|
|
During the last two years of 2003 and 2004, young people in Vietnam were stirred up by a Millennium Development Goal youth campaign launched by the United Nations Vietnam Country Team. Since its first launch in 2003, the campaign has involved more and more young Vietnamese people in many innovative programmes.
Thanks to the campaign’s series of initiatives, to the receptive interest, and the opening support from the youth union, government agencies and bilateral donors, youth in Vietnam are now more aware of the MDGs and the country’s current development challenges. Many youth, thus, have been ready to contribute to the achievement of the MDGs.
Among the campaign’s most influential mobilizations, the Young Initiative to Promote Volunteerism for the MDGs competition was very successful. The competition itself was already a good initiative, more interestingly, it specifically encouraged the youth to propose an initiative or a creative plan to stimulate volunteerism for the MDGs among young people in Vietnam.
The two winners of the competition in 2003 and 2004 have done this and more.
Nguyen Van Dung, “Mister Youth Volunteer” of 2003, spent a month bicycling on a 2,100-km journey along the S-shaped country to bring the MDG message to young people. Nguyen Thi Tuyet Mai, “Miss Youth Volunteer” of 2004 went backpacking through 23 provinces (13 of which are among the poorest). She experienced 80 days living with the poor, encountering different MDG issues in reality and sharing the MDG story with people, particularly the young. However long those amazing journeys were, Dung and Mai, both have given a great impetus to the growth of youth volunteerism for the MDGs in Vietnam. After going back, they still keep going on their MDG journeys but in some different ways and their stories continue to enthuse more and more people.
“Thang’s Journey” was another booming point of the MDG youth campaign in Vietnam. Thang, which means “victory,” is actually a character of an MDG booklet first published in 2003. On Thang’s travel from the North to the South of the country, he comes across MDG concerns such as extreme poverty in rural areas, student dropouts, and a person living with HIV. Designed in the popular Japanese manga-style comic strip, “Thang’s journey” not only conveys the MDGs well to Vietnamese youth but also provides the readers with key national data on each MDG, and gives them some suggestions to take action on the MDGs.
Actually, besides a lot of new friends made along the journey, Dung and Mai always had Thang by their side. They introduced Thang to everyone they met and gave out the booklets. “’Thang’s journey’ has so far been a success and used in an increasing number of UN projects for training and information purposes,” writes Catherine Callens in the Vietnam MDG Youth Strategy. Callens, the UN Communications Officer in Vietnam, says that although the booklet has gone through a third printing in 2004, “it will be printed more if there are more demands from youth.”
Personally, I am sure that with some over 20 million of Vietnamese people probably categorized as youth, the publication was very limited. It is recommended that those who have read the “Thang’s journey” can spread the word about the book among their friends. Anticipation is high for a brochure of Mai’s journey which will be issued soon.
It is also impossible not to mention the “Towards a Better World” music quiz programme. In collaboration with the Vietnam Students’ Newspaper, this interesting competition, asking contestants to demonstrate their knowledge of the MDGs by linking them to songs, was launched in April 2004. After five months, it received over 5,000 entries from all over the country. Although it was rather hard for the judges to choose the best one, the first prize went to Le Thi Phuong Thao and Dinh Thi Bich Ngoc from the Foreign Trade University of Hanoi.
Apparently, that music competition was no less successful than the other programmes in the MDG youth campaign. Although it might sound superficial to say music and media when combined is the best effective way to approach young people, an idea to send the MDG messages through music and media is highly appreciated. The following two big events in the Vietnam MDG youth campaign’s calendar 2003 and 2004 could possibly prove that. A free and grand MDG youth concert which involved some very famous Vietnamese pop bands and singers was held in the West Lake Water Park in 2003. The concert attracted a live audience of around 12,000 youth and proved to be a very effective way to communicate the MDGs.
In 2004, there was a complementary music programme on TV called “Towards a Better World.” This time, some of the country’s top musicians performed several songs selected by the contestants of the music competition. The show, which was aired nationwide, also featured discussions among the artists, UN Heads of Agencies and some young people on the MDGs.
|
Tags
You must be logged in to add tags.
|
Writer Profile
Romi Nhung
*^-^* Romi *^-^*
Ask the Possible of the Impossible, "Where is your dwelling-place?" "In the dreams of the Impotents," comes the answer.
~ Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941)~
|
Comments
Romi Nhung | Mar 30th, 2005
By the way, I would like to especially thank two UN Volunteers to Vietnam: Catherine Callens, the UN Communications Officer and Vern Weitzel, the UN Web Manager for their helpfulness.
But for their constant replies to all my bothering questions and the MDG Youth Strategy that Catherine specially prepared for me, I would not have been able to grasp such a generally good overview on the MDG Youth Campaign in Vietnam.
Thank you Cath and Vern :)
Wonderful Manish | Apr 7th, 2005
It was an wonderful effort you are taking.
abdi | Feb 11th, 2009
hi am sheikhan, from kenya, africa, keep inspiring young peole in vientnam! though miles and miles away, i am on your side, life is beautiful when shared with true friends, who add a smile in our daily lives, bravo, god bless your effort to empower young Vietnamese, say hi for me to them on my behalf, Good day!
looking parternship kipawa youth group/volunteers | May 12th, 2009
hello, am benjamen from kenya, plse visit my web www.kipawayouthvolunteers.org
Kids Can Make A Difference (KIDS) neil jay wollman | Sep 6th, 2009
Kids Can Make A Difference (KIDS) is an innovative educational program for middle school and high school students. It helps them understand the root causes of hunger and poverty and how they as individuals can take action.
KIDS has three major components:
►Teachers’ Guide: Finding Solutions To Hunger: Kids Can Make A Difference has provided over 5,000 classrooms, religious schools, after school programs and homeschoolers with tools to help young people to understand the causes of poverty and become informed and effective citizens, realizing their own capacity to change the world. Students learn about the pain of hunger; the importance of food; the inequality of its distribution; and the links between poverty, hunger, joblessness, and homelessness. They are then given the skills to take what they have learned into their communities.
►Website: The KIDS web site is rated one of the top 20 websites for educators by Educational World. The site provides news, a hunger quiz, hunger facts, suggested books, back issues of the newsletter, the table of contents, sample lessons, program notes from the teacher guide; and
►Newsletter: The three yearly issues highlight current hunger issues, showcase student initiatives, and feature teachers' experiences teaching the KIDS program and students' experiences making a difference in their community and world.
Contact KIDS at:
Larry Levine, Co-Founder
KIDS, 1 Borodell Avenue
Mystic, CT 06355
(860) 245-3620; (860) 245-3651 FAX
kids@kidscanmakeadifference.org; www.kidscanmakeadifference.org
KIDS is a project of WHY (World Hunger Year),
a leading advocate for community based
solutions to hunger and poverty.
You must be a TakingITGlobal member to post a comment. Sign up for free or login.
|
|
