The Orientation Day helped participants get to know each other through fun and exciting activities. One of the activities was called Labor Market, which helped to divide students into 6 teams: 7Up, Biet doi tai tu, NEO+, Next Step, Green Smile, and UsBee. Team members developed close bonds after finishing the Treasure Hunt activity at Thu Le Park.

The highlight of Day 2 was the presentation of Ms. Nguyen Thu Hue, the Director of the Centre for Marinelife Conservation and Community Development (MCD) and Co-founder of Ecolife Café. Ms. Hue delivered an inspirational talk about turning problems into opportunities. The concept then was practiced by the teams who used problem trees to analyze existing issues, and then went out of the classroom to collect feedback on their thoughts and analysis from members of the community.

On Day 3, participants learnt about a variety of business models for social impact by visiting two local organizations: To He and Joma Café Bakery. In the afternoon, students were inspired by a talk given by Mr. Lain Heringman, CEO of Bloom Microventures. The guest speaker presented about lessons to become a successful social entrepreneur using the model of his enterprise to illustrate as an example of an innovative. Finally, students had a go at designing their own business models using a tool called the Business Model Canvas.

On Day 4, teams came up with creative ideas for an exciting activity called the 200k Challenge. The Challenge was for teams to launch a small business to generate as much profit as they could, whilst also having as much social impact as possible. Teams has 6 hours and a small initial investment from YESE of 200,000VND to do this. At the end of the day, more than 6 innovative ideas were put into practice, a number of which have potential for implementation and scaling up in the near future.

Following the 200k Challenge, participants shared lessons learnt and heard some words of wisdom about start–ups and finance from the recent YESE alumnus – Pham Ngoc Thang, CEO of PassionZone Vietnam in the morning of Day 5. Their interest in finance was significantly increased after a talk by Mr. Hoang Duc Hai, senior lecturer from Training Academy Maritime Bank, and a short but fun gameshow called “Ring the Golden Bell”.

The YESE Championship 2012 on Day 6 of the program was a great opportunity for students to learn more about and reflect on teamwork. The participants also enjoyed a talk with Mr. Truong Cong Tu, CEO of VietPictures Media, about human resources issues and solutions in an established enterprise.

Day 7 was the last day of the program. Students shared sincere thoughts about the program, reflected on their lessons learnt, new friends, and their bright futures.  Team 4 – Next Step was awarded the best diary video which judged by YESE alumni 2010 and 2011. Finally, ICDIF team with 5 YESE participants: Duong Quang Anh, Ngo Nguyen Hoai Thuong, Dam Ngoc Mai, Nguyen Duc Anh, Nguyen Thien Kien presented their project named “Improving the living conditions of children in the Red River Delta”. The team will participte in the YESE “Next Step Challenge”, receiving financial and technical support from YESE to trial their idea 17 April – 5 May 2012.

The program was a great opportunity for students to thoroughly understand about social entrepreneurship and be motivated to contribute to society. Nonetheless, the first and foremost value that YESE brought to our participants is the long lasting friendships and support between all participants who attended in the program.

Please visit this link for more photos of the YESE 2012 program.

Young Entrepreneurs & Sustainability Education (YESE) Program

YESE 2012  is organized over 7 consecutive days with the following model: Orientation, Opportunity recognition, Building business models, Challenge, Understanding finance, Working as a team, and Selling your idea. YESE Program participants are offered the opportunity to improve knowledge about sustainable development, to practice innovation and problem-solving skills, and to develop and apply entrepreneurship skills for social purposes. The program will engage leading social entrepreneurs and experts in Vietnam.

YESE was developed in response to increasing seriousness of sustainability issues in many countries including Vietnam. Under such circumstances, entrepreneurship plays a crucial role in providing creative and effective solutions to address these issues and improve people’s living standard. YESE 2012 seeks to nurture the next generation of leaders, who holds strong aspiration and determination to build a more sustainable society. The program is designed and organized by GreennoCom with support from UN-Habitat, Centre for Social Initiatives Promotion (CSIP), and RMIT International University Vietnam.

For more information, please contact:

Ms. Tran Thuy Trang
Email: contact@yese.vn
Website: www.yese.vn

]]> http://greennocom.vn/yese-2012-launch/feed/ 0 http://greennocom.vn/green-innovation-forum-sustainable-agriculture-2/ http://greennocom.vn/green-innovation-forum-sustainable-agriculture-2/#comments Tue, 27 Dec 2011 04:40:03 +0000 GreennoCom http://greennocom.vn/?p=1559 “Green Innovation Forum – Sustainable Agriculture” is the final event in a series of four programs of Green Innovation Forum 2011, organized by GreennoCom and 350Vietnam to introduce and discuss feasible and innovative solutions for a sustainable agriculture to the public in Vietnam. The program is sponsored by British Council and FPT Technology Research Institute.

Two guest speakers of the event are Associate Professor Ho Huu An from Faculty of Agronomy, Hanoi University of Agriculture with his research on “Growing vegetables without soil” and Mr. Vu Tu Nam, team leader of the project “Developing a model of raising earthworms (perionyx excavatus)”, which won the first prize at the E-Idea Contest 2011.

“Sustainable Agriculture” is attracting more and more public attention since food security and food safety are being raised as two critical issues for the development of any nation in the world. The matter is considered to be more urgent in Vietnam when fast urbanization is going hand in hand with serious soil degradation in our country. Thus, having a forum for people to raise awareness as well as share thoughts and opinions about this topic is essential. The Green Innovation Forum – Sustainable Agriculture has organized in order to provide a platform for people, especially youth to not only discuss the issue but also broaden their network with experts and interested persons in the field.

The forum was participated by a total of 60 people, including 38 audience, 8 journalists, 2 speakers and 12 volunteers; and previously attracted 103 registrations. Keynote speakers enthusiastically imparted their successful stories, knowledge and experience to the audiences, followed by Q&A sessions, providing the participants the opportunities to clear up queries and learnt more about the speakers’ solutions.

Please click here to see more photos of the event.

Honoured guest speakers invited to the event are Associate Professor. Dr Tạ Cao Minh, Vice Chair of Faculty of Science and Technology; Director of Center for Applied Research and Technology Innovation, School of Electrical Engineering, Hanoi University of Technology and Dr. Khuất Việt Hùng, Chairman of Transport Planning and Management Section; Vice Chair of Institute of Transport Planning and Management, University of Transport and Communication. The speakers provided thorough discussion about the current situation of transport in Vietnam and suggested innovative solutions which included the Electronic Wheelchair PET and solutions for low carbon transportation in Vietnam’s cities.

“Sustainable Transport” is becoming more and more essential for the development in Vietnam, especially in modern cities such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. The topic about Transport is now getting more attention from the public. Therefore, having a platform for people, especially young generation to discuss the issues is crucial. The “Green Innovation Forum – Sustainable Transport” has successfully created an open  platform for the  experts and audience to share their thoughts and opinions about “Sustainable Transport” in Vietnam. 

The forum was participated by a total of 54 people, including 32 audience, 6 journalists, 3 speakers and 13 volunteers; and previously attracted 113 registrations. Invited speakers openly imparted their experiences and creativity to the participants, followed by Q&A sessions, providing the audience the opportunities to clear up queries and learnt more about the speakers’ solutions.

Please click here to see more photos of the event.

GreennoCom participated as one of GreenBiz 2011’s media partners, as well as one of the 81 exhibitors at the GreenBiz 2011 Exhibition, presenting our services in offer and invitations for sponsorship and collaboration opportunities. Our exposition attracted hundreds of participants’ attention and interest in our services and products, including individuals and organizations from Vietnam, Europe and other international institutions.

Here are some pictures of GreennoCom booth at the GreenBiz2011 Exhibition:

GreenBiz 2011 was a large-scale platform for participants to contribute and discuss ideas regarding green business solutions for Vietnam, and a great opportunity to raise awareness on sustainable development in Vietnam.

Guest speakers invited to the event are Architect Hoang Thuc Hao, Chairman of 1+1>2 company and lecturer at University of Civil Engineering; and a team of three architecture students including Dao Thanh Hai, Dang Ngoc Anh, and Nguyen Ha Thang from Hanoi Architectural University and Phuong Dong University, who won the first place in the “Designs Against the Elements” (DAtE) 2010 competition, a global architectural design competition meant to find a solution to the problems presented by climate change. While Mr. Hao presents about his award-winning design of Suoi Re Village Community House; the winners of DAtE will be sharing about their innovative idea for the “Self-help Proofing Village” design.

The concept of sustainable building and green architectural design initiated from the essentiality of improvement on environmental aspects of construction quality, such as efficient consumption of resources; protecting occupants’ health; and reducing waste and pollution from construction sites. The “Green Innovation Forum – Sustainable Building and Architecture” has become a platform for people interested in the development of eco-building and sustainable architecture to communicate and exchange ideas in resolving the remaining issues of building and architecture in Vietnam.

The forum was participated by a total of 80 people, including 43 audience, 16 journalists, 5 speakers and 10 volunteers; and previously attracted 169 registrations. Invited speakers openly shared about their experiences and creativity with the participants, followed by Q&A sessions, providing the audience the opportunities to clear up queries and learnt more about the speakers’ designs. The event was also a platform for individuals with interest in sustainable building, architecture, and solutions to climate change problems to connect and discuss ideas.

Click here to see more photos of the event.

Time: 9.00 – 11.00, Saturday 04 June 2011
Location: Room 202, FPT University, Detech Building, 8 Tôn Thất Thuyết, Hà Nội.
Fee: Free

Two guest speakers of the first event are Associate Professor Pham Ngoc Lan from College of Science, Vietnam National University with his research on Biodiesel production from waste cooking oil and Mr. Nguyen Phan Kien, the team leader of the project “Energy-saving equipment for fluorescent lamps with adjustable brightness levels”, which won the first prize at The Green Idea Contest 2010.

Please reserve your seat by register here. For more information about the event, please email us at event@greenbiz.vn.

The main theme of YESE Express 2011 was a train journey for young travelers to learn and explore the land of social entrepreneurs. Throughout the event, the slogan “Prepare your backpack: Travel around” also called young participants to enrich their knowledge and experience and to nurture their entrepreneurial spirits.

YESE Express 2011 was designed with various activities to diversify the experience of participants. On the Express Train, participants had an opportunity to see different social business projects run by university students in “Business Incubator” and to discover “Genovia Land” to learn about sustainable development and social entrepreneurship knowledge and activities. Finally, they came back to “Entrepreneurs Square” to attend an interesting discussion with famous social entrepreneurs and experts in this area in Vietnam, including Mrs. Pham Kieu Oanh – CSIP’s Managing Director, Mr. Nguyen Quang Thach – Director of Centre for Knowledge Assistance and Community Development, Ms Phan Y Ly – Director of Life Art, Mr. Don Tuan Phuong – Founder & President at Volunteers for Peace and Ms Nguyen Thi Phuong Thanh – Director of Vietnam Education Fund (VEF).

Joining the journey with YESE, more than 300 students have learned not only a new concept but many of them now gradually considered social entrepreneurship as a new and effective approach to sustainably tackle many issues in the society and in their communities.

The event is the final stage in the YESE Program 2011. Previous, YESE members joined in an educational and highly experiential program to learn about social entrepreneurship and sustainable development, following by a field trip to Hoa Binh in February.

The main purpose of JEEF Young Environmental Leadership Program is to support creative and practical green ideas and green projects of young citizens coming from Southeast Asia countries.

The event attracted great attention from Vietnamese students and professionals working in environment areas, especially environmental education. During the Forum this year, besides learning from 7 JEEF-sponsored projects, Vietnamese participants could also expand their networks in environmental field to the region.

The Forum also welcome Associate Professor Nguyen Hoang Tri, Director of Center for Environmental Research and Education, Hanoi National University of Education, Secretary General, Vietnam MAB National Committee as the keynote speaker. His research on the relationship between preservation and development and lessons learned for Vietnam has received great interest from both Vietnamese and foreign participants.

The conference discussed the opportunities and potential of investment in green buildings and energy efficiency buildings in Vietnam. Four presentations were led by representatives from Environmental Defense Fund, Vietnam Green Building Council (VGBC), Kuma Asia Design and Big C Vietnam. The speakers have outlined the picture of sustainable development in construction industry in Vietnam, which was considered to be quite novel but very potential. Besides sharing experiences in developing and managing green buildings in Vietnam, the speakers also introduced green building management and assessment tools, which could be applied in other businesses and buildings.

The Green Buildings Conference was a platform for people and organizations interested in sustainable constructions, including architects, material suppliers, construction firms and real estate developers to network and look for future investment and cooperation. Green building is not only an important aspect of the green economy but also creates new, more sustainable competitive advantages for real estate companies in Vietnam.