HCM CITY — The winners of the "Consul General for a Day" contest had a day to learn how a consulate general functions and participated in a press conference to express their feelings about their experiences and women's rights at the Residence of France on March 4.

The contest was launched at the end of February and organised by several consulates general in HCM City, including Canada, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States, based on the idea of the Consul General of Germany, Josefine Wallat.

Consuls General of the United States, Canada, Germany, France and British along with the contest winners at the Residence of France. — Photo by The Consul General of France

The five winners include Lê Nguyễn Thúy Vy (Consul General of France), Lưu Thu Hằng (Consul General of Germany), Nguyễn Thị Trúc Ly (Consul General of British), Nguyễn Thị Thiên Nga (Consul General of the Canada), and Nguyễn Thị Bảo Ngọc (Consul General of the United States).

All the winners emphasised that the competition is an opportunity to boost confidence, gain more experience, and inspire women as well as young girls to pursue their dreams and goals.

Lê Nguyễn Thúy Vy, the Consul General of France contest winner, (in a white traditional Vietnamese long dress), visiting an international French school in HCM City in the role of Consul General. — Photo by The Consul General of France

Lê Nguyễn Thúy Vy, the winner of the Consul General of France contest, mentioned that her life faced difficulties in the past, leading her to always feel like a small individual in society. Therefore, winning the competition initially made her a bit fearful.

However, the experiences gained during the day, along with encouragement from Emmanuelle Pavillon-Grosser, the Consul General of France and the entire staff of the consulate, have boosted Vy's confidence, making her feel more "grown-up" than before.

At the conference, the five winners also agreed that gender equality is one of the most pressing issues today, but no significant change can happen without starting from smaller changes.

The competition to celebrate International Women's Day was open to girls from Việt Nam aged 13 to 22, and winners from each consulate are selected based on their responses to questions posted on the social media pages of each consulate. — VNS