UNIS Hanoi Peace & Justice and Gender Awareness Service Learning groups had the opportunity to participate in the Hanoi Pride Festival. The event was organised by our partner organisation, iSEE. The Institute for Social, Economic and Environmental Studies (iSEE) works for the rights of minority groups in Vietnam, aiming for a tolerant, fair, and free society, where human values are cherished.
iSEE is UNIS Hanoi’s long-time Service Learning partner, through projects connected to both ethnic minority communities and Hanoi Pride. Our student’s work with Hanoi Pride started in 2018 with poster painting and decorating Vietnamese hats for the parade. A number of UNIS Hanoi teachers and students have continued to participate in bike rides and pride festivals over the years. Our partnership continues to develop this year with our first opportunity to run a booth at the festival.
Hanoi Pride had over 8,000 people in attendance this year, with an event stage, activities, and booths hosted by embassies, local businesses, the United Nations, and a variety of local non-profit organisations. The students’ booth was perfectly placed to welcome community members as they entered the festival grounds and gave out beautiful stickers designed by our MS & HS students. They also had a (very popular) face painting station and were selling student-designed artwork and giftware. All funds raised went directly to iSEE.
We were very grateful for this opportunity for work that aligns so well with the mission of these service learning groups.
- MS Peace & Justice Council Mission: The Peace and Justice Council strives to improve relationships and understanding among students and teachers of the UNIS Hanoi Community by:
- Creating a shared sense of belonging for all
- Inspiring and empowering others to create positive change
- Cultivating an engaged, respectful, intellectual school community
- Connecting the UNIS Hanoi Community to better our understanding of different cultures, perspectives, lives, and views.
- Envisioning the best UNIS Hanoi possible through the power of community
- HS Peace & Justice Group Mission: Inspire & create positive change to connect communities through diversity, cultures, and perspectives
- HS Gender Awareness Group Mission: Educate the community about issues faced by female presenting and LGBTQIA+ individuals.
If you’d like to find out more about their work, you can tune into Congress TV (Truyền hình Quốc hội) to watch their interviews.