It is a great honor for me to extend to you, on behalf of the organizing committee, our most sincere thanks for your contribution to the seminar for Vietnamese-Canadian women. In particular, we would like to thank the Canadian Heritage of Multiculturalism and of Status of Women, whose moral and financial support encouraged the organization of this symposium for the Vietnamese Canadian from across the country. 

 As you can see from the workshop program, there are many interesting subjects, such as problems of socio-economic adaptation for newly immigrated Asians. Despite these difficulties and so many problems in the integration needed to be addressed, we still consider this seminar is a stepping stone in finding the solution for the problem, and discussing social and cultural adaptation for Vietnamese women. 

However, there remains a number of problem which need to be addressed-  problems which at times do not pertain exclusively to the Vietnamese community in Canada, but to other ethnic groups as well. We hope that with active participation between each and every one of us in the discussions, we can find new means to come to the aid of women who face two responsibilities : their work and their family. 

Once again,  I would like to thank you for your participation in today and I wish you all a successful workshop.

 On behalf of the VCF, I would like to extent our heartfelt welcome to this conference on Vietnamese Women in Canada, organized in the wake of the International Women’s Day and the Trung Sisters’s Day. The theme of this conference is the integration of Vietnamese women into the new Canadian society. 

 Since the fall of Vietnam to the communist regime in 1975, over two millions of our compatriots had been forced to flee the country in the search for freedom. We have adopted the new countries as our second homelands, where we have started our life anew, established our families and brought up our children. 

Although circumstances are slightly different, the Vietnamese refugee women of today are still living examples of virtue of personal sacrifice by the Vietnamese women described throughout history. This noble image of the Vietnamese mother is symbolized by the Monument at the corner of Preston and Somerset streets, right in the centre of this nation’s capital, which depicts a Vietnamese refugee woman with her child in flight to freedom. 

 However, in the Vietnamese society, as in many others, women are abused, discriminated and relegated to lower status. In the past, these cases were regarded as domestic problems and were not dealt with by legislation. In Canada, our second homeland, women’s rights are protected by the law. Men and women are given equal opportunity for personal freedom, advancement and independence. No longer regulated by public opinion alone, as in our former homeland. Here, the status and protection of women are guaranteed by the law, and what were considered to be domestic affairs are now dealt with according to the law. 

These and other integration issues facing Vietnamese refugee and immigrant women form the main topics for discussion in this workshop. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Status of Women and Multiculturalism of the Canadian Heritage for its support in establishing these workshops to be taken place. 

Ladies and Gentlemen 

 I have the pleasure and the honor of declaring this workshop open. I wish you all every success in your deliberations. 

Thank you.