Turn every student into a true 'environmental ambassador'

The workshop "Practical guidelines and roadmap for implementing the ASEAN eco-school criteria - Plastic waste-free schools" is part of the ASEAN Vietnam eco-school award 2025, organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment . The event attracted more than 100 delegates to attend in person and more than 1,000 online monitoring points.

The workshop introduced and guided schools in applying the ASEAN Eco-School criteria to teaching, management and extracurricular activities. The event was also an opportunity for schools that have implemented the model and won the ASEAN Eco-School award to share practical experiences, helping teachers and administrators to clearly understand and flexibly apply the criteria to school practice.

'Biến mỗi học sinh thành một đại sứ môi trường đích thực' - Ảnh 1. — The event attracted more than 100 delegates attending in person and more than 1,000 online viewing points.

According to Mr. Nguyen Do Anh Tuan, Director of the Department of International Cooperation (Ministry of Agriculture and Environment), schools are not only places to teach literacy but also places to teach green living. “In Vietnam, I am very proud to see many schools that have pioneered in reducing plastic, recycling waste, and creating learning spaces close to nature. Hue City is a bright spot in the urban movement to reduce plastic,” Mr. Nguyen Do Anh Tuan affirmed.

Sharing international experience, Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Kim Cuc, a member of the Selection Council for the ASEAN Eco-Schools Award in Vietnam 2025, said that the most effective environmental education methods come from experiential methods and behavioral interventions. Therefore, she called on schools to focus on creating a zero-plastic waste culture in every activity, taking advantage of the young generation's ability to absorb and spread change to improve the learning environment, improve health and local connections.

According to Professor Nguyen Thi Kim Cuc, the ecological school model in the context of increasingly serious plastic pollution is very meaningful. “Eco-school is not just a title, but a sustainable foundation to fight plastic waste, turning each student into a true environmental ambassador,” she said.

'Biến mỗi học sinh thành một đại sứ môi trường đích thực' - Ảnh 2. — Delegates present papers at the conference

The school collected nearly 30 tons of scrap.

According to a 2022 World Bank survey, Hue City is among the coastal localities with the highest density of plastic waste pollution in the country, with an average of 141.1 plastic waste items per meter of coastline.

Notably, single-use plastics accounted for up to 80% of the total amount of plastic waste at surveyed locations on rivers and coastal areas. This figure shows a serious challenge for waste management and ecosystem protection in the downstream of the Huong River and Tam Giang - Cau Hai lagoon.

Based on that reality, Hue City has become a leading locality in the movement to reduce plastic in schools and communities. According to the Department of Education and Training of Hue City, since 2022, the "Plastic-Reducing Schools" model sponsored by Norway through WWF-Vietnam has been widely deployed throughout Hue City, attracting the participation of 180 schools with more than 54,000 students.

Of these, 83 schools selected as model schools collected nearly 30 tons of scrap, including more than 5.5 tons of plastic, contributing to significantly reducing the amount of waste released into the environment, forming green living habits in the young generation.

'Biến mỗi học sinh thành một đại sứ môi trường đích thực' - Ảnh 3. — Students of Le Loi Primary School (Hue City) introduced to visiting delegates about plastic reduction models at the school.

After a period of implementation, Hue City has achieved many positive results in environmental protection, becoming a green city of the country. Le Loi Primary School has become one of the typical models of the plastic waste-free school movement, achieving the highest title of the Vietnam Ecological School Award in 2024.

This afternoon, delegates, guests, and school representatives visited Le Loi Primary School and noted the program that the school built based on three main pillars: educating students on awareness, attitudes, and positive behaviors towards the environment; building a green action community among teachers, students, and parents; and spreading the "No plastic waste" model to the community.

Previously, on October 8, in Can Tho City, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment organized a workshop "Connecting, training, and sharing experiences of ASEAN Eco-Schools - schools without plastic waste" to introduce and guide schools in applying the ASEAN Eco-School criteria set in teaching, management, and extracurricular activities.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/bien-moi-hoc-sinh-thanh-mot-dai-su-moi-truong-dich-thuc-185251021141900554.htm