WHAT WE DO
As an established chamber of over 10 years standing, AusCham, HCMC is proud of its status within the business and social community in Vietnam. Our aim is to form bridges between Australia and Vietnam and to enhance the mutually beneficial relationships between our members and between the cultures and communities of these two nations. Our chamber has three key focuses: business activities, community initiatives, and member services.
Business Activities
AusCham Vietnam hosts a wide range of business activities to ensure members receive the very best of support. To keep you up to date with the latest business issues and to meet other members of the Chamber, we hold monthly Business Essentials Seminars and networking events.
Our Australian Business Awards (ABA) are a prestigious acknowledgement of the success of Australian business and individuals in Vietnam. For details on this year’s events and applications, please visit www.auschamvn.org.
AusCham Masquerade Ball 2009 – HCM City
A ballroom cocooned in black satin, immense glittered masks floating serenely above spot lit tables, and towering black vases adorned with plumes of almost luminescent lustrous white feathers – this was the striking setting for AusCham’s annual ball, held at the newly opened Intercontinental Asiana Saigon on Saturday 19th September 2009.
Over the years, the event has grown into one of the stars of Saigon’s social calendar, earning a well-deserved reputation as one of the top nights out of the year. But it’s not just Vietnam’s glitterati that count down the days to the dance - the AusCham Ball is also one of the city’s premier fundraisers, and this year some of Quang Nam’s most disadvantaged youths are set to receive a much needed boost from the event. This year’s nominated charity was the Kianh Foundation, a UK-based charity that provides special education and physiotherapy to children with disabilities.
The magnificent décor was only upstaged by the efforts of the guests themselves. In typical AusCham tradition everyone dressed up for the occasion, either opting for classic black tie and body-swathing cocktail dresses, or getting creative with fancy dress. This year’s elaborate yet intimate dinner was exuberantly praised by all. A menu of succulent Barramundi or tender beef was served, with raffle and silent auction winners announced as guests enjoyed their food.
At 9.30pm local music personality Juram took to the stage with three brass and two female singers to kick off the evening’s cabaret-style entertainment, bringing everyone to their feet and onto the dance floor in 10 minutes with a mix of energetic floor fillers. From midnight DJ Jase took the helm, laying down smooth grooves, 80s classics, and pop, funk, electro and rock singles that spanned the decades, keeping the party going until the wee hours.
Big Day Out 2009 – HCM City
Australian rock ‘n’ roll legend Jimmy Barnes screamed at a cheering crowd of hundreds of expatriates of all ages at the Big Day Out event on Saturday 4th April at Van Thanh Park in Ho Chi Minh City’s Binh Thanh district.
The veteran rocker, who first launched his music career in 1973, played some of this greatest hits and crowd-pleasers Cheap Wine, Working Class Man and Choir Girl, many of which have become anthems for several generations of Aussies. Van Thanh Park echoed with the voices of the crowd singing along to the highly-anticipated and most infamous of Barnes’ tunes, Khe Sanh.
Besides the headlining act in the evening, the day was filled with live music from Filipino outfit The Rat Pack, Carmen Band, DJ Jase and XoneFM. There were an array of Australiana activities for kids and families including a Wet and Wild pool, mini Olympics, face painting, rock climbing and a circus; and a smorgasbord of Aussie food and drink – ice cream, barbequed beef, Fosters Beer and great Australian wines for everyone.
One former Melbourne resident quipped, “This has been a fantastic day – a very Australian day. The music is first-class, the food is fantastic and the kids are having a ball. They love the pony rides. We’ll be back again next year.”
Proceeds from the Big Day Out event, which is named after the annual summer music festival in Australia, will be donated to charity under AusCham’s Charitable Program, which supports various charities such as Sunrise School and Saigon Children’s Charity most recently.
Big Day Out, formerly known as Australia Day is AusCham’s premier family event. It usually falls on or around the official day of Australia (Australia Day, January 26) and is a celebration for Australians living in Vietnam who are hankering for a bit of culture from Down Under.
AusCham - Charitable Program
Community Initiatives: Supporting the community in which we live and work
Objectives:
- To fund sustainable (where appropriate) charitable projects that aim to alleviate poverty, raise living standards, create opportunities or provide crisis relief in affected communities.
- To add value to our members’ corporate charitable programmes by assisting in identifying local partners and charitable projects compatible with the objectives of such programmes.
2006-2008 Program
Infection Control at Binh Dan Hospital - Ho Chi Minh City
• Funding and support for Dr Kim from Binh Dan Hospital to undertake a hospital infection control training in Geelong, Australia.
• Dr Kim is using his knowledge to improve infection control practices and medical staff skills in HCMC.
Connecting Communities Vietnam (CCV) Cow Bank - Mekong Delta
• Funding and support for CCV to provide cows to 50 families living below the poverty line in Hiep Hung
• Commune, Hau Giang Province.
• Selling the calves will generate additional income for families to allow their children to attend school.
• CCV is also implementing projects in the areas of health and short term income generation in the same commune.
Surgery for Ethnic Minority Children - Central Highlands
• Family Medical Practice and Interplast Australia completed free plastic surgery on four ethnic minority children with serious congenital abnormalities.
• AusCham funded travel, food and accommodation costs for the children and their families.
Asia Injury Prevention Foundation - Ho Chi Minh City
• Funding to supply 855 bicycle helmets and road safety education to the students and teachers of Truong Dinh Primary School in HCMC.
Heart Reach Australia Child Sponsorship Program - Mekong Delta
• Funding for 30 needy children in Ben Tre Province.
• Sponsorship covers the costs of school attendance, medical needs, food and clothing.
CLAN (Caring and Living as Neighbours): Diabetes Club – HCMC
• Assisted in funding the establishment of a diabetes club to educate and support the parents of children living with diabetes in Vietnam, including by providing free insulin.
2008-2009 Program
Loreto Vietnam Australia Program – Ground Breaking Ceremony for Sunrise Special School II
A long awaited day arrived morning of the 20th February, when LVAP, joined by Australian Consul Graeme Swift and Vice Consul Chantelle Woodford, made the first dig into the grounds where a remarkable plan is now to construct Sunrise Special School 2. Soon to be a place of schooling for intellectually challenged children in vocational training, this project holds a strong objective to inspire our disadvantaged but deserving children, to claim recognition as they assert ambition and meaning in life. It is a goal of Loreto Program to give them support to make contributions in their community.
LVAP: Contributing towards a school bus for Sunrise School II.
Sunrise School II supports intellectually disabled children through education and vocational training and works in partnership with the Education Department of Tan Phu District.
AusCham’s contribution to the acquisition of school bus will benefit students and teachers at both Sunrise School I and Sunrise School II in providing safe and reliable transportation, will facilitate collaboration between the two campuses and will increase opportunities for both teachers and students to participate in excursions and other activities in HCMC.
The new school bus seats a capacity of 34 children, is brightly colored and has the logos of donors near the side door.The bus cheerfully bears the name of the school as well.
Birthing Kits Foundation (Australia) (BKFA) “Community Development Programme-Southern Vietnam”
BKFA’s 5-day course educates village nurses / traditional birth attendants in the use of birthing kits, general midwifery, hygiene, nutrition and health training. Attendees receive educational booklets written in Vietnamese. BKFA works with local provincial health authorities to target the most needy communes and co-ordinates the training programme.
BKFA has been working in partnership with NGO, The Centre for Ecologically Sustainable Agriculture (CENESA) for 3 years. It has delivered this programme in Hanoi and some northern provinces and wishes to extend the geographical scope of the programme to southern Vietnam through the support of AusCham.
Saigon Children’s Charity (SCC) “Working With Others”
“Working With Others” has been developed by SCC to help disabled children build a better life though education and rehabilitation. The programme works with small-scale local Vietnamese organisations running projects that create or strengthen educational opportunities for disabled children. These specialist organisations apply to “Working with Others” for small-scale funding or project advice.
Looking ahead to 2009, AusCham is committed to supporting a range of NGO and charitable organisations actively making a difference in the communities they support.
KOTO - "Know one, Teach one"
KOTO is a not-for-profit restaurant and vocational training program that is changing the lives of street and disadvantaged youth in Vietnam. KOTO has grown to enable disadvantage young people, not just in Vietnam but in many other countries, to live happy, healthy, confident and prosperous lives.
The Kianh Foundation
The Kianh Foundation is a small UK charity helping disabled and disadvantaged children at Hoi An Orphanage in Hoi An, Central Vietnam. It has had a permanent presence at Hoi An Orphanage since 2002 and is the only organisation working full-time there to improve the lives of the children.
AusCham Masquerade Ball 2009 donates to Kianh Foundation all proceeds from both the raffles and silent auctions.
AusCham Typhoon Appeal
At least 48 people died or were missing in Vietnam’s central region and 40 others were injured in severe flooding caused by Typhoon Ketsana, the ninth tropical storm to hit the country this season. The Commonwealth Bank of Australia is honoured to support AusCham Vietnam with this initiative to assist the people of central Vietnam in rebuilding their homes, communities and lives following the devastation caused by the recent typhoon.
AusCham also initiated a donation program for victims of the typhoon with allocated drop off points to receive the donated items such as clothes/food/bedding etc, which were subsequently shipped to the devastated areas by the assistance of Crown Relocations. The total fund contributed is more than VND67,000,000.