On 1 August 2023, Research Institute for Climate change (DRAGON-Mekong Institute) collaborated with British Council Vietnam to co-organise a mid-term meeting within the programme entitled ‘Youth Community Resilience towards Climate Change Impacts in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta’ (Y-CoRe) at Learning Resources Centre and Hi-tech Building of Can Tho University. The meeting aimed at connecting members of Y-CoRe network and enabling the environment for lesson-learned and experience exchange among youth social action projects (SAPs) implementers via interactive activities.

Over 60 members of Y-CoRe network and 30 representatives from local governments including People’s Committee, Can Tho Department of Natural Resources and Enviroment, Youth Union, Can Tho Information Centre of Science and Technology, Can Tho City Institute for Socio - Economic Development Studies, Mekong Delta Centre for Women and Development as well as young leaders of the Vietnamese Mekong Delta and journalists. The meeting conducted the networking activities coordinated by Ms. Nguyen Anh Thu, Y-CoRe facilitator; and the youth SAPs progress assessment chaired Assoc. Prof. Dr. Van Pham Dang Tri, Director of DRAGON-Mekong Institute, and Ms. Tran Thi Hong Gam, Senior Programme Manager, Education of British Council in Viet Nam. The progress assessment was implemented innovatively via a ‘fair market’ format, where three fairs were created for 28 youth SAPs from 03 approaches: science (1); arts (2); and communication (3). The fair market provided the youth SAPs implementers with opportunities to directly share ideas and collect questions for their ongoing projects by guest’s participants.

Figure 1: Ms Nguyen Anh Thu, Y-CoRe facilitator facilitates the networking activities for project members

Figure 2: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Van Pham Dang Tri, Director of DRAGON-Mekong Institute chairs the progress assessment meeting

Figure 3: Ms. Tran Thi Hong Gam, Senior Programme Manager, Education, British Council in Vietnam co-chairs the progress assessment meeting

The meeting played a crucial role in inspiring, motivating and promoting the tie connection among Y-CoRe members and being able to complete activities within the last month implementation of youth SAPs. This is also the fundamental for advocating resources to organise the Regional Youth Forum in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta, tentatively in late October 2023 in Can Tho City.

Figure 4: Y-CoRe networking activities

Figure 5: Participants at the progress assessment meeting

Figure 6: SAPs implementers proactively present guest participants with their projects at the fair market  

Poster: Tran Quoc Dung