After one month, Green Avengers has selected 5 projects to fund for activities of Circular Economy Hub in Danang and Central Region in the beginning of 2021.

Da Nang Circular Economy Hub (DCEH) and Green Avengers shout out 5 excellent projects participating in the Spreading Phase. 

12 project teams from the program presented in the Pitching day having a chance to become 05 representative teams supported by Green Avengers program within 6 months, from 01^st January to 30^th June 2021.

The Council selected the teams based on 5 criteria: feasibility (20%), suitability (20%), sustainability (15%), scalability and impact (15%), team capacity (30%).

5 selected projects are:

1)     Green Run Series - Zero-waste marathon, substitute current disposable products (once time plastic water bottle, etc) with more eco-friendly ones.

2)     Green Building - Use gamification approach to encourage garbage sorting in apartment buildings.

3)     VietArt - Project buys and takes advantage of waste woods  to produce environmentally friendly products.

4)     Re - Organic Waste - The process of waste material: sorting, treatment in households with low costs and time-saving.

5)     Green University DUE - The Green University in University of Economics – Danang University (DUE) is a grand scheme with many projects aimed to (1) improve waste management, (2) encourage green-consuming and environmental awareness, (3) help build a green and sustainable livelihood for young people in Da Nang.

In the Spreading Phase, each project will receive funding from UNDP with different budgets (up to $ 5,000) to continue developing the project. In addition to receiving funding, mentoring, training and networking projects are also provided for projects. This time is an opportunity for projects to spread a sustainable lifestyle and build a green living community in Da Nang city in particular and the Central region in general.

From the launch press conference of Danang Circular Economy Hub & Bootcamp: Green Avengers

On November 11th 2020, with the goal of making Da Nang become an environmental and green city in particular and building a sustainable economy friendly with the environment in the Central Region - Danang Circular Economy Hub (DCEH) was established to incubate environmental projects. The idea is initiated by Accelerator Lab (AccLab) Vietnam, which is among  the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) global network of 90 AccLabs. DCEH focuses on two missions: improving solid waste treatment systems and  promoting sustainable consumption/Green consumption in the Central Region.

Ms. Sitara Syed said at the launch press conference: “The Circular Economy Hub will focus on people and build human resource capacity for sustainable development and circularity practice in the Central Region. Through the 5-day bootcamp that commences today,  participants will develop soft skills and enhance their knowledge of environmental sustainability through the perspective of circularity. Our partners at the Hub will become ambassadors and Champions  to influence decision making with the leaders in their respective communities.” 

To 3-day intensive bootcamp Green Avengers

35 champions are selected from nearly 100 applications to join the “Green Avengers” team. The whole team was put through a  3-day intensive bootcamp from 11^th November to 13^th November in which the champions shared and tested their own sustainable ideas, formed a team  and started their journey  to bring green values to the community.

Champions are  also connected with experienced environmentalists/social impact businessmen(women) in several training sessions such as:

During the three days of bootcamp, the Organizing Committee created a space for the participants sharing their journeys and goals sincerely. People are listened respectfully for differences, and then from strangers to friends, teammates, a team that protects the environment and creates sustainable values.

Ms. Hoang My Tuyen from VietArt project shared on facebook that “This is the most unconventional training program that I participated in. Only the theory session and the launching conference, we sat on the chair, the rest of the program we sat on the ground in a circle, loosening ourselves up from the frameworks and rules. We did not focus on knowledge & skill, we learned to listen, we learned to connect with ourselves and others, learned to understand ourselves and connected with those around us, with nature. By an indirect way, we somehow gained valuable knowledge about the environment, solutions and knowledge about green economy, circular economy hub, green ecosystems ... "

Ms. Thu Thao spilled over while finding out her green project partner “Sharing and listening on this day has created an unbelievably valuable connection. Nhu Y and I worked together on the project of sorting and collecting plastic waste and paper boxes. Nhu Y also quickly discussed with Mr. Truong about the idea of ​​using a barcode scanning application and asked him to consult how to operate and store. Three projects that produced saucepans; made lanes/baskets with sedge, bamboo; Fabricated waste bins from biodegradable natural materials seems to prolong the service life of the product when linking to the natural waterproofing membrane technology project. The Alchemist book taught me, "When you really want something, the whole universe comes together to help you achieve it."

After 3 days, 35 members formed 12 projects and participated in Pitching sessions in a thrilling and exciting atmosphere. 12 projects are 12 innovative and interesting solutions for the current waste problems.

Mr. Luong Nguyen - Program Manager from AccLab UNDP shared: “Danang Circular Economy Hub is an initiation of Accelerator Lab - UNDP as a playground that combined social innovation with sustainable development. UNDP, like many other development organizations in the world today, realized that the emerging problems in the world such as climate change or environmental pollution were increasing in size, complexity and unpredictability. These systematic errors cannot be solved alone by any individual, organization or agency but rather require combination efforts of several stakeholders from different directions. We believed that there should be new mechanisms that help our champions, interested individuals and  organizations to join forces together. The Green Avengers Community is a social lab to incubate talent, develop initiatives, and collect social resources to save our environment, with a vision of building an enthusiastic, engaging, ready-to-test-new-idea community that offers practical solutions and spreading green living values.”

Ms. Nhi Nguyen - DCEH Project manager shared on Pitching Day: “This will be an opportunity for projects with the same or similar models to combine together to create a greater impact on society and the environment. We hope this is  the start of a sustainable Circular Economy Hub for the Central Region and please join with us for more interesting activities to come in the future”