Press release sharing workshop of the "Youth for Environment" project

22/05/2020

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On 27 May 2020, For Vietnamese Stature Foundation organized a workshop to share the information about the "Youth for Environment" project at the Women and Development Centre, No. 20 Thuy Khue, Tay Ho, Hanoi. The workshop aims to share the current situation of the environment in Vietnam and the role of young people in addressing environmental issues. In addition, the project also officially launched a communication channel called "Green Eyes", the core team of "Green Eyes", and introduced the Initiative Fund "For Clean Air - Green City". This workshop is part of the "Youth for Environment" project - the only project in Vietnam to receive funding from Asia Pacific Media Grant 2020 (Earth Journalism Network ) and Bac A Commercial Joint Stock Bank.

Attending the event were representatives of businesses, non-governmental organizations, researchers, activists, press and television news agencies. Along with that were the young people from the "Youth for Environment" project, and many other young people dedicated to environmental issues and interest in the project.

The "Youth for the Environment" project - For Vietnamese Stature Foundation has overcome 82 candidates in the Asia-Pacific region to be in the top 13 initiatives from 9 countries received funding from EJN in 2020.

According to the evaluation report in 2019 of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Vietnam ranked 4th place worldwide in the amount of plastic waste in the ocean, with about 0.28 - 0.73 million tons per year. Meanwhile, many young Vietnamese have not really cared about and participated in solving environmental issues. There have been some small groups of young people who actively mobilizing the community to contribute to the environment, however, they have not attracted the attention and support of other young people and stakeholders.

The project will help young people build a communication channel on environmental issues and build partnerships, connect with other stakeholders such as policy makers, journalists, researchers, activists and businesses, to mobilize resources to solve environmental issues together.

The main activities of the project include: Establishing a core team, operating the "Green Eyes" fanpage, training to strengthen the capacity of young people, holding dialogues with stakeholders; communicate environmental issues through documentary films and sponsor youth environmental initiatives.

Sharing the reasons for choosing the For Vietnamese Stature Foundation's initiative, EJN representative said: “The criteria for this year's EJN initiative are to enhance communication and raise public awareness about environmental issues, such as climate change, pollution, biodiversity, wildlife trade, use and management of natural resources. In addition, initiatives need to focus on strengthening national, regional skills, knowledge, and cooperation to promote environmental reporting. We were really impressed with the approach of the "Youth for Environment" project when selecting young people, raising awareness and training, improving capacity in content production, as well as media messages about environmental issues. This is an effective method, contributing to raising public awareness and realizing the goals of sustainable development. ”

At the workshop, the project will introduce the core team of "Green Eyes" created with 8 students studying in various majors (journalism, media, environment, hotel management, law) but all have environmental concerns. As planned, the group will grow to 200 members this year.

"Green Eyes" group will directly operate the official communication channel of the project at www.facebook.com/matxanh2020. Team group and fan page names have special meaning:

"Eyes" is an expression of the opinions and objective views of the younger generation on environmental issues. "Green" is the green of plants, the green of the fresh environment. The "Green Eyes" here means that young people will be those who recognize environmental problems and who will also come up with solutions to improve the environment. After nearly 2 months of the debut, the fanpage has received nearly 2300 followers. The diverse media content, suitable with the style of young people is one of the reasons that the page receives positive responses from the youth community.

Participants will also carry out another meaningful activity of the event: attaching leaves to the environment tree. Each leaf is a commitment message about environmental action. The organizers hope that from this small activity, people will gradually become more aware of their responsibility for the living environment, building a green, clean, and wonderful world. At the same time, communication activities aimed at raising the awareness and actions of the people in saving, effectively using energy sources, increasing the use of renewable and clean energy; reuse and recycle waste, fight against plastic waste, protect water sources, meteorology, wildlife ... thereby, aiming to better fulfill the objectives of coping with climate change, protecting the green planet, and sustainable development.

The workshop will also introduce the "For a clean air - Green city" Initiative Fund. The purpose of the Initiative Fund is to enhance understanding, promote the participation of community-social groups, especially of youth and schools in environmental protection activities, improving air quality in provinces and cities across the country, such as waste, transportation, energy, green space, water resources, air quality, etc. Initiative Fund by the Living and Learning for the Environment and Community Centre (Live & Learn) and For Vietnamese Stature Foundation implemented with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Bac A Commercial Joint Stock Bank (BAC A BANK).

The "Dog human - human dog" skit performed by "Green Eyes" team at the event will help participants see a picture depicting the lives of the people living around Nam Son landfill, reflecting the negative effects of the polluted environment that make the life of all the people living there become extreme and difficult. Through the performance, Green Eyes wanted to send a meaningful message: "If we don't change, we will lose the people we love the most"

For further information, please contact:

Hoang Thi Lan Anh (Ms.)

Communication Officer - For Vietnamese Statue Foundation

Mobile: 0977 809 980
Email: anh.htl@vitamvocviet.vn

Website: http://vitamvocviet.vn

Fanpage: http://facebook.com/quyvitamvocviet

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For Vietnamese Stature Foundation is a non-profit organization established in 2014 with a mission to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially the goals of education, health, equity and sustainable development.

The main current projects are: i) Capacity building and networking for students - DynaGen Initiative; ii) Improve health for workers; iii) Communication campaigns to raise public awareness about health and education rights; iv) Humanitarian and charitable activities; v) Join the coordination group of the Vietnam Business For Environment (VB4E).

In 2019, the Foundation won the "Best Non-profit Organization in Asia" award by the Asia Philanthropy Award.

For more information, please visit the website here or fanpage here.