Hanoi – Generation Change https://blogs.dw.com/generationchange Whether they are campaigning for free press in Zimbabwe, helping provide clean water in India, or offering free music lessons to underprivileged kids in the UK, young people all over the world are making a difference. Wed, 16 Nov 2016 16:49:27 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 Lesbian activist speaks out in Vietnam https://blogs.dw.com/generationchange/2013/07/lesbian-activist-speaks-out-in-vietnam/ Tue, 16 Jul 2013 12:02:23 +0000 http://blogs.dw.com/generationchange/?p=3661 Nguyen Thanh Tam from Saigon is a lesbian. But being gay in Vietnam is not accepted and not easy. She felt so much discrimination and lack of acceptance that she even considered suicide – until she was encouraged by a teacher to come out. She wanted to help others like her avoid the pain and rejection she had felt, so she decided to raise awareness about homosexuality by organizing a gay pride festival, Viet Pride, in Hanoi. It took place last year for the first time. Tam and the other organizers learned a lot from the first event and are working really hard to make Viet Pride 2013 even better.

Listen to the report by Marianne Brown in Hanoi:

Lesbian activist speaks out in Vietnam

Nguyen Thanh Tam

For Nguyen Thanh Tam, coming out took a lot of courage (Photo: Viet Pride)

Viet Pride 2012

Participants at Viet Pride 2012 rode bicycles so the authorities wouldn’t feel threatened (Photo: Marianne Brown)

Viet Pride 2012

The Vietnamese word for a gay person implies that it is a disease – something campaigners are trying to change (Photo: Marianne Brown)

Viet Pride 2012

Campaigners are changing their slogan this year to “Right to love is a human right” (Photo: Marianne Brown)

Here’s the Viet Pride website.

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