when accessing the Internet.

Local women visiting the exhibition

Alongside the opening ceremony, the Vietnamese Women’s Museum also hosted a workshop on the results of the project: “Internet changes rural women’s lives”. Participants included local authorities, and leaders of the Women’s Union in My Hao and Hung Yen Province; women from these localities, including women who participated in the exhibition; representatives of the Finnish Embassy in Hanoi; representatives of the Ministry of Information and Communications of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam; representatives of the National Institute of Information and Communications Strategy, etc.

The exhibition “Women and the Internet: Opportunities and Change” once again marks the strength and direction of the Vietnamese Women’s Museum in researching and approaching, as well as reflecting upon, gender issues, using anthropological methods.

Reporter Hoang Hoang from People’s Army Newspaper shared his words: “The Vietnamese Women’s Museum has made many meaningful and socially significant exhibitions. Those who have only heard about it want to visit it. Through the exhibition, I was very impressed by the simple, truthful, and deeply informative stories of local women’s lives.