CHANGE WITHIN REACH

Rise builds movements and communities, aiming for a society that is fairer and more equitable.
We bring change within reach, one issue at a time, in each community.

Vietnam Rise Officially Launches the "Helpdesk" Program

Vietnam Rise is pleased to launch a digital security helpdesk service. This helpdesk service is part of the Terali Project, a partnership of four civil society-focused helpdesks that aims to improve digital security for East and Southeast Asian civil society. Focal countries include Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Tibet, Cambodia, and Hongkong.

SMF Regional Roundtable: “Reimagining Youth Activism: How Youth Can Create Self-empowered Movements In Southeast Asia”

SMF is an annual event launched by Vietnam Rise in 2022 to create space for community organizers and movement builders to connect, celebrate grassroots successes and actions, exchange tactics, and collaborate on strengthening social movements across Southeast Asia. The theme was “Reimagining Youth Activism: How Youth Can Create Self-empowered Movements In Southeast Asia”.

Why Rise?

The civic space in Vietnam continues to deteriorate, particularly for those working to promote human rights and democracy. Environmental degradation and climate change is a multi-generational challenge. Rise believes that social movements are a powerful vehicle to create positive and lasting social and democratic change in Vietnam.

Solidarity in community

When individuals recognize their struggles are not solitary, they gain confidence to engage in community action. Rise provides training programs aimed at identifying and building capacity for local communities and movements.

changing mindset

Movements must be able to ignite social conscience, cultivate public indignation, and push public opinion to confront worsening social conditions. Rise works to change what no longer fits within ourselves, our families, and our communities.

taking creative action

The more innovative and accessible the actions, the greater community participation and public attention they garner. Creativity is essential both in offline activism and in utilizing online tools effectively.

Our Programs

Movement Building Training

Drawing from social movements from around the world and in Vietnam, Rise’s training curriculum combines in-person gatherings and virtual experiences to share best practices, strategies, and action to build people power.

Movement Incubation

Investing in people and initiatives to catalyze social change is Rise's top priority. We support movements by providing seed grants and coaching at all stages, from brainstorming to project implementation.

network building

Movements in Vietnam face complex challenges that no single entity can solve alone. Rise, in partnership with allied organizations, works directly with affected communities. Rise serves as a nexus to connect communities and forge solidarity. Learn more about our annual event Social Movement Festival.

Rise was founded and is led by three female activists drawing experience from movement building in Vietnam and around the world. Our team is comprised of community organizers, artists, human rights defenders.

Events

**Announcing the Launch of Vietnam Rise Fellowship Program for Social Movement Leaders in Vietnam**
We are excited to announce the launch of our **Fellowship Program,** an initiative designed to empower and strengthen grassroots leadership in Vietnam. This program aims to support activists who are driving social change by providing them with opportunities for cross-sector collaboration, skill-building, and coaching to enhance their leadership capacities.
The Fellowship Program offers a platform for community leaders at the forefront of social movements in Vietnam to connect, learn from one another, and gain access to resources. By fostering deep understanding and empathy across diverse movements, the program will help fellows build the skills needed to tackle the complex challenges facing their communities.

**Event Report: Cultivating Innovation for Social Movement Leadership NGO Roundtable**
In the context of a shrinking civic space in many parts of Southeast Asia, Vietnam Rise held a roundtable discussion, as part of the Social Movement Festival (SMF) 2023, for international NGOs, activists and community-based organisations on **“Sharing Innovative Leadership Approaches to Foster Grassroots Movements Across Southeast Asia.”** From the discussions on leadership challenges and emerging organising models and tactics, the need for collaboration and resource sharing amongst movement actors emerged as the key theme. As all participants expressed their wish to further the discussion, this report captures insights from the event which will form the basis for follow-up activities.

**Inside Vietnam’s Top-down Disinformation Campaign**
Angelina Trang Huỳnh, Executive Director of VietnamRise, a US-based organisation that seeks to promote social movements in Vietnam, shared that her organisation is the target of verbal attacks on Vietnamese official media.

"At first we did publicly address it, but then we stopped doing so because many young people don't really pay attention to state media. They know it’s state propaganda," said Huỳnh. "Nevertheless, this kind of propaganda, or disinformation, can be harmful if it gets repeated enough."

Learn more

**Rebuilding Communities In Flood-hit Areas: Need Assessment In the Central Region of Vietnam**
This report assesses the situation, difficulties and needs of people in flood zones based on Rise's field trip during the past flood event. Its goal is to review and propose practical projects on capacity-building and support the recóntruction of people's lives in flood zones, starting with their own needs. It is expected that the assessment of this report will help relief volunteer groups and civil society organizations to operate more effectively.

**“Sing For Our Heroes” Campaign Raised $200,390 to Support Front Line Healthcare Workers**
SBTN and Rise’s campaign has raised $200,390 to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers in the United States. These efforts were a culmination of an eight hour living room concert that featured more than 70 Vietnamese-American performing artists, airing nationwide on SBTN and live streamed on YouTube and Facebook.

About Vietnam Rise: Our Mission, Our Moment

Vietnam Rise was founded and is led by three female activists drawing from decades-long experience with movement building in Vietnam and human rights work around the world. In our past and current work, we have had rich collaboration and deep partnership with many civil society, human rights defenders, and advocacy organizations. However, we have also experienced government-sponsored smear campaigns that distort the nature of our work and attempts at silencing our activism.

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**How civil society groups and activists are planning to reclaim civic space in Vietnam**
The civic space restrictions in Vietnam have made it more difficult for human rights groups and activists to fulfill their work without being targeted by authorities. Despite the risks, several initiatives and campaigns aim to empower more people to exercise their rights and promote positive change in their communities. Among those actively advocating for reforms are members of the Vietnamese diaspora who are concerned about their homeland and are eager to study their heritage.

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**Regional NGO Roundtable Social Movement Festival 2025**
We are pleased to announce the Social Movement Festival (SMF) 2025, an annual event launched by Vietnam Rise that celebrates grassroots successes and actions, exchange strategies, and collaborate on strengthening social movements across Southeast Asia. SMF 2025 will be co-organized by Vietnam Rise, CALD Youth, and CSO Academy.

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**Dispatches from DRAPAC25: Vietnam Rise**
*This article is written by a program manager of* *Vietnam Rise, as part of their commitment under the fellowship programme of the 2025 Digital Rights Asia-Pacific Assembly (DRAPAC25). The DRAPAC25 Fellowship supported over 100 human rights defenders and other allied stakeholders to attend DRAPAC25,* *Open Tech Camp, and other side activities in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from August 26 to 28, 2025.*

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**Report Case study: workable practices in initiating and sustaining a labour rights movement in Vietnam**
We launched our report *Case study: workable practices in initiating and sustaining a labour rights movement in Vietnam* in Bangkok at the SMF 2025 Regional Roundtable event. This report was based on interviews with four members of a grassroots labour rights organisation which Vietnam Rise had been working with for three years.

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**From a manager of our young Fellows: ‘we’re not seeking an “ideal” outcome, we’re companions on the journey’**
As a Project Manager (PM) for Rise’s Fellowship Program, the thing I’ve learned the most hasn’t been about project plans or community impact, but about how to walk alongside fellows, alongside the growth of young people who are wrestling with how to address the social issues around them. Their ideal is to help build a better…

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**Growing into leadership: Khoa’s story**
As a program manager at Rise, I have the opportunity to walk alongside many young people who yearn to create positive change in Vietnamese society. Each person comes to Rise with a different story, starting point, and pace of growth. Among them, there is one individual who has left a particularly strong impression on me—Khoa (name changed).

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**Vietnam Rise officially opens applications for the Fellowship Program 2026 ‘Elevating leaders: nurturing inner strength, creating a future’**
In our continual quest to create sustainable change for the future, Rise is pleased to announce the launch of Fellowship Rise Season 2 for 2026. This program is our round of scholarships for leaders in social movements and a core part of Rise’s civil society building in Vietnam. This year’s theme is ‘elevating leaders…

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**Looking Back on Impact in 2025: Rise’s Companionship Amid Psychological Challenges Facing Young Changemakers**
I am a Fellowship Program Manager at Rise. My work involves accompanying and supporting Fellows participating in the Fellowship program. In 2025, I managed projects related to community mental health and capacity building for students. This piece is a reflection on my 2025 Fellowship journey…

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**SMF Regional Roundtable: “Reimagining Youth Activism: How Youth Can Create Self-empowered Movements In Southeast Asia”**
SMF is an annual event launched by Vietnam Rise in 2022 to create space for community organizers and movement builders to connect, celebrate grassroots successes and actions, exchange tactics, and collaborate on strengthening social movements across Southeast…

Learn more

**SMF 2025 Regional Roundtable Unites Southeast Asian Youth Activists in Bangkok**
The event featured a panel discussion among three youth activists from Malaysia, Nepal and Myanmar. They shared their personal journeys into activism and how they handle the ever-changing environments in their respective countries. All three speakers focused on the importance of resilience to negative pressure, awareness of colonialist narratives, and…

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**Social security isn’t just a policy on paper – A Rise-Supported Project in 2025**
For people in mountainous villages, natural disasters have become a familiar part of life rather than exceptional events. As a result, “social security” (“an sinh xã hội”) can sometimes feel like a distant concept. In reality, policies do exist and official documents are in place, but for a household recovering from floods, knowing *what* support they are entitled to, *what* …

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Vietnam Rise Officially Launches the "Helpdesk" Program

Vietnam Rise is pleased to launch a digital security helpdesk service. This helpdesk service is part of the Terali Project, a partnership of four civil society-focused helpdesks that aims to improve digital security for East and Southeast Asian civil society. Focal countries include Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Tibet, Cambodia…

Learn more

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CHANGE WITHIN REACH

Rise builds movements and communities, aiming for a society that is fairer and more equitable. We bring change within reach, one issue at a time, in each community.

Why Rise?

Solidarity in community

changing mindset

taking creative action

Our Programs

Movement Building Training

Movement Incubation

network building

Rise was founded and is led by three female activists drawing experience from movement building in Vietnam and around the world. Our team is comprised of community organizers, artists, human rights defenders.

Events

Get Involved

Participate

Contribute

Rise builds movements and communities, aiming for a society that is fairer and more equitable.
We bring change within reach, one issue at a time, in each community.