ILO Viet Nam

ILO chief technical advisor receives Government medal for contributions to child labour prevention in Viet Nam

On his last day as ILO Viet Nam’s chief technical advisor, Minoru Ogasawara was awarded a medal for his efforts in the fight against child labour in Viet Nam.

News | 04 March 2019
HANOI (ILO News) -- Minoru Ogasawara, former chief technical advisor of ILO Viet Nam’s child labour project was awarded a Government medal for the cause of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs in Hanoi on 27 February.

The prestigious medal recognized his significant contributions to the fight against child labour in Viet Nam through his leadership of the ENHANCE project (Technical Support for Enhancing the National Capacity to Prevent and Reduce Child Labour in Viet Nam).

Leading the award ceremony, Deputy Vice Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, Nguyen Thi Ha, praised the child labour specialist’s instrumental role in the completion of the second National Child Labour Survey and his advocacy efforts to promote Viet Nam’s status as a pathfinder country for Global Alliance 8.7 to achieve target 8.7 (of the Sustainable Development Goals) of eliminating forced labour, modern slavery, human trafficking and child labour.

“We hope that Mr Ogasawara’s experiences in Viet Nam will help him support and protect other children around the world,” said the Vice Minister.

Speaking on behalf of ILO Viet Nam, senior labour economist, Valentina Barcucci noted that the event represented a day of great pride for both Ogasawara and the ILO as a whole.

The child labour specialist expressed his sincere appreciation for the award, thanked his colleagues for their vital support and remarked on the “priceless lessons” learnt from his professional experiences in Viet Nam.

“Because of Viet Nam’s advanced position in the fight against child labour, my experiences here will prove extremely useful to the cause in Africa,” he said.

After nearly four years in Hanoi, Ogasawara is taking his expertise to West Africa, where he will continue to work with ILO in the same area.