Online Speaking Competition on "Sustainable Development Goals on Biodiversity and Financial Mechanisms on Biodiversity” Winners Announced!

Hanoi, November 8, 2018 - At the Academy of Finance, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Biodiversity Conservation Agency, Vietnam Environment Administration, and Viet Nam Student Magazine announced the winners of the “Online Speaking Competition on the Sustainable Development Goals on Biodiversity and Financial Mechanisms on Biodiversity in Viet Nam.” The participants were Vietnamese students and youth studying at universities and institutes all over the country.

On the 2018 International Day for Biological Diversity, May 22, the competition was launched to raise awareness among Vietnamese students and youth about biodiversity and sustainable financial mechanisms for biodiversity, while also aiming to create a useful playground for increasing creative abilities and equipping students with skills for presentation, analysis, and synthesis.

Le Thi Hong Nhung from the Academy of Finance was awarded the first individual prize. The second individual prize was awarded to Dao Mai Linh from Vietnam Women's Academy, and the third one was awarded to Bui Thi Phuong from the Academy of Journalism and Communication. In the group prize category, the first prize was awarded to Le Phuong Ha, Tran Phuong Ngoc, and Nguyen Thi Thanh Hoa from Hanoi Foreign Trade University, the second prize to Tran Binh Minh from RMIT University and Tran Cao Vu from Hanoi Foreign Trade University, and the third prize to Vu Thi Ngoc Anh and Bui Minh Duc from Hanoi National University of Education.

“Through the two months since launching the competition, the organizers have received 72 videoclips from students of universities all over the country. The large number of submitted videoclips shows that Vietnamese students are very active and enthusiastic in challenging themselves and exploring new topics,” said Ms. Hoang Thi Thanh Nhan, Deputy Director of the Biodiversity Conservation Agency at the Vietnam Enviroment Administration.

“I am especially impressed with the videoclips from Vietnamese students,” Ms. Akiko Fujii, UNDP Deputy Country Director, said at the award ceremony. “All videoclip submissions show a thorough study of the Sustainable Development Goals and the importance of land and aquatic plants and animals.”

"To conserve biodiversity, finance is a challenge. In Viet Nam, we are piloting financing mechanisms for nature museums and result-based budgeting. If half of the visitors to Cuc Phuong National Park visit its museum, for example, it is expected that an additional $70,000 to $100,000 will be made available annually for the park to use for biodiversity conservation," Ms. Fujii added.

The global Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) is an initiative of UNDP Global to encourage countries to participate in the transition process, i.e., to quantify and reduce the cost of biodiversity management and to arrange and mobilize the needed resources to conserve biodiversity and contribute to the achievement of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets. Viet Nam is one of the countries actively and effectively participating in this global UNDP initiative.

For more information, please contact:

Phan Hương Giang
Media and Communications Analyst
United Nations Development Program (UNDP)
Email: phan.huong.giang@undp.org; Tel: 0948466688

Bùi Hòa Bình
Program Officer
United Nations Development Program (UNDP)
Email: bui.hoa.binh@undp.org;