Campaign promotes environmental practices

HA NOI — Hundreds of students and other volunteers joined in the Green City Tour campaign in Ha Noi, HCM City and Da Nang yesterday, aiming to promote public awareness of environmental protection.

The campaign, part of Toyota Viet Nam's Go Green Programme, was co-organised by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources' Department of the Environment Protection and the Ministry of Education and Training.

Volunteers cleaned streets and distributed stickers containing simple and practical messages of how to conserve energy and protect the environment in their daily lives. Many contain short messages, such as Remember to Tighten Me (to be pasted on water taps), Clean Before Using (to be pasted on microwave ovens and irons), and Turn off the Screen When Not in Use (to be pasted on TV screens and computer monitors).

The Green City Tour campaign will be held on weekends between now and March 2011, co-ordinating closely with local governments and groups such as the Women's Union and representatives of residential units and apartments. For further information, you can visit the website www.gogreen.com.vn. — VNS

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Hue student promotes vegetarianism to save environment

Thu Trang (L) joins friends of the Hue’s environmental club GREACT Hue to plant trees at Hue University of Agriculture and Forestry

Photo: Nguyen Dong

“Go vegetarian for the environment” campaign kicked off last Wednesday in Hanoi and is set to launch in the rest of the country on October 10, to highlight how meat production contributes to global warming.

The campaign is spearheaded by Do Thi Thu Trang, a graduate student of environmental science at Hue University of Agriculture and Forestry in the central province of Thua Thien Hue, and sponsored by Live & Learn Vietnam, an environmental education-focused NGO involved in community development.

Tuoi Tre spoke to Do Thi Thu Trang who is also the president of Hue’s environmental club GREACT Hue.

What inspired you to launch this campaign?

When I was a sophomore at Hanoi National University, I wanted to conduct research on vegetarianism and the environment but could not for a number of reasons.

Later I attended the 2010 Vietnam Youth & Sustainable Development Summit organized by Live & Learn Vietnam and learnt about many youth-initiated activities around the world. I became motivated to do something meaningful. I did some research and presented my ideas to other summit participants. I was happy that many people liked my idea and wanted to join.

What difficulties did you encounter in realizing this campaign?

As I began, I realized that although the concept of “climate change” is very popular, many still do not understand its causes and effects. Many still think of melting glaciers as something that happens somewhere faraway. Some people believe that a vegetarian diet does not provide enough energy and nutrients. Above all, people’s eating habits are hard to change, but we’ll do our best to make a difference.

How do you carry out this campaign?

We use relevant websites such as vegvietnam.com and Facebook to get our message out. We set up booths at environment-related festivals and events to inform people about the campaign. Also, as part of the campaign, we encourage participants eating vegetarian food alone, in group, with friends, colleagues or family and whether at home or at vegetarian restaurants to illustrate their experience with a story, message or photo. We reward good stories or photos.

How do you rate the feasibility of the campaign?

This is a 5-month campaign. The purpose is to help people understand, adopt and maintain monthly vegetarian habits. We also want them to continue once the campaign is over. I believe that the campaign will reach a lot of people.

Currently many international campaigns are addressing climate change such as United Nations Environment Program’s Billion Tree campaign, Global Campaign for Climate Action’s TckTckTck project and the 350 campaign to keep carbon dioxide emission under safe limits.

2010 is the United Nation International Year of Youth and I think Vietnamese youth are ready to join young people of the world in their global efforts to prevent climate change.

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Photo exhibition spotlights historical events

HA NOI — Black-and-white photos depicting Viet Nam's historic events from 1945-75 are being displayed for the first time at an exhibition.

"Each photo preserves timeless memories of historical events even though the moments have passed by and the witnesses have passed away," says historian Duong Trung Quoc.

The exhibition will run until Sunday at 93 Dinh Tien Hoang Street, Ha Noi.

National Library receives 800 German books

HA NOI — The Frankfurt International Book Fair Company and the Goethe Institute yesterday donated 800 German books to the Viet Nam National Library to introduce German culture and people to Vietnamese readers.

These books have been displayed at the International Book Fair that opened this month in Ha Noi.

"The books will help readers understand more about Germany," says the library's director Phan Thi Kim Dung.

"They will be useful when we open a multi-language reading room in October."

On the occasion, the Viet Nam National Library and the Goethe Institute signed an agreement of co-operation.

National receptionist contest awards first prize

HCM CIty — Quan Tieu My of the Rex Hotel beat 90 other contestants from all over the country to win first prize at the National Receptionist Contest 2010.

She was followed by contestants from the Pilgrimage Village Hotel in Hue, Continental-Sai Gon and Grand-Sai Gon.

My also won the first prize for best dressed receptionist.

The National Receptionist 2010 contest held last week at the Au Co Art Centre in Ha Noi by the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), as one of the activities marking 1,000 years of Ha Noi and VNAT's own 50th anniversary.

2,000 set to join campaign to keep Hoi An green

QUANG NAM — Two thousand local people, youths and foreigners in Hoi An are expected to join a walking campaign to protect the environment.

The event is being organised by Go Green Club (GGC) on Sunday.

The campaign aims to promote awareness among community members and youngsters to protect the environment in the town and in the Da Nang-Hoi An area, said GGC head Nguyen Thanh An.

"The walking campaign will be a useful bridge for people to join in and exchange experiences, which will improve their awareness and living habits," said An.

The participates will walk along a 2km road from the Song Hoai Square through the historic Hoi An streets to the An Hoi Bridge.

The campaign is part of the Go Green programme which was launched by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Ministry of Education and Training. — VNS

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