Ha Noi December 26, 2022 – The award ceremony of the Green Shield Contest, a knowledge competition for secondary school pupils centred on disaster risk reduction and climate change, took place today at Vo Thi Sau Secondary School in Tuy An District, Phu Yen Province. The school won the award for having the greatest number of participants.

The Green Shield Contest – an activity conducted under the project "Improving the resilience of vulnerable coastal communities to climate change-related impacts in Viet Nam," funded by the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the Government of Viet Nam – was coordinated by the Ministry of Education and Training, the Viet Nam Disaster Management Authority, and the Vietnam Administration of Forestry under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The contest was launched in June 2022. Round 1 took the form of an online knowledge test, which saw the participation of more than 50,000 pupils from 555 secondary schools across 63 provinces and cities in Viet Nam. The top-scoring pupils were invited to participate in Round 2, which resulted in the submission of nearly 100 creative ideas across a wide range of media reflecting the themes of disaster risk reduction and climate change. Many of the entries were developed with care and innovation in terms of their contents and format to ensure that they would both reflect local realities and be as practical as possible, demonstrating both pupils’ strong interest in disaster risk reduction and climate change and their desire to improve their knowledge and understanding of this important field.

The first prize was awarded to Cao Khanh Ly, a pupil from Class 6A at Quang Thanh Secondary School in Quang Binh province, whose winning entry was a video clip about how to prevent climate change and respond to disasters. The second prizes were awarded to Vo Doan Tuyet Minh (Ly Tu Trong Secondary School, Tra Vinh Province) and Trinh Thuy Tien (Quang Phu Secondary School, Quang Binh Province). Three third prizes and five honourable mentions were also distributed.

Speaking at the award ceremony, Mr. Dao Xuan Lai, Head of the Climate Change and Environment Unit at UNDP Viet Nam, emphasized: “Viet Nam is one of the countries most affected by climate change and disasters, especially drought, saltwater intrusion, storms, and floods. Such unusual weather phenomena are expected to occur more frequently, have more severe effects, and become more difficult to forecast or predict. Children are among the most vulnerable in disaster situations, since they often lack the skills necessary to protect themselves and may need additional support. As such, they need to be equipped with knowledge and skills to protect themselves and mitigate disaster risks.”

Mr. Tran Khac Le, Director of the Phu Yen Department of Education and Training, said, “I am very pleased to attend the award ceremony of the Green Shield contest in Phu Yen province. The name of the contest is quite meaningful: a ‘green shield’ to protect our earth so that it will always be green. Through the contest, our students have been equipped with knowledge on climate change and disaster risk reduction, and they will be better able to develop solutions to protect themselves, their communities, and the environment.”

For more information, please contact:
Phan Huong Giang
Media and Communications Analyst, Climate Change and Environment
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Viet Nam
Tel: 094.846.6688
Email: phan.huong.giang@undp.org

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LIST OF WINNERS:

01 First Prize:
Cao Khanh Ly: Quang Thanh Secondary School, Quang Binh Province
                        
02 Second Prizes:
- Vo Doan Tuyet Minh: Ly Tu Trong Secondary School, Tra Vinh province
- Trinh Thuy Tien: Quang Phu Secondary School, Quang Binh Province

03 Third Prizes:
- Dao Tran Bao Ngoc: Ward 4 Secondary School, Quang Tri Province
- Do Hai Nga: Lai Xuan Secondary School, Hai Phong
- Nguyen Kim Linh: Quang Thanh Secondary School, Quang Binh Province

05 Honourable Mentions:
- Tran Khanh Duy: Ly Tu Trong Secondary School, Tra Vinh province
- Le Thi Diem Quynh: Quang Thanh Secondary School, Quang Binh Province
- Trinh Huynh Ngoc Anh: Quang Phu Secondary School, Quang Binh Province
- Phung Ly Huong Tra: Quang Thanh Secondary School, Quang Binh Province
- Nguyen Ha Bao Ngoc: Quang Phu Secondary School, Quang Binh Province