“The first of its kind” was how many participants of the inaugural Women’s in Leadership Conference described what was happening in a conference room in HCMC in mid-October. The Australian Consulate-General HCMC prepared and hosted a significant networking opportunity for women and men in Vietnam looking to be a part of a movement for change. The Australian-led conference bought together many of the best and brightest female leaders from across Vietnam to discuss difficult topics that affect women in Vietnam and across the global community. Small workshops were held to discuss specifically about women’s health (breast cancer and maternal health), trafficking of women, and gender-based abuse, to better understand the current situation and develop ideas about how to improve it. The Australian Government is committed to working with key stakeholders in Vietnam to implement these ideas.

Ms Sarah Day (Speech Pathology Advisor and Australian Volunteer at Da Nang University of Medical Technologies and Pharmacy) and Ms Y Sa (HCMC) and Ms Linh (Hue), both long term TFA interpreters, all attended the conference in HCMC. All were particularly interested in the expert panel session on “Women Pioneers – women in leadership and the importance of mentoring and support networks” where five Vietnamese leaders discussed their experiences in the role of mentee and mentor. One of those speakers described mentoring as “fostering a relationship…a connection with meaning, and that through the mentoring process we all have the opportunity to build confidence through becoming more self-aware of our strengths and weaknesses and building from there.”