UNICEF East Asia and Pacific’s Post

At just 20, Lương Thị Bạch Dương is turning her childhood struggles into solutions for her community in Viet Nam. Through UPSHIFT 2025, UNICEF’s social innovation program with AIESEC, her team Seeds of Hope is working to revive traditional Khmer crafts to generate jobs for women, elders, and people with disabilities. The goal is to help families gain stability, so that children have the chance to stay in school and thrive. But for Dương, the real win is not just the project: it’s discovering her voice, her confidence, and her role as a changemaker. This is where cross-sector collaboration matters: when business, government and civil society align, young innovators like Dương can scale solutions that strengthen community resilience. UNICEF Viet Nam Raweekarn (Paopao) Amarachgul Mirjana Unčanin Ticiana Garcia-Tapia