Pham Phuong (L), winner of last year’s competition, meets with Consul General of Canada in HCMC Kyle Nunas - PHOTO: COURTESY OF CANADIAN CONSULATE GENERAL IN HCMC

The “Consul General for a Day” competition is open to students from grade eight through 12 in the city. Its objective is to engage Vietnamese students on issues related to women’s advancement, gender equality and empowerment of women and girls.

One winner will be selected to become the Canadian Consul General for a day, tentatively in February or March, 2020. Ten runners-up will receive interesting Canada-themed gifts.

The winner will meet with Consul General Kyle Nunas and staff and will learn how a consulate functions. He or she will co-chair a roundtable with accomplished women leaders and have their pictures taken in the Consul General’s Office.

The competition is based on the theme of the 2020 International Women’s Day campaign “Each for Equal”.

To enter the competition, contestants are required to write an essay addressing two topics: “Introduce yourself and explain why you would be a good champion for gender equality” and “What specific actions are you committed to taking to promote gender equality and empower women and girls?”.

Submissions, mandatorily in English or French and with a maximum of 800 words, should be emailed to hochi@international.gc.ca with the subject “CG for a day” by 8:20 p.m. on January 20, 2020.

Criteria for evaluation include demonstrated commitment to gender equality, the quality of the essay, and fluency in written and spoken English or French. SGT