The

under the supervision of UNEP Division of Technology, Industry and Economics (DTIE).


In
Vietnam, the Center for Development of Community Initiative and Environment (C&E) in cooperation with other environmental organizations and universities have participated as partners for GSSL. Thanks to their efforts, GSSL-Vietnam had a surprised result. 546 Vietnamese young professionals, many more than expected,  participated in and responded to the online survey. 

 

On August 22, 2009 I had the honour to represent C&E in the GSSL Asia Pacific Workshop in Daejeon, South Korea. In Korean, Daejeon means "City of wisdom" for it is the location of many research institutes, institutes of science and technology. Joining this regional workshop were UNEP Consultant, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies and GSSL research partners from Australia, India, Japan, and Philippines. We together shared GSSL experiences and results.

 

In the main sessions, each GSSL research partner provided a twenty minutes’ presentation on the way it conducted GSSL and the main results, followed by a ten minutes’ discussion. All presentations were prepared carefully and were explained with clarity. We also had the chance to express our own ideas through interactive discussions. These discussions usually lasted longer than expected as representatives discussed ebulliently the GSSL cross-cultural conclusions and regional specificity and forgot the time.

 

 


In the workshop break, people shared work experience and a variety of cultures and lifestyles in their countries. I was glad to present
Vietnam to others. I gave them Dong Ho painting and explained to them Vietnamese customs with proudness. I felt so happy when most workshop participants complimented my Vietnamese traditional costume – Ao Dai and took photograph with me.


The workshop went successfully and produced a GSSL Asia Pacific Summary and recommendations for the 2010-2011 Policy Framework. Briefly, it was suggested that the Framework should be built on a common platform for Asia Pacific and should be adapted with flexibility or each country. The role of governments and community awareness were considered as two pre-requisite factors for a sustainable lifestyle.

 

By Nguyen Thanh Thuy

Research of C&E (22nd  August 2009)

 

 

 

 

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