Almost 700 trees were planted in the schools around Vientiane’s suburb to raise awareness and encourage young people to take actions to take care of their bodies, keep healthy living lifestyle as well as protect the planet. When partners value ICPD and include it in their efforts too, we know the message of ICPD is clear, broadly owned and valued. It was one of UNFPA in Laos and the European Union’s initiative to strengthen partnerships and participation of youth to tackle climate issues together.
The tree planting was joined by Vice Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, EU delegation, the representatives from the National University, UK, Brunei, Turkey embassies in Laos, UNFPA team and most important primary and secondary school students from Viengkeo and Nonsengchan School. UNFPA donated 75 trees to mark the 50th anniversary of UNFPA and 25 years International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD). EU donated the 625 as part of their green climate diplomacy efforts.
This is part of UNFPA Laos' partnerships to engage youth in taking care of themselves and also the planet. In September, UNFPA Laos did a soft launch for and online campaign “Me, My Body, My Planet, My Future”, a multi-partner campaign which is supported by the Ministry of Health, China Radio International in Laos (CRI) and private partners such as Banque Franco Lao (BFL) and Sinouk Coffee. The campaign aims to encourage and engage youth to take actions for the Sustainable Development Goals; provide good, quality and consistent information through various supporting channels by public and private partners; ensure that young people can make informed decisions and about their body, their health and well-being; and recognise that their choices for their well-being and their choices and actions regarding the planet's well-being, will impact their future. An approach aimed at not just increasing their understanding but also recognition of the power youth has to make good choices.
Youth shared ideas while participating in #MyPlanet2030 first online challenge of “Me, My body, My planet, My future” campaign, they posted their selfies while sharing captions of actions they took and encourage the next person they know to take actions too. The challenge will continue and the official launch will be on 11 October 2019, International Day of the Girl Child and the anniversary of Noi - the adolescent Lao girl who represents the 700,000 + adolescent Lao girls. Find more information about me, my body, my planet, my future and join our challenge here: http://bit.ly/2IUs4Sy
