Key Note Speakers
Michael Brosowski AM
CNN Hero
Member of the Order of Australia
Michael Brosowski, 39, is the founder and CEO of Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation in Vietnam.
Michael grew up in Sydney and studied high school rural north west NSW. Living in considerable hardship – first in the city and later on an isolated, outback farm – he experienced first hand the deprivations and social stigma associated with unemployment and poverty.
After completing an Arts/Education degree at the University of NSW, Michael worked as an English and ESL for four years before returning to UNSW to work in the Gifted Education Centre while studying a Masters of Education.
In 2002, Michael moved to Vietnam and established Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation in response to the overwhelming needs of street children in Hanoi. With no experience or funding, the early days were extremely difficult, but with help from local people who shared Michael’s concern for child welfare, Blue Dragon soon began to take on a life of its own.
Blue Dragon now serves the needs of more than 1600 highly disadvantaged children around Vietnam, including children and youth who have been trafficked; street children; and children with disabilities.
Michael and his organisation have pioneered new approaches to helping children in crisis in Vietnam, including case-based Social Work interventions, and grassroots legal advocacy services.
For more information about Michael, please read the CNN Hero article Giving Vietnam's Street Kids a Chance.
Mimi Vu
Pacific Links Foundation
Mimi Vu joined Pacific Links Foundation as the Director of Advocacy & Strategic Partnerships in 2013. Previously, she was the Director of Development for the VinaCapital Foundation and development officer for East Meets West Foundation. Previously, Mimi spent six years in New York City and Paris, where she worked in public relations, development, and advocacy for nonprofits such as the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, the Council of Fashion Designers of America, and the Fund for Public Health in New York. Mimi has undergraduate degrees in English Literature and French from the University of Michigan and an MPA in International Nonprofit Policy and Management from New York University.
CNN Hero
Member of the Order of Australia
Michael Brosowski, 39, is the founder and CEO of Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation in Vietnam.
Michael grew up in Sydney and studied high school rural north west NSW. Living in considerable hardship – first in the city and later on an isolated, outback farm – he experienced first hand the deprivations and social stigma associated with unemployment and poverty.
After completing an Arts/Education degree at the University of NSW, Michael worked as an English and ESL for four years before returning to UNSW to work in the Gifted Education Centre while studying a Masters of Education.
In 2002, Michael moved to Vietnam and established Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation in response to the overwhelming needs of street children in Hanoi. With no experience or funding, the early days were extremely difficult, but with help from local people who shared Michael’s concern for child welfare, Blue Dragon soon began to take on a life of its own.
Blue Dragon now serves the needs of more than 1600 highly disadvantaged children around Vietnam, including children and youth who have been trafficked; street children; and children with disabilities.
Michael and his organisation have pioneered new approaches to helping children in crisis in Vietnam, including case-based Social Work interventions, and grassroots legal advocacy services.
For more information about Michael, please read the CNN Hero article Giving Vietnam's Street Kids a Chance.
Mimi Vu
Pacific Links Foundation
Mimi Vu joined Pacific Links Foundation as the Director of Advocacy & Strategic Partnerships in 2013. Previously, she was the Director of Development for the VinaCapital Foundation and development officer for East Meets West Foundation. Previously, Mimi spent six years in New York City and Paris, where she worked in public relations, development, and advocacy for nonprofits such as the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, the Council of Fashion Designers of America, and the Fund for Public Health in New York. Mimi has undergraduate degrees in English Literature and French from the University of Michigan and an MPA in International Nonprofit Policy and Management from New York University.