BCMACC-Hanoi
As part of its ‘Redraw The Line’ climate change awareness project, the Asia-Pacific Media Alliance for Social Awareness (‘The Media Alliance’) has been organising a series of one-day regional and national seminars in partnership with local stakeholders on ‘Building Critical Mass Awareness of Climate Change’ to examine how the media, advertising and entertainment sectors can be more engaged to support awareness building activities.

The seminars discuss how these sectors can partner with development agencies, multi-lateral institutions and NGOs – and private sector corporations with strong CSR initiatives relating to sustainable development – to stimulate dialogue and cooperation on mitigating and adapting to climate change.

The fourth in this series of seminars was held in Hanoi, Vietnam, on 5 December 2013 and was hosted by the Academy of Journalism and Communication. The event addressed how multi-sector partnerships could advance public awareness and behaviour change initiatives on climate change in Vietnam.

The seminar also examined how the media, advertising and entertainment sectors in Vietnam could give visibility to the social, humanitarian, environmental and sustainable development implications of climate change through programming and editorial content, public service advertising, and the use of social media and other substantive digital information platforms.

The events are being supported by Sweden and the Asian Development Bank through the ‘Redraw The Line’ climate change awareness campaign.

The Media Alliance wishes to thank all those speakers listed in the programme below for their time and effort in preparing presentations that made this event informative and productive, and to the delegates who attended, and the 200+ student observers from the AJC, for their active participation throughout the day.

PROGRAMME

9.00am

Opening Remarks by Assoc Prof Dr Truong Ngoc Nam, Director of the AJC
9:10am

Keynote Address

Critical mass awareness is needed for the mainstreaming of both mitigation and adaption to climate change. Building a rapid respoonse is not only the responsibility of government and big business, but of every citizen on the planet, whether they are carbon contributors through the consumption of energy, transportation and manufactured goods, or merely potential victims of natural disasters, flood, drought, food and water scarcity. There is a need to popularise awareness of both mitigation and adaptation and to attempt to slow the adverse effects that the use of fossil fuels have had on the planet and to prepare for the impact of climate change.

Lauren Sorkin, Country Specialist (Vietnam), Environment and Climate Change, Asian Development Bank

9:35am

Setting the Scene: Pro-Social and Behaviour Change Campaigns

Public awareness and behaviour change campaigns have the potential to be vehicles and mediums for positive change among the audiences they reach. The media, advertising and entertainment sectors have the power to educate, and shift minds and hearts on key social and environmental issues that can lead to lasting change.

This introductory session will provide an overview of how a campaign such as Redraw The Line is organized and implemented, what is required to make it succeed, and how partnerships such as that with the No Impact Project can extend mainstream and social media messaging to on-the-ground activities to reinforce campaign themes.

David Astley, Chairman & CEO, The Media Alliance

Jude Defensor, Philippines Coordinator, Redraw The Line

10:00am

Session 1 – Advertising and Entertainment – The Role and Responsibility of Agencies and Entertainers

Advertising itself is a US$450 billion a year industry. And that’s before the revenue from merchandise sales are factored in. But of that figure, less than 1% is spent on social advertising. And yet advertising shapes the consumption, values and behaviours of billions of consumers across the globe, fueling the consumption cycles of natural resources and the generation of vast amounts of waste, thus contributing to climate change. Entertainment personalities too can have a tremendous impact on what people choose to buy, or not buy, through their product endorsements. So, what is the corporate social responsibility of the advertising and entertainment sectors? What postive roles can they play in combating climate change and how do they demonstrate corporate social responsibility (CSR) themselves?
Le Quoc Vinh, CEO, Le Bros

Nguyen Thanh Son, General Director, T&A Ogilvy

Nguyen Thu Thuy, Director and Writer, VTV Film Center

10:50am

Coffee Break
11:10am

Session 2 – Media Companies – Public Service Advertising and Education:

Media and entertainment outlets are in the best possible position to reach mass audiences and promote awareness of issues such as climate change. What awareness campaigns have been undertaken in Vietnam to date, and have they been effective? What more can media organisations do to raise awareness of climate change and what are the challenges in maintaining audience and reader interest? How can media effectively reach those communities – often in poorer rural and remote areas – that will be most affected by climate change?

Nguyen Ngoc Anh, Deputy Head of Culture, Technology and Environment Division, News & Current Affairs Department, Vietnam Television
Nguyen Tien Long, Director of International Cooperation, Voice of Vietnam

Hoang Quoc Dung, Journalist, Tien Phong newspaper, and Vice-President, Vietnam Forum of Environmental Journalists

12:00pm

Lunch
1:00pm

Session 3 – PANEL DISCUSSION – Partnering with the private sector

Many companies in the private sector are engaged in CSR activities that promote sustainable development, environmental preservation, and other issues that have links to climate change. However, most of these CSR activities are undertaken by mulit-national coporations on a regional basis. How can more Vietnamese private sector companies be engaged to support such CSR initiatives in Vietnam to contribute to awareness raising at the local level?

Do Viet Anh, Founder & Director, Boo Co. Ltd.
Truong Phan Viet Thang, Head of Secretariat, Vietnam Business Council for Sustainable Development
Do Hoai Anh, Managing Director, Pioneer Marketing & Communications
2:00pm

Session 4 – Partnering with the public sector and civil society

Social issue advertising and communication for development are crucial activities for development agencies, multi-lateral institutions, non-governmental and civil society organisations. But they often lack budgets and are limited in the extent to which they can sustain audience outreach. Collaboration with media companies, advertising agencies, PR firms and private sector CSR initiatives are measures employed to build visibility of sustainable development issues. To what extent is this happening in Vietnam and where are there opportunities for more collaboration to raise awareness of climate change?

Hong Minh Hoang, Southeast Asia Co-Coordinator, 350.org

Nguyen Thi Hai Dieu, Youth Facilitator, Live and Learn

Nguyen Phuong Ngan, Vietnam Communication Officer, WWF

Vu Quynh Linh‬, Government Official, Clean Air Asia

3:00pm

Coffee Break

3:20pm

Session 5 – Mitigation or Adaptation: What are the priorities for Vietnam?

The needs of individual countries and communities regarding climate change are different. Some are more concerned with adaptation to drought and desertification whilst others face flooding, clean water shortages and food security issues. Still others need to place more emphasis on addressing mitigation and carbon contribution. What are the priorities in mitigation and adaptation in Vietnam and where should campaign resources be directed to have the most impact? What other local resources are available for addressing climate change with the public?
Tran Phong, Director, Center for Environment Training & Communication, Vietnam Environment Administration, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment

Vu Trung Kien, Director, Climate Change Resilience Centre
Nguyen Minh Hieu, Communication Officer, Vietnam Green Building Council

Tran Duy Long, CP Consultant, Sustainable Product Innovation (SPIN)
4:20pm

Summary and Synthesis

What ideas has the seminar stimulated? What opportunities are there for further multi-sector collaboration in Vietnam on building critical mass awareness of climate change?
David Astley, Chairman & CEO, The Media Alliance

Mardy Halcon-Cristobal, incoming Campaign Director, Redraw The Line

Duong Nguyen, Communications Consultant

Media Sector Partners:

wanifra amic casbaaAdvertising Sector Partners:
saatchi branded ta ogilvy 4asOther Supporting Partners:
asean cleanair

ABOUT THE ORGANISERS

THE MEDIA ALLIANCE The Asia-Pacific Media Alliance for Social Awareness (‘The Media Alliance’) is a Singapore-based non-profit organization formed in 2009 through the involvement of a group of Asia-regional media industry executives and their companies to leverage valuable broadcast ‘inventory’ and print media space for the delivery of critical pro-social messaging through Public Service Advertising, entertainment and editorial content. The Media Alliance also leverages the contribution of creative expertise of advertising agencies in the production of high-quality campaigns designed to achieve maximum target audience penetration. The Media Alliance stakeholders include (1) Media Companies, who provide media space for pro-social campaigns; (2) Advertising, PR & Creative Agencies, who contribute pro-bono creative and production services: (3) International Development and Donor Organisations who provide the seed funding for campaign development; and (4) Private Sector Corporations providing financial support through Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives that enable campaigns to be implemented on a larger scale.

The ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK (ADB) is a regional development bank established in 1966 to promote economic and social development in Asian and Pacific countries through loans and technical assistance. It is a multilateral development financial institution owned by 67 members, 48 from the region and 19 from other parts of the globe. ADB’s vision is a region free of poverty. Its mission is to help its developing member countries reduce poverty and improve the quality of life of their citizens.

The Faculty of Public Relations and Advertising at the ACADEMY OF JOURNALISM AND COMMUNICATION (AJC) was founded in 2006 and provides the first degree courses of public relations (BA and MA) and advertising (BA) in Vietnam. Its core aim is to train professionals working in communications fields and become a leading research center of public relations and advertising. Its courses are designed based on the curricula frame of international universities in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia as well as through consultancies by leading experts in communications fields. Its dynamic, innovative and interdisciplinary academic programs allow students to enhance professional skills, prepare for a new career, or pursue intellectual inquiries for personal enrichment. Depending on the course, students may have field trips, laboratory or practical work, and a wide range of individual and group assignments and projects, as well as independent study. The faculty has enrolled graduates for the second university degree course since 2008 and a PR Masters course since 2010. The faculty also offers intensive, short courses on public relations and advertising including event planning, communications, presentation, negotiation, speech-making skills and communication management skills. Being a dynamic and leading research institution in both the theory and practice of public relations and advertising, the faculty has carried out several scientific research projects at ministry and university levels, as well as research projects funded by international research institutes.