This is the first time the Global Mizuiku Summit is held in Vietnam and outside of Japan. The event takes place for 3 days, from April 23 to 25, 2024, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Mizuiku program being deployed globally and 10 years of “Mizuiku – I love clean water” being present in Vietnam.
Talking about the 20-year milestone of the program’s development, Mr. Masaaki Fujiwara – General Director in charge of Sustainable Development, Suntory Group said: “Twenty years ago, we initiated the “Mizuiku” program – the initiative Education helps raise awareness of saving and protecting water resources for elementary school students. This is a testament to our unwavering commitment and dedication to water sustainability. Suntory Group hopes this program will become an educational initiative that is passed down from generation to generation. Through initiatives like Mizuiku, we hope to help children have sustainable access to clean water now and in the future, cultivating awareness of protecting the environment and our precious water resources.”
Vietnam is the first country where Suntory expanded its project outside of Japan in 2015 with the name “Mizuiku – I love clean water”. With the philosophy of “Sustainable water development”, the program “Mizuiku – I love clean water” is implemented with two main goals: to educate and raise awareness of elementary school students about protecting water sources and to support local authorities. facilities to improve access to clean water for children and communities.
The program is comprehensively designed with activities inside and outside of school, to stimulate children’s creativity and thinking through proactive education, nurturing love and awareness of protecting nature. for future generations through forest experience activities in national parks.
After nearly a decade, “Mizuiku – I love clean water” has been deployed in 24 provinces and cities nationwide, educating more than 400,000 elementary school students about saving and protecting water sources, increasing access to water. clean water for millions of students and teachers through the renovation of 151 facilities, including clean water works and school toilets. The year 2023 marks an important step forward for the program when it officially cooperates strategically with the Ministry of Education and Training. The program documents “Guidelines for organizing teaching and learning about saving and protecting water resources for primary schools” have been evaluated, approved and included in the curriculum by the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam. primary school nationwide.
Talking about this cooperation, Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thanh De – Director of the Department of Physical Education, Ministry of Education and Training shared more: “In recent times, the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam has made efforts to develop Launching many action programs to connect resources to build a school environment that meets school hygiene standards to support and educate children and students about protecting clean water sources. In particular, the program “Mizuiku – I love clean water” is one of the typical models of comprehensive cooperation agreements between the State and businesses for common goals, bringing many benefits to the community and the environment. , society and the young generation of Vietnam. 2023 is the first year of cooperation in implementing the program, initially recording very impressive results.”
In addition to the activities throughout the 3 days of the conference, April 23, 2024 was also the announcement of the awarding of photo contests with the themes “Water” and “Children” and the opening of the photo exhibition “Bao” Conserve water, nurture the future” organized by Suntory Pepsico Vietnam, sponsored by the Embassy of Japan.
The contest to convey the message about the importance of water and raise community awareness, especially the young generation, about environmental protection and water source protection, was launched in December 2023, attracting hundreds of people. entries within 3 months.
The photo exhibition “Conserving water, nurturing the future” will be open to the public for free from April 23 to May 2, 2024 at the Japanese Embassy No. 27, Lieu Giai ward, Ngoc Khanh , Ba Dinh, Hanoi.
