Press Release - "Plastic Talk" - Looking for innovative environmental communication products

According to the survey results of GreenHub (2021) in a project of the World Bank in 10 coastal cities and provinces in Vietnam, 93.6% of waste discharged into the environment is plastics.

The 10 most common types of waste that are released into the environment are Soft plastic pieces (which are decomposed from plastic bags); Fishing gear 1 (rope, pieces of net, lure, fishing line, hard plastic buoy); Fishing gear 2 (Floating foam buoy, foam box); Plastic bags (with capacity from 0-5kg); Styrofoam containers; hard plastic pieces ; Plastic straw; Food packaging (instant noodles); Packaging for confectionery products and Other plastics (diapers, ..).

Due to this context, VSF and GreenHub decided to co-organize the contest "Plastic talk" with the aim of finding creative and pervasive communication products to the community. The contest is accompanied by the group "Green Eyes - Youth for Environment". The winning products will be used in non-profit communication activities about environmental protection and sustainable development. Through this activity, the contest hopes to raise awareness of young people and the community on reducing plastic waste, encouraging small and practical actions on environmental protection; as well as arouse the passion and creativity of the youth with communication products on the topic of plastic waste.

Vietnamese citizens aged 16-30 years old can register for the contest individually or as a group (maximum 3 members), with multiple entries/authors. Communication products need to demonstrate one of the following contents, including: the current status of environmental pollution in general and the plastic waste in particular; the impact of plastic pollution on human life and health; an appeal to reduce plastic waste and take action to protect the environment in the community; encouragements and solution to make positive contributions to the environmental protection and sustainable development of organizations and individuals.

The contest products are aimed at 2 target groups: 1) Organizations and businesses, including: Supermarkets, restaurants/diners, hotels, cafes, food and beverage manufacturers, and manufacturers packing. 2) Individuals are: pupils, students, young workers (under 40 years old) in urban areas and rural areas, and tourists.

Authors can submit one of the following forms:

✔ Short films, reportage, motion graphics

✔ Comics, paintings, posters, photos

✔ Podcasts

Each category will have 1 first prize, 1 second prize and 1 third prize which are worth VND 5 million, VND 3 million VND, VND 2 million VND in cash respectively and gifts from the organizers. In addition, a single prize worth VND 2 million will be awarded to the product which  has the highest interaction and support by the online community through three rounds of competition. The winning products will be featured in media, environmental publications of stakeholders.

Entries can be submitted online or directly to the organizers from July 15 to August 31, 2021. The results will be announced on October 22, 2021 and the award ceremony is expected to take place at the end of October 2021. During the application to call for entries, the organizers will post a clip of training on plastic knowledge and conduct a Livestream named "Ask me anything" to answer questions about the contest on the Green Eyes fanpage (https://www.facebook.com/matxanh2020).

Detailed rules and register form

Ms. Tran Thi Nhu Trang - Director of For Vietnamese Stature Foundation said: "Continuing the activities to encourage the participation of young people in solving environmental problems over the past year, For Vietnamese Stature Foundation launches the contest to find innovative communication products about the environment. In the process of brainstorming ideas and looking for cooperation opportunities, we are very pleased to receive the response of Centre for Supporting Green Development - GreenHub. The contest PLASTIC TALK is the first activity of both sides in the long-term cooperation program: "We Connect for Green". We hope the contest will bring many creative communication products to help communication activities about plastic waste achieve high efficiency and have a positive impact on the community. After the contest, the two sides will continue to implement a communication campaign for plastic waste reduction in many provinces and cities across the country. The winning products will be used and widely spread in this campaign.”

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Trang - Deputy Director of Centre for Supporting Green Development (GreenHub) said: "The contest PLASTIC TALK - the first activity within the framework of the program "We Connect for Green" has attracted the participation and companionship of many stakeholders, from international organizations, domestic NGOs, to Vietnamese and multinational enterprises which operate in many fields. This shows the community's interest in plastic waste. We hope that through various forms of communication, the message of reducing plastic waste and acting for Vietnam's green development will be widely spread in the community and a greener Vietnam will no longer be a dream. Our activity is implemented in the framework of the project "Reducing plastic pollution with local solutions (Local Solutions for Plastic Pollution)" funded by the United States Agency for International Development from 2020-2023 .