Vietnamplify is a movement for human rights in Vietnam started by a group of young Canadians of mixed ethnicity who have a strong sense of justice and who wish to fight for a better future for the generations to come in Vietnam. We invite people of all political beliefs, religion, age, sex, etc. to come to our conference at Concordia University and join us in a march on the streets of downtown (starting on St Catherine, in front of Concordia University, to Square Phillips).
1. Our Mission
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To raise awareness to people around the world about the human rights situation in Vietnam, with an emphasis on the oppression of freedom of speech.
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To promote human rights to young Canadians.
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To put the Vietnamese government under international pressure until they have accepted and respected the recommendations given by the United Nations Human Rights Council for creating an environment that upholds human rights.
2. Our Vision
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We represent human rights with a special focus on freedom of expression in Vietnam. We envision a Vietnam in which the citizens can finally protest, march peacefully, voice their opinions, and create art without fear of censorship or emprisonment.
3. Why Vietnam
In 2016, Vietnam was classified as the 175th out of 180 countries in the world for media freedom, according to Reporters without Borders. Despite the fact that freedom of expression should be granted under Article 25 in the constitution of Vietnam, the state continues to exercise tight control over media, the judicial system and political institutions. The Communist Party of Vietnam continues to repress any pacific criticism of the pollical governments. The situation continues to worsen with the recent Penal Code dating back to 2015, which added further significant restrictions to freedom of expression online, allowing the state to imprison over 29 netizens.
Because citizens of Vietnam cannot freely express their opinion without risking their safety, we want to encourage different international communities throughout the world to take advantage of their liberty of expression to support them. It is important to emphasise that the international Vietnamese communities, in particular, are important in Canada, the United States, in France and in Australia.
4. Why you should come!
If you believe in the necessity of basic human rights and freedoms, then you should be at our conference. The human rights violations in Vietnam are a part of a greater struggle to achieving global socio-political standards. The rights that we so often trivialise or take for granted in Canada (i.e. the right to protest, the right to political gathering, the right to opinion on any media platform) are virtually non-existent in Vietnam. We must provide a voice for those who don’t have one. So, please join us in spreading awareness to make the issues in Vietnam a modern topic of discussion, by coming to our conference and marching in the streets!!
Date and Time
Location
Concordia University – H-110 – Sir George Williams Campus
1455 de Maisonneuve Boulevard West
Montreal, QC H3G1M8