Climate Change and You, a nationwide competition for lower secondary school students in Vietnam launches today in Hanoi. It takes place while Vietnam is still in the aftermath of cyclone Haiyan which was the strongest recorded tropical cyclone ever and killed thousands in the Phillippines.
The competition is part of a joint project between the British Council and Vietnam’s Ministry of Education and Training. It focuses on climate change education for lower secondary schools in Vietnam. The project is partly funded by the British Embassy in Hanoi.
The launch is being organised at Phan Chu Trinh lower secondary school in Hanoi with the participation of all students, teachers and representatives from the British Council Vietnam, Vietnam’s Ministry of Education and Training, Live & Learn Environmental Education Centre and the British Embassy in Hanoi.
The competition, open until January 2014, aims to raise awareness among students about climate change and encourage their initiatives to tackle the problem. The two categories for entries are writing and drawing. This will enablethe students to present their brightest ideas for tackling climate change. All entries need to address different climate change issues and show innovative ideas to mitigate the effects.
Winners in each category will receive an award and a certificate from theorganising committee. The school with the highest number of entries will also be presented with a prize. Details of the competition will be published on the British Council and MOET’s websites, the Education and Times (Giáo dục và Thời đại) newspaper.
Chris Brown, Director British Council Vietnam said: ‘It’s my delight to launch this competition, another important event to celebrate 40 years of the UK-Vietnam diplomatic relationship and 20 years of the British Council in Vietnam.’
‘As an active player in this field, the British Council have been working in Japan, Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, Australia, China and Vietnam to collaborate with local partners in their fight against the destructive effects of climate change.’
‘Children are the most vulnerable to climate change so they have the right to raise their voices and contribute their creativity in our battle against it.’
Dr Le Trong Hung, Vice Director, Department of Science, Technology and Envinronment, Vietnam’s Ministry of Education and Training said: ‘The national strategy on Climate Change was adopted by the Prime Minister in 2011, addressing the dramatic impact of climate change on Vietnam’s goals of hunger elimination and sustainable development. I believe through this competition, environmental messages will get across to not only lower secondary students nation-wide but also their friends and families. In that sense, it is very much in line with the national strategy on Tackling Climate Change.‘
Andrew Holt, Head of Prosperity at the British Embassy in Hanoi, added, “Vietnam is one of our focal points in Southeast Asia in tackling climate change, and climate change education is a very important part. The British Embassy in Hanoi is very happy to support this project. We believe that the project will help raise awareness about climate change among the students. We hope that climate change education will become an integral part of the programs and activities in schools in Vietnam.”
The competition is a part of the “Cascading and embedding climate change education into wider secondary schools across Vietnam” project for 2013/14, implemented by the British Council Vietnam, Vietnam’s Ministry of Education and Training, and Live & Learn Environmental Education Centre, with the funding support of the British Embassy in Hanoi.
The project will be implemented nationwide with the focus on the provinces of Nam Dinh, Thanh Hoa and Nghe An.This is the second time it has been implemented and funded by the consortium, building on the success achieved in 2012 when the project was piloted in 239 schools in Hoa Binh province.