VIETNAM: Oxfam at MTV Exit Concert
By Jonathan de Luca and Danielle Andela
My Dinh National Stadium, Hanoi, Vietnam – Oxfam attended the MTV EXIT concert in Vietnam to support a massive initiative to raise awareness on anti-human trafficking and exploitation. Popular artists and bands converged onstage in Hanoi to lend their strong voice. We were there to add to the noise and to profile the work of our partners in safe migration and anti-human trafficking.
In Vietnam, Oxfam works together with the Vietnam Women’s Union and is centered around several clubs on safe migration. These clubs are established as a forum for people that were affected by trafficking and labor exploitation, vulnerable people and others in the community to share issues affecting their lives.
As the epicenter of capacity-building and awareness raising efforts in the provinces, the clubs aim to ensure that people that think about migrating have access to information about how to do this in a safe way. They serve to prevent trafficking through increased awareness of safe migration practices, and increase a sense of community and solidarity amongst people.
The most successful activity emanating from these clubs are their mobile theatre troupes. These are members of the clubs who visit markets and far flung areas to bring creative pieces of theatre using role play to raise awareness on safe migration and the risks of not being informed.
Our partners from Nghe An were able to come to the MTV EXIT event and perform some of the theatre pieces. The reception was amazing, as throngs of youth came directly to our booth to find out what the music and noise was about.
Audience members who were able to correctly guess the answers to questions about safe migration left the site with Oxfam t-shirts and USB-sticks.
Our partners from Nghe An were really excited about participating in the event, as it was not only a great opportunity to showcase their work in the national capital but also a creative way to bring awareness of safe migration to youth. “We will remember this event for life.
This is the first time and maybe the last time we have a chance to come to the National Stadium in Hanoi to perform and show our work” – said Phan Thi Linh, club member.
We also created a mobile photo booth, where attendees could take their photos with messages calling for a world free from exploitation. Our Facebook page, where people could spot and tag themselves after the concert, brought over 12,000 unique visitors in the following week.
Our booth and activities also attracted national TV (the VTVT programme “Guest of VTV3”) who conducted an interview with us. See the broadcast with the interview and more information about the concert in this YouTube clip (40:35-44:30 minutes – in Vietnamese).
We hope the impact of participating in this successful joint event is extended beyond the one day.
For more information, go to our Oxfam in Vietnam blog, our Facebook page, or email to Jonathan De Luca (DeLucaJ@oxfam.qc.ca)
