Global Mizuiku Summit 2024: 20 years of spreading sustainable value for water resources

On April 23, Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam held the Opening Ceremony of the Global Mizuiku Summit 2024 at the Embassy of Japan in Vietnam (Hanoi). This is the first time this conference has been held in a country other than Japan as well as in Vietnam. The event took place over three days from April 23 to April 25, 2024 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Mizuiku program being implemented globally and the 10th anniversary of “Mizuiku – I love clean water” in Vietnam.

Attending the event were leaders from agencies such as the Ministry of Education & Training, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development , the Embassy of Japan, the General Director of Suntory Group in charge of sustainable development, the General Director of Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam and the head of the Mizuiku program from countries such as Thailand, China, New Zealand, Spain, France, and the UK.

Speaking about the 20-year milestone of the program, Mr. Masaaki Fujiwara - General Manager of Sustainable Development, Suntory Group said: “Twenty years ago, we launched the “Mizuiku” program - aneducational initiative to raise awareness of saving and protecting water resources for elementary school students. This is a testament to our commitment and dedication to water sustainability. Suntory Group hopes that this program will become an educational initiative that is passed down from generation to generation. Through initiatives like Mizuiku, we hope to help children of today and the future gain access to clean water sustainably, and to foster awareness of protecting the environment and our precious water resources.”

Vietnam is the first country where Suntory expanded the project outside of Japan in 2015 under the name “Mizuiku – I love clean water”. With the philosophy of “Sustainable water development”, the “Mizuiku – I love clean water” program was implemented with two main goals: educating and raising awareness of primary school students about water resource protection and supporting facilities to improve access to clean water for children and the community. The program is comprehensively designed with activities both inside and outside of school, aiming 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 implemented in 24 provinces and cities nationwide, educating more than 400,000 primary school students about saving and protecting water resources, increasing access to clean water for millions of students and teachers through the renovation of 151 facilities including clean water works and school toilets. 2023 marks an important step forward for the program when it officially enters into a strategic partnership with the Ministry of Education and Training. The program’s documents “Guidelines for organizing teaching and learning about saving and protecting water resources for primary schools” have been reviewed, approved by the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam and included in the curriculum for primary schools nationwide. Mr. Jahanzeb Khan - CEO of Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam emphasized: “As a leading beverage company in Vietnam, we recognize the importance of water throughout our operations. In 2024, we hope to create even more positive impacts, based on strategic cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Training. We orient the Mizuiku program not only to educate ABOUT water resources but also to educate FOR water resources, to educate to create sustainable impacts on resources.”

Speaking about this cooperation, Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thanh De - Director of the Department of Physical Education, Ministry of Education and Training shared: “In recent times, the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam has made efforts to implement many action programs to connect resources to build a school environment that meets school hygiene standards, to support and educate the younger generation 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 enterprises for a common goal, bringing many benefits to the community, environment, society and the young generation of Vietnam. 2023 is the first year of cooperation to implement the program, the initial steps have recorded very impressive results."

In addition to the activities throughout the three days of the Conference, April 23, 2024 is also the announcement ceremony of the award ceremony of the photo contest with the themes "Water" and "Children" and the opening of the photo exhibition "Conserving water resources, nurturing the future" organized by Suntory Pepsico Vietnam, sponsored by the Embassy of Japan.

The contest, which conveys the message about the importance of water and raises public awareness, especially among the younger generation, about environmental protection and water resource protection, was launched in December 2023, attracting hundreds of entries within 3 months.

The photo exhibition "Conserving water resources, nurturing the future" will be open to the public for free from April 23 to May 2, 2024 at the Embassy of Japan, No. 27, Lieu Giai Ward, Ngoc Khanh, Ba Dinh, Hanoi .

Source: https://doanhnhan.baophapluat.vn/hoi-nghi-thuong-dinh-mizuiku-toan-cau-2024-20-nam-lan-toa-gia-tri-ben-vung-cho-nguon-nuoc-76552.html