HRH Prince Joachim visits Laos
HRH Prince Joachim, in his role as patron of CARE Denmark, visits development projects in Laos from 11-18 November 2014.
HRH Prince Joachim will, during the visit, be introduced to challenges and solutions in relation to climate change in Laos and visit a Danish textile factory that operates with social responsibility.
CARE’s project in northern Laos has as its goal arming poor farmers to fight against climate catastrophes, which to an increasing degree threaten the basis of their lives by ruining the crops. The project helps 78,000 people in the mountains. The project helps to introduce the farmers to improved cultivation methods and crops that can better withstand changes in the climate.
To ensure that agriculture can give the farmers a profit, the project will create contact between the farmers on the one hand and sellers of, among other things, seed grain as well as buyers of their farm products on the other hand.
ProgrammeVientiane
Dinner at Makphet Restaurant
18.00
HRH Prince Joachim participates in a dinner with CARE at a non-profit restaurant, which is run by Friends International and the Laos Ministry of Social Welfare, to focus on street children and youths in Laos.
Oudomxay
Visit at Oudomxay meteorological station
14.30
The Prince visits a meteorological station in Oudomxay that focuses on procuring information about weather and communicating it for use in the provinces in connection with adaptation to climate changes.
Samphan District, Phongsaly
Visit in CARE local community
The Prince visits a local community in the Samphan district, where CARE Laos has made estimates about the vulnerability of the climate through the Northern Uplands - Promoting Climate Resilience (NU-PCR) project. The day focuses on how those in the local population grasp the climate changes in their area and the consequences that involves. Furthermore, the Prince is introduced to sustainable farm production and village planning that demonstrate how new methods of agriculture can make the population more resistant to the changes in the climate.
Khua District, Phongsaly
Visit in CARE local community
The Prince visits a local community in the Khua district, where CARE Laos has made estimates about the vulnerability of the climate through the Northern Uplands - Promoting Climate Resilience (NU-PCR) project. The day focuses on how those in the local population grasp the climate changes in their area and the consequences that involves. Similar to the visit in the Samphan district, the Prince is introduced to sustainable farm production and village planning.
Luang Prabang
Boat trip from Khua to Nong Khiew
13.30
The Prince sails from the town of Khua and will, during the tour on the Nam Ou River, inspect the river landscape.
Visit at Wat Xieng Thung
15.00
The Prince visits Wat Xieng Thung, which is Luang Prabang’s most visited monastery. The visit will focus on some of Laos’ important cultural landmarks.
Visit at Royal Palace Museum
16.30
The Prince visits the Royal Palace Museum. The palace was built for the then-king in 1904 and was converted into a national museum in 1975. The exhibition contains, among other things, a gift from Prince Axel of Denmark from his visit in 1956.
Visit at Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre (TAEC)
18.30
The Prince visits the centre, which tells about the different ethnic cultures in northern Laos.
Phoukhoun District, Xieng Khuong
Visit at UXO Laos
12.00
The Prince visits a Lao National Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) programme and, during the visit, will be shown how Laos works to unearth and dispose of unexploded bombs and ammunition.
Visit at Mine Advisory Group (MAG) Visitor Centre and Quality of Life
15.00
During the visit, the Prince will be introduced to the story about the consequences of unexploded bombs in Laos and the work done to support the local communities. The visitor centre tells the story about MAG, which is a humanitarian organization that has cleared unexploded bombs in Laos since 1994.
Phonsavan, Xieng Khuong
Visit at Plain of Jars
09.00
The Prince visits the Plain of Jars, which includes areas with groups of large, historical stone jars of unknown origin.
Vientiane
Visit at COPE centre
13.00
The Prince visits COPE centre, which was established in 2008. During the visit, the Prince will be introduced to the story about and the consequences of unexploded bombs in Laos and the work to support the local communities. Beside the centre, the Prince visits a clinic that helps victims of unexploded bombs, among other ways by the help of new artificial limbs.
Dinner
19.00
The Prince participates in a dinner with Danish residents in Vientiane and others.
Vientiane
Briefing on CARE’s MACPUW Program and Laos Trade Union activities
08.00
The Prince attends a briefing about CARE’s Protections and Choice for Marginalised Urban Women (MACPUW) Programme and Laos Trade Union activities concerning factory workers. The objective is to shed light on the challenges surrounding work done by female factory employees in the textile industry. The briefing also focuses on how CARE and partners work to support them.
Visit at Vientiane Youth Centre
09.00
The Prince visits Vientiane Youth Centre, which is run by the Lao Women’s Union. The CARE programme refers factory workers to the centre and its mobile clinic. The clinic offers young men and women guidance about and treatment of common reproductive disorders.
Visit at the Danish clothing factory MASCOT
14.00
The Prince visits the Danish-owned company MASCOT, which focuses on high standards in the work environment for the factory workers. During the visit, the Prince will inaugurate MASCOT’s new health programme for the personnel.
