HÀ NỘI — Twenty outstanding projects from across the country took part in the Women’s Start-up Festival which ended yesterday in Hà Nội.

The four-day festival, the first of its kind, was organised by the Vietnam Women’s Union (VWU) and included projects in various fields such as education, tourism, agriculture, forestry and handicrafts.

The 20 projects were selected from a list of 130.

Politburo member and permanent member of the Secretariat Trần Quốc Vượng said that the projects expressed women’s passion for innovation and developing their trades in different fields and areas.

Lê Thị Lệ Phương, director of Gia An Company which processes products made from tomatoes, eggs and milk in the Central Highland province of Lâm Đồng, was one of the women who took part in the event.

Phương said that Đơn Dương District in Lâm Đồng Province produced 30,000 tonnes of tomatoes per year, but did not have a plant to process them and supply far outreached local demand.

“I came up with an idea to process products made from tomatoes, eggs, molasses and milk, and now they bring in an income 10 times higher than raw tomatoes,” said Phương.

Đỗ Thị Nhị, head of the Bình Minh Private Kindergarten in the northern province of Bắc Ninh, was also chosen for the event.

She runs a private kindergarten for handicapped children in the province.

“I give priority to the children of workers from industrial zones in the province and neighbouring areas because I want to share their difficulties,” said Nhị.

200 children have enrolled at the kindergarten, and are now learning to speak and integrate into the community.

Also yesterday, five organisations and 10 women were honoured with the Việt Nam Women’s Prize.

The award was founded in 2002, and 74 organisations and 134 women have received the prize.

The prize aims to encourage creativity, determination and energy. It also certifies women’s devotion, talents and innovation in the process of building and protecting the nation. — VNS