Dragon Mekong Institute - Closing ceremony of the cascading training on “The Innovation Projects of Youth on Responding to Climate Change in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta.”

Closing ceremony of the cascading training on “The Innovation Projects of Youth on Responding to Climate Change in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta.”

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): SDG4, SDG5, SDG13, SDG16, SDG17

On April 23, 2023, at Can Tho University (CTU), the cascade training on "The Innovation Projects of Youth on Responding to Climate Change in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta" ended. The program was implemented as a component of the "USAID Environmental Education for Mekong Program" and is also one of the activities under the "Youth Community Resilience to Climate Change in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta" (Y-CoRe) program. It was a joint effort between the DRAGON-Mekong Institute, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in Vietnam, and the British Council in Vietnam.

Delegates, students, and members of the organizing committee all posed for memento photographs.

The training program lasted 3.5 days, from Thursday, April 20, 2023, at 17:00 to Sunday, April 23, 2023, when it was over. The training session was attended by more than 130 students from different faculties, institutions, and schools at Can Tho University and Tra Vinh University. Project management expert Mr. Doan Quoc Trung, a representative of the U. S Agency for International Development (USAID) in Vietnam, gave information on the program's goals and expected results as the training progressed.

Mr. Doan Quoc Trung shared information on the program's objectives and desired outcomes

The artist Mzung Nguyen's contributions to utilizing creative and communication components in promoting positive ideals relating to gender equality, climate change, the environment, and biodiversity were also helpful to this program.

Artist Mzung Nguyen's sharing the vision of art and communication

Over the final two training days, students and outstanding teachers from 13 provinces and cities in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta were divided into three groups to create project concepts in science, art, and communication. The training program provided participants with an awareness of climate change, local climate change problems, and critical planning and development processes for neighborhood youth projects. The training program placed a special emphasis on incorporating art and communication into project activities as a cutting-edge research technique to boost awareness of and motivation for community projects.

Teachers from 13 provinces and cities in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta

On the final day of training, April 23, 2023, the organizing committee (OC) hosted a "Market ideas" session where student groups had the opportunity to present their innovative responses to urgent regional issues like the consequences of climate change, environmental pollution, plastic waste, biodiversity, gender equality, and more. They received enlightening feedback and input from mentors and participants. The OC provided the foundation for implementing 24 projects, including 13 communication initiatives and 11 scientific research projects, in the following period after harvesting and finishing the projects that same day. The OC also introduced evaluation standards and important dates for project idea submission.