Primary students participate in the “Journey with Mizu to Protect the Environment” programme at Cát Tiên National Park, engaging in outdoor experiential learning activities. — Photo courtesy of the organiser

HCM CITY — Nearly 400 primary pupils and teachers participated in a water conservation and protection programme at the Cát Tiên National Park in Tân Phú District, Đồng Nai Province from October 15-17.

The three-day programme, entitled 'Journey with Mizu (water) to Protect the Environment 2024', was jointly organised by Suntory Holdings, Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam, in collaboration with the Central Youth Union Council, the Forest Protection Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Center for Sustainable Development Education.

Based on Suntory's 'Sustainable Water Philosophy', the 'Mizuiku' programme was first launched by Suntory Group in Japan in 2004. Việt Nam was the first country outside Japan to implement the programme in 2015 under the name 'Mizuiku - I Love Clean Water.'

The programme aims to raise awareness of conserving water and protecting water sources among primary pupils, with a goal of educating 3.7 million pupils by 2025. After nearly ten years, the programme has educated nearly 500,000 pupils, and more than one million teachers and pupils have gained access to clean water through infrastructure projects.

In addition to in-school lessons across primary schools nationwide and clean water infrastructure projects at schools, the 'Journey with Mizu to Protect the Environment' experiential activities are designed as 'classrooms in the forest'.

An instructor is explaining the water cycle and Mizuiku experimental to pupils at Mizuiku environmental information corner. — Photo courtesy of the organiser

These activities, held annually, aim to enhance pupils' awareness of the vital role of forests, the close relationship between forests and water and the importance of forest protection, land preservation and water conservation. To support long-term education efforts, Mizuiku environmental information corners have been established at national parks to further spread the programme’s message, reaching not only pupils but also thousands of visitors each year.

Mizuiku is a programme to educate not only about water but also for water. Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam aims to pass these educational values about the environment and water resources from one generation to the next. Through education and cooperation, the 'Journey with Mizu to Protect the Environment' programme will continue expanding across national parks nationwide.

The programme will include not only outdoor experiential activities for pupils but also useful environmental information corners, waste sorting systems and training sessions for national parks employees and volunteers, contributing to environmental awareness and reinforcing the importance of forest and water resource protection for Vietnamese children.

Over the next few years, the programme will expand its scale and is expected to reach more primary pupils nationwide, positively contributing to efforts to raise awareness of forest and water resource protection in communities. — VNS