Ha Noi, 25 October, 2022 - The 2nd Press Award Ceremony on "Mitigating Marine Plastic Debris" and the ASEAN regional photo contest "White Pollution and its Hazards to Marine Ecosystems" was held to honour the winning entries.

The Award ceremony involved the participation of VOV’s Leaders, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Vietnam Administration of Seas and Islands (VASI), Vietnam Journalists Association, United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Vietnam, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Vietnam, representatives of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Communication and Education, press agencies, and award-winning authors.

The Press Award was co-organized by VTC News, UNDP Vietnam, WWF Vietnam and the Project Management Unit “Reducing ocean plastic pollution” of VASI.

The Press Award on "Mitigating Marine Plastic Debris " is held annually from 2021, with the aim of promoting information to raise awareness on current alarming environmental problem with an emphasis on ocean plastic pollution. This is in recognition and encouragement for entrants who have excellent journalistic work to promote information on reducing ocean plastic pollution. Thereby, it helps to emphasize the key role of the press to reduce ocean plastic pollution to significantly improve the quality and to increase media coverage on plastic pollution. The Press Award also provides a platform for it individuals, businesses, Government and community to call for practical actions to combat plastic waste pollution.

Similalry, funded by the Government of Norway, the ASEAN regional photo contest "White Pollution and its Hazards to Marine Ecosystems" aims to recognise and encourage both organisations and individuals in ASEAN to actively participate in promoting information about reducing ocean plastic pollution. The contest contributes to raising awareness and mobilising active participation of citizens on reducing ocean plastic pollution.

The Press Award received 312 submissions by 70 authors from 19 provinces and cities across the country. The Photo Contest received thousands of submissions, in which more than 7,500 photos were submitted by 2,700 authors from countries spanning across Southeast Asia (Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia) in the pre-selection round.

The entries for the Press Award on "Mitigating Marine Plastic Debris" 2022 were highly appreciated by the organizers, in terms of both quality and form. The winning entries explored special stories on environmental issues and human's feelings regarding the rampant plastic waste problem. Entries not only reflect the reality of plastic waste pollution, but also offer solutions to help local governments and businesses in preventing and recycling plastic products.

The first-place prize was awarded to the author group Do Thi Hoa - Pham Ngoc Phuc of VTV24, Vietnam Television with the report "The War of Plastic Waste”. The second-place prizes were awarded to the entry "Resolving Difficulties to Develop the Plastic Recycling Industry" by the group of authors Nguyen Thi Hanh - Pham Hong Manh, Tuoi Tre online newspaper, and a series of two articles "Reducing Ocean Plastic Pollution: From Small Actions to Green Aspirations" by Ho Minh Van, Binh Thuan Newspaper. The third-place prizes were awarded to the author group Nguyen Hong Quan – Nguyen Hong Nam, VTC News for their electronic newspaper with the series "Performing Environmental Responsibility to Help Businesses Develop Sustainably"; author group Ho Thanh Hieu - Nguyen Thanh Thang, Voice of Vietnam with a series of 2 articles "Changing Behavior with Waste in the Sea and Ocean"; and author Tran Thi Huong, Industry and Trade Newspaper with a series of articles "Ocean Plastic Pollution: Tears of the Sea and our Actions”

The winning entries of the photo contest left a profound and visual impact of the reality of the devastated marine environment in Southeast Asian countries. The works cover the marine ecological environment being deeply affected by anthropogenic causes and the living animals forced to adapt to the waste. On the other hand, the entries also vividly depict the positive efforts of humans in reducing the hazards of plastic pollution through recycling activities as well as promotional activities to change awareness and behavior in the community.
The first-place prize of the photo contest was awarded to the entry title "Plastic" by Winniwat Traitongtanarat (Thailand). The second-place prizes were the photo series "Foreign Tourists Cleaning up Trash after Typhoon Noru in Hoi An" by Pham Dang Khiem (Vietnam) and "The Plastic Sea Grass" by Sirilert Phonsin (Thailand). Finally, the third-place prizes were awarded to “Shallow Sea” by Hoang Ngan Hanh (Vietnam), “Fish or Plastic” by Huynh Thanh Huy (Vietnam), and “Recycling” by Nguyen Trong Duong (Vietnam). Consolation prizes were awarded to: "Non-Organic Waste Blocking the Singkawang River Flow" by Sutomo (Indonesia), "After a Flood Season" by Nguyen Van Hai (Vietnam), "The Navy Cleaning Do Son Fishing Port " by Vu Van Huong (Vietnam), "Plastic Waste in Kien Giang sea" by Nguyen Quoc Huy (Vietnam), and  photo album "Ocean Obsession" by Dao Dang Cong Trung (Vietnam).

Speaking at the awards ceremony, Ms. Ramla Al Khalidi, UNDP Resident Representative of Vietnam emphasized that “We all share the responsibility in coping with marine pollution. We need to think globally and act locally. Consumers should say no to single-use plastic. If the plastic product cannot be reused, we should reject it. These small changes in our daily lives make a big impact.”

For more information, please contact:

VTC News
Add: 12A Level, VTC Online Building, 18 Tam Trinh Street, Ha Noi
Support Vietnamese media agencies: Thanh Tan
Tel: 0908309989           Email: tan@vtcnews.vn

United Nations Development Program
Add: 304 Kim Mã, Ba Đình, Hà Nội
Phan Hương Giang
Media and Communications Analyst, Climate Change and Environment
Tel: 0948 466 688       Email: phan.huong.giang@undp.org.vn

World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF-Việt Nam)
Add: No.6, Lane 18 Nguyễn Cơ Thạch, Nam Từ Liêm, Hà Nội
Tạ Anh Tuấn
Tel: 0945 695 123       Email: tuan.taanh@wwf.org.vn