Population Workers' Day

(Baonghean)After more than three months of lively activities at the grassroots level, the Provincial Population Propagandist Festival concluded in Vinh City on August 9th. Although the festival has ended, its significance and impact will have a wide-ranging influence and positively affect the province's population and family planning work in the future.

To disseminate experiences in activities and communication skills at the grassroots level regarding population work, collaborators from Quynh Luu district presented a short play titled "From the Government…to the People Getting Involved" at the festival. Ms. Duong Thi Thanh, a population specialist in Quynh Thang commune, said: "Mobilizing people to do a good job in population/family planning in coastal areas is very difficult. The belief that having many children is better than having much wealth, the mentality of having children 'as a backup,' in case of rough seas and strong waves… has become deeply ingrained in people's minds. Therefore, to change people's perceptions, the involvement of all levels and sectors is very necessary. In reality, in our locality, Party members always set a good example and strictly comply with population policies; population and family planning targets are included in the resolutions of the council, the resolutions of the Party committee, and in the socio-economic development programs and plans of the commune and hamlets…".



Director General of the Vietnam Population and Family Planning Agency, Duong Quoc Trong, presented flowers and commemorative flags to the participating teams.

A highlight of the skit competition was the theme of "gender imbalance at birth." Ten out of the twenty skits from participating teams addressed the issue of gender and gender selection at birth. The teams explored a variety of reasons leading to gender selection: stemming from the desire of young couples to have both sons and daughters, pressure from the husband's family, and criticism from friends and relatives, all leading to the decision to have a son. The skits "At My Husband's Family Home" (Vinh City), "You're Wrong" (Dien Chau), "Just Because I Want" (Tuong Duong), and "The Story of Mr. Toan's Family" (Hung Nguyen) were highly praised for their relevance to real life, their reasonable solutions to the problem, and their positive feedback from both the audience and the judges.

In addition, the "hot" issue attracting public attention is the widespread practice of "circumventing the law" and "breaking the rules" by having a third child among officials and Party members. This is realistically reflected in the skits: "Slipping on a Watermelon Peel" (Yen Thanh), "I Understand Now" (Nam Dan), "It's Still Not Too Late to Regret" (Anh Son)... serving as a warning bell about this situation. Through these skits, measures to handle officials and Party members who violate population policies according to the ordinance are publicized; resolutions on new population policies are disseminated, increasing penalties for those who violate population policies, and the responsibilities of heads of agencies, units, and Party committees where individuals violate population policies are also publicized.

Mr. Ho Sy Luc, Acting Director of the Anh Son District Population Center, said: “In reality, as living standards improve and people have more resources, some families have the idea of ​​wanting to have more children. Currently, in the district, the number of cadres, Party members, and civil servants violating population policies is on the rise... These are the 'hot' issues that our team chose to include in the Festival to widely disseminate information to all target groups... Through the situations and solutions presented, it shows that the capacity and theoretical knowledge of grassroots communicators in disseminating information about the issue and the harmful effects of sex selection for having male children are very solid and highly persuasive.”

In the greeting and knowledge section, besides demonstrating their understanding of population/family planning policies and highlighting achievements in implementing population work in their localities, the teams also brought to the festival innovative and effective methods in communication; practical experiences in handling common situations in mobilizing people to implement population/family planning policies; and successful models of integrating population communication and healthcare for the people... Mr. Lau Ba Giai, a population officer in Nam Can commune (Ky Son district), said: “I have only been a population officer in the commune for 3 years, so I lack practical experience. Through the festival, I had the opportunity to interact and learn from other teams about effective methods and valuable experiences, which helped us acquire more knowledge and hone our communication skills, which we can then apply in our locality...”.

Mr. Nguyen Trung Thanh, Deputy Head of the Provincial Population Department and Head of the judging panel for the Population Propagandist Festival, said: “The festival truly became a grand event, a place for population propagandists to meet, exchange ideas, and learn from each other. The teams brought to the competition valuable experiences in disseminating information and mobilizing support for healthcare/family planning… After the competition, these experiences will be widely disseminated in localities, especially in areas that have not yet done well in population/family planning work.”

Thanh Phuc