A painting on child labour prevention is displayed at the conference. — VNS Photo Thu Trang

HÀ NỘI — More than 4,000 children at risk of child labour have gained access to support services during the past two years.

In a special child-protection project, 1,152 people have been trained in how to prevent child labour practises and how to reduce levels of exploitation.

The results were from the programme 'Prevention of child labour in arduous, toxic and hazardous environments, including online child sexual exploitation and violations of minimum working conditions', or more commonly called the Against Child Labour (ACE) Project, which has been conducted by World Vision in Việt Nam.

A conference to conclude the project was held on Wednesday in Hà Nội, providing an opportunity for all parties to assess their achievements, share good practices and develop sustainable strategies moving forward.

More than one hundred delegates were at the conference including representatives from the US Embassy, ​​the Ministry of Information and Communications, the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, partners of the ACE project in three provinces and cities Đà Nẵng, Quảng Nam and Điện Biên and delegates from the Philippines and Cambodia.

More than 60 awareness raising communication activities have been organised for various target groups including children, parents and enterprises.

Two child consultation and support places have been established in Mường Ảng District in Điện Biên Province and Tam Kỳ City in Quảng Nam Province.

Online courses on child labour prevention, communication and training materials have been developed, including the production of some special safety songs.

Funded by the US Department of Labour, the ACE project was first implemented in Việt Nam in November 2022.

Not only aimed at helping the Vietnamese Government prevent child labour, it also included training in identifying online child sexual exploitation.

The project baseline survey implemented last year showed that the three provinces and cities participating in the project have not recorded any cases of illegal child labour. But, delegates heard, the risk of child labour is always present, especially in the post-COVID-19 pandemic context.

Country Director of World Vision International Doseba Tua Sinay gives a speech at the conference. — VNS Photo Thu Trang

Country Director of World Vision International in Việt Nam Doseba Tua Sinay said: “As a children’s organisation, we always aim to protect children from all forms of exploitation and risks that can negatively affect their lives.

“We are delighted to witness the successful implementation of the ACE Project, demonstrating our joint efforts to prevent and reduce child labour in Việt Nam. This also affirms our commitment to providing a meaningful life for all children, especially the most vulnerable.”

Trần Thị Nhuần, Head of the Child Affairs and Gender Equality Division under the Điện Biên Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, said that what impressed her most was that the project always listened to the wishes and needs of the locality, ensuring activities were region appropriate.

“Thanks to that, we can effectively realise the work of preventing and reducing child labour,” she said.

Based on current legal regulations, the project developed a child labour screening toolkit to identify victims and children at risk.

Nguyễn Thị Thu Hà, Deputy Head of the Social Protection and Children Division under the Đà Nẵng Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, said that the screening results provided useful information on which to build a strategy.

“It has helped us develop an intervention plan and support children at risk of child labour in the locality,” she said.

An overview of the conference. — VNS Photo Thu Trang

Faced with increasing risks to children online, the ACE Project has collaborated with the Việt Nam Information Security Association (VNISA) to establish the Việt Nam Cyber Safety Club (VCSC).

For the first time in Việt Nam there is a club connecting technology companies providing services and products to protect children online, non-governmental organisations in the field of child protection and individuals with the common goal of protecting and supporting children.

It will contribute to the Government's programme 'Protecting and supporting children to interact healthily and creatively online in the period of 2021-25'.

In its first year, the club achieved an important milestone when launching a set of criteria for services and products to protect children online.

Deputy Director of the Đà Nẵng Department of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyễn Thị Thu Hương said: “With the toolkit, we will conduct annual screening to identify children at risk of child labour throughout the city.”

Deputy Director of ACE Project Rafiq Ahmed Mangi expressed his belief that, even though the project has ended, the partners will continue to promote the results and maintain the project's activities locally.

“What we have achieved is just a humble first step, but I believe it will be the foundation for future activities. Going from zero to one is a challenging start, but through that stage, we believe in the effect that the ACE Project has created towards a future without child labour,” he said. — VNS