International Women’s Day 2026

Today March 8, 2026, Chúng Ta Cùng Nhau marks International Women’s Day. This is a day to recognize women for who and what they are, what they have given and continue to give, to create a better, more equitable world.

Our mothers, sisters, friends.

Our partners, colleagues and leaders.

Our community space makers, and neighbourhood safe keepers.

Our hope givers, and cheerleaders. 

Ourselves.

When we think about women, Vietnamese-women specifically, we think about the suffering, strength, sacrifices that our mothers, grandmothers, aunts, friends and family endured 50 years ago during the Fall of Saigon, and of course, long before that. The impossible choices Vietnamese women were forced to make for the good of their families. Balancing cultural and generational demands and expectations while trying to shape and assert their own identities. What it meant to start over here in Canada, the many challenges, hardships, they faced so that the next generation of women could live a better, freer, life. We think about the resilience of the Vietnamese-Edmonton community and the work the second generation carries in order to care gently and respectfully, for our elders and our youth. We think about bridging the gap, mending the trauma, and forging our own paths. All the while doing it with kindness, love, joy, conviction (and a bit of spice 😉). We are blazing a trail that our ancestors could never have imagined.

Photographs taken by Emily Weltz, Jerry Jin, Dawn Graves, Linda Hoang, and David Thao Nguyen

On International Women’s Day, we recognize the work that continues to be done by women for women, for the better of this world, and we are committed to continue that work, to support all that needs to happen to build a safer, loved, balanced and equitable community for all but especially Vietnamese women.

We also acknowledge and thank the many women who have shown up for the Vietnamese-Edmonton community since our arrival in the city, and particularly the women who have shown up to Chúng Ta Cùng Nhau spaces since we began our efforts to bring the community together last fall.

Happy International Women’s day from the Chúng Ta Cùng Nhau family.

May you celebrate and uplift the women in your lives today and every day.