Cam Nguyen inspires Yarra women

 Cam Nguyen, the head of Richmond’s Australian Vietnamese Women’s Association, has been named Yarra’s Inspirational Woman of the Year.

Ms Nguyen was singled out from a strong field of community nominations thanks to her 30-year commitment to supporting vulnerable members of the Yarra community, particularly refugees and women.

A founding member of the Australian Vietnamese Women's Association, Ms Nguyen played a critical role in developing the organisation from a support service for newly arrived Vietnamese refugees to providing an extensive range of community services for people from all cultural backgrounds.

The award comes as Australia prepares to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, which caused thousands of Vietnamese people flee their homeland for Australia.

This period of post-war migration in the late 1970s saw the Vietnamese community grow to become the largest non-English speaking community in Yarra, a title it still holds to this day.

Recognition of Ms Nguyen’s leadership and sense of purpose came at a lunchtime ceremony held at Collingwood Town Hall on Wednesday 4 March to acknowledge International Women’s Day.

The ceremony, which was attended by over 200 people, also featured a panel of guest speakers invited to discuss gender equality, female employment and empowering women to lead change.

Now in its second year, the Inspirational Women of Yarra Award celebrates the unique and important contribution women make to the Yarra community.

This year’s award featured 29 nominations for women with decorated records in their respective areas of expertise, with each woman nominated demonstrating a long serving dedication and generosity of spirit to helping others in the Yarra community.

Source: http://www.yarracity.vic.gov.au/hot-topics/yarra-women/