Embassy of Germany to Việt Nam launches a writing contest for Vietnamese students. Photo of the German Embassy

HÀ NỘI — The Embassy of Germany to Việt Nam has called for applications for a writing contest with the winner becoming an 'ambassador' for a day.

The competition, open to Vietnamese young women aged 16 to 26, is one of several activities to celebrate International Women's Day on March 8 and the 50th anniversary since diplomatic relations were established between Việt Nam and Germany on September 23 in 1975.

The embassy stress that the contest is more than just an opportunity to showcase writing skills and is meant to serve as a platform to empower and encourage the next generation of female leaders.

Significant progress has been made in advancing women's rights and equality over the last decades, however women are still underrepresented in many leadership positions across many sectors globally, including in diplomacy.

This gap highlights the need to further encourage and support young women to make full use of their potential and to follow their personal aspirations.

"We are convinced that witnessing first hand the dynamic work of a successful female leader can be a powerful source of inspiration. Therefore, we call for applications by creative young Vietnamese girls and women who are curious and would like to be," read a release from the German Embassy.

Ambassador for a day

The winner will have the privilege of spending a day with the German Ambassador, Helga Margarete Barth, in March.

The successful write will get to accompany the diplomat to her meetings and participate in internal meetings, thereby gaining first-hand insights into the characteristics of a workday of a female leader.

She will also receive a prize of VNĐ5 million (US$195) and a gift set.

Two runners-up will win VNĐ3 million and VNĐ1 million, along with a gift set.

"We are convinced that this unique opportunity will enrich and inspire the winner and hope that it will also encourage the participants to pursue their dreams and visions by showcasing that committing to a professional perspective is worth it and can be achieved with vision, passion and determination," they added.

Participants are being asked to write about how the relationship between Germany and Việt Nam can be even stronger and what would they do to enhance the diplomatic relations between the two countries, if they were truly an ambassador for a day.

The competition states: "We encourage participants to explore this topic with creativity, critical thinking, and a forward-looking perspective. Consider the various facets of the Vietnamese-German relationship – i.e. aspects of cultural exchange, areas for economic cooperation, opportunities for educational partnerships, political chances and challenges and more.

"The essay should propose innovative ideas for how cooperation in these issue areas can be improved and further enhanced. We look forward to your submission and the chance to benefit from your perspective and the diverse ideas of young Vietnamese women."

The text which should be no more than 1,000 words, must be written in English or German, must be the writers own work and cannot have been submitted to any other competition.

The deadline for submitting a piece (delivered in PDF form) is February 28 via email to kultbot@gmail.com.

The three winners will be selected by a panel and will be notified in early March. VNS