Dedicating a day to Vietnamese women

This day is the collaboration fruit from 4 organizations (GreenRice Foundation, Friends of Hue Foundation (FHF), Fashion for Freedom (F4F), and GG Connections), with the support of other nonprofits.

We are inviting designers from Vietnam and around the Bay Area to generate a new Vietnamese visual art language and energy. In general, the event designed to promote the beauty and grace of Vietnamese women; however, we also intend to achieve the following:

• establish an Ao Dai Day (or Traditional Costume Day for each ethnic group);
• dedicate a day to Vietnamese women around world, especially those who are trapped in modern slavery whose voices cannot be heard, and collectively reassert and celebrate their dignity;
• create opportunities, support and empowerment systems for at-risk youths through a project called Mending Community Initiatives (MCI). MCI provides, among other things, fashion design training to youths as their escape route to independence from poverty and slavery;
• create opportunities, support and empowerment systems for local artists/designers who wish to introduce their works to mainstream attention;
• accustom the beauty and spirit of the Ao Dai to the mainstream community;
• and educate younger generations of Vietnamese about the history of the Ao Dai and its significance relative to the Vietnamese culture.