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Last Friday, May 12, 2017, the new ambassador of Vietnam in the Hague, Mrs Ngo Thi Hoa, visited MCNV office in Amsterdam. Mrs Hoa wants to intensify the relationship between Vietnam and the Netherlands, joining forces in collaboration. To realise this, she made a list of organisations to visit and MCNV was on the top of this list.

MCNV is member of the Barefoot Guide Alliance, an alliance of 6 organisations around the world, which are sustaining the Barefoot Guide Connection to spread its message and methods. The Barefoot Guide Connection is a global network of individuals and organisations that value deep reflection on development practices by and for practitioners. A method that has emerged from writing four Barefoot guides is the ‘Writeshopping for Development’ methodology.

From 20^th to 24^th of March 2017, MCNV Laos organised a traning of trainers followed with a formulation workshop in Vientiane Capital to officially launch the project “Learning from the use of Innovative Communication Methods” (LICM). Participants to the event were 18 key persons from three project partners – Lao Disabled People’s Association (LDPA), Vientiane Youth Centre for Health and Development (VYCHD), and Proud To Be Us (PTBU), an informal network of LGBTI people in Lao PDR. Also attending the event were representatives of the National Institute of Public Health, University of Health Sciences, UNFPA and OXFAM Laos.

LICM is an action research project that aims to enable local partners to learn about the potential of creative methods in improving sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) of vulnerable youth groups and as a tool to study specific SRHR challenges these groups face. Young girls working in garment factories, LGBTI people and disabled youth are the project’s target groups. The project also investigates if and how the use of innovative communication methods can enhance dialogue on SRHR issues between communities, vulnerable youth and policy makers.

The training of trainers has provided participants with basic techniques and insights about some forms of creative communication such as theatre, shadow drama and participatory video for peer learning, behavior change and advocacy in relation to SRHR issues. With more technical support from MCNV, the project partners (LDPA, PTBU and VYCHD) will formulate co-creative teams, develop creative communication products with different methods, organise communication events and involve policy makers in dialogue on SRHR issues.