A closing ceremony for the communications campaign ‘Early Acting Together early - For a Safe, Clean and Green Viet Nam against Natural Disasters and Climate Change for all Children’ took place in Da Nang on Saturday.

A representative of UNICEF Vietnam (right) and the Da Nang Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention, Search and Rescue and Civil Defence (left) awarding first prizes to 2 pupils of the Le Senior High School for the Gifted in the 'Winning the internet: Preparations for natural disasters and climate change' gameshow. Photo: PV

The event was co-organized by Viet Nam's National Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, the General Department of Natural Disaster Prevention and Control under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, United Nations Children's Fund Vietnam (UNICEF Vietnam), and the Da Nang People’s Committee.

In his closing speech at the event, Chief of the Standing Office of the National Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control and Deputy Director of the General Department of Natural Disaster Prevention and Control Vu Xuan Thanh remarked that the campaign launched on the occasion of the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction and the ASEAN Day for Disaster Management (October 13, 2022). Its purpose was to spread the child-centered orientations in communications activities through raising awareness about disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation, as well as creating useful playgrounds, and promoting physical training movements, for children and communities nationwide.

After 2 months of being launched, the communications campaign featured a series of creative and attractive events.

Specifically, the ‘1-Minute Green’ Social media video challenge themed ‘Together acting early to reduce natural disaster risks and adapt to climate change’ received nearly 8,700 videos created by students aged from 13-18 nationwide.

The ‘Winning the Internet: Preparations for natural disasters and climate change’ gameshow saw the participation of more than 6,000 pupils from five secondary schools in five districts of Da Nang where are frequently affected by the extreme impacts of natural disasters. The organizers selected top 10 finalists to represent their schools to compete in the final round of the gameshow which was broadcast live on the Viet Nam Television channel VTV8.

A relay race against natural disasters and climate changes at Da Nang’s My Khe Beach attracted 1,000 runners nationwide, including 500 pupils and children.

“All aforementioned events have greatly helped spread messages about natural disaster mitigation and climate change to the community, especially children, thereby contributing to create a future generation that understands and has knowledge and skills on disaster risk reduction for the country”, Mr. Vu Xuan Thanh emphasized.

Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Hoang Thanh Hoa said that Da Nang and its political system have paid special attention to natural disaster mitigation, search and rescue, and climate change adaptation over the past years, with a focus on raising residents' awareness, knowledge and skills about natural disaster mitigation and control.

He underlined that a series of activities of the communications campaign have contributed to raising awareness about natural disaster mitigation and climate change among more than 7,000 pupils, teachers, and city-dwellers.

The city will continue to promote training activities on community-based natural disaster management and first aid skills for teachers, add knowledge relating to the above-mentioned issues to extra-curricular activities in a number of educational institutions, develop a disaster-safe school handbook, and organize publicity contests on natural disaster mitigation, and swimming lessons for local pupils, he noted.

Reporting by HOANG HIEP - Translating by M.DUNG