Trương Nguyễn Ý Như and Trần Thanh Thuý receive the special prize for "Waking sleeping land after the disaster". — Photo courtesy of the organiser

QUẢNG NAM — A short documentary on how to unleash the potential of sustainable tourism of Quảng Nam Province’s Thu Bồn River after the historic flood in 2000 brought a special prize for two secondary school students in the “School Ambassador in Disaster Prevention and Climate Change Adaptation” Competition 2019 on Saturday.

The competition was co-hosted by the Việt Nam Disaster Management Authority, the United Nations Development Programme and the provincial People’s Committees of Quảng Nam, Thừa Thiên Hue and Ninh Thuận under the framework of the Project “Improving Resilience of Vulnerable Coastal Communities to Climate-Related Impact in Viet Nam”.

Participants were offered a playground to better comprehend climate-change adaptation and mitigation, and to raise awareness within their communities in creative ways.

More than 500 entries which conveyed original ideas and in-depth content were sent from the three province’s secondary school students to the organisers over three months.

Trương Nguyễn Ý Như and Trần Thanh Thuý, two seventh-graders at Nguyễn Bỉnh Khiêm School in Hội An Town in Quảng Nam Province, received the special prize for a five-minute documentary named "Waking Sleeping Land after the Disaster”.

The film depicts the iconic Thu Bồn River, the town’s popular tourism spot, before it was abandoned after the flood in 2000.  

To revive the river’s beauty and help local people earn sustainable livelihoods, the two students made recommendations to use its potential and land resources to develop tourism activities such as tourist boat visits to Hội An during the flood season.

Trần Quang Hoài, general director of the VNDMA entries, praised the entries for their creative expressions that touched upon contemporary issues and their calls for people to come up with solutions to improve the environment.  

Speaking to participants, Caitlin Wiesen, UNDP Resident Representative in Việt Nam, said she hoped the participants would further engagement in climate-change adaption and mitigation.

“Students are our future. Their innovative ideas and solutions can help us make the changes that are necessary to build a resilient and sustainable future for Việt Nam. I hope you will share the information you have learned, as well as the ideas and solutions developed in this competition, when you return home,” she said. — VNS