The competition “Turn off the lights, turn on the ideas”, now in its sixth year, will begin in Ha Noi on January 15 in response to the Earth Hour 2015 campaign slated for March 28.

Themed “Character protects the environment”, the competition calls for designing characters, be it a person, an animal or a personified object, that highlight recycling, planting trees and energy conservation.

Winning designs will be printed on T-shirts and sold, the profits from which will go towards a reforestation fund planting 5,000 mangrove trees in Ru Cha forest, the central province of Thua Thien – Hue.

The three winners will be later invited to join the campaign “I rode a bike today”, due to be launched on the same day in the capital.

Co-hosted by BooVironment, Redraw the Line, Go Green, and 350 Vietnam, the non-profit campaign advocates using bicycles for short-distance journeys under the slogan “Change your habits before climate changes you”.

Established in 2009, BooVironment aims to raise the sense of social responsibility among young generations to protect the environment.

Redraw the Line is a campaign to raise awareness of climate change in the Philippines, Thailand, Viet Nam, and Bangladesh, through support and management from the Asia Development Bank and the Swedish government.

It encourages action and behaviour change in three key areas, expanding the use of clean energy and increasing energy efficiency, encouraging greater use of low carbon transportation options, and raising awareness of sustainable alternatives.