“Mizuiku - Em yêu nước sạch (I love clean water)”, a project to promote future generation’s awareness on water conservation, was launched on March 19 in My Duc & Thanh Oai Districts as an initiative to welcome the World Water Day on 22nd March by Suntory Group and Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam Beverage. Attending the opening ceremony were representatives from Ministry of Planning and Investment, Ministry of Health, People Committees and Departments of Education and Training of Thanh Oai and My Duc Districts, Hanoi City, principals of piloted schools, senior representatives of Suntory Group and Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam Beverage, Live and Learn and nearly 400 teachers and pupils of Do Dong Elementary School.
In Japanese, Mizu stands for “water” and iku stands for “education”. Mizuiku is a natural water education programme that has been successfully deployed in the home regions of Suntory natural mineral water since 2004. After ten years of implementation, the number of programme participants reached 98,000 children and parents in Japan attending teaching class and outdoor activities.
Mizuiku is a meaningful programme that brings sustainable benefits to the society, especially to the youth, and Vietnam is the first country other than Japan having Mizuiku programme implemented by Suntory. The project is funded by Suntory Holdings Limited (SHD) Japan and conducted by Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam Beverage (SPVB), the strategic alliance between Suntory and PepsiCo. in coordination with local authorities, schools and Live and Learn, a global NGO in the field of environmental education.
The prime focus of this unique hands-on programme is to educate children on the role of the water on the planet and to raise their awareness on the importance of water resources and water hygiene in their daily life so that they can lead a healthy life and water resources can be handed down to future generations. In Vietnam, the pilot programme is aimed at involving of about 1,600 pupils and teachers from 6 elementary schools in two districts of Thanh Oai and My Duc, Hanoi. Lasting one year, Mizuiku programme offers study programmes for students as well as outdoor activities including a factory tour to one of SPVB’s plants to observe reuse, water saving activities and waste water treatment system at the factory's production lines. Besides incorporating water education, the project also sponsors installation of water facilities or renovation of rest rooms which have been seriously degraded at these schools.
At the first teaching class about water, pupils at Do Dong elementary schools had the opportunity to see pictures/photos exhibition and short animated videos which conveyed practical and useful messages such as: If you waste water, other people may not have water to use; Drinking water from unprocessed sources can make you ill; Water resources are limited and it will run out once you do not save it, etc.
Mr Katsuyasu Kato, Executive Chairman of SPVB said: “As beverage companies, both SHD and SPVB strive to save water resources. The Mizuiku programme manifests our corporate philosophy of “In Harmony with People and Nature” which goes beyond producing environment-friendly products and mobilizing employees for volunteer activities. The Mizuiku programme proves our efforts in continuing to pursue our corporate philosophy as well as contributing to the sustainable development of the community. We expect the programme to benefit Vietnamese elementary pupils – future protectors of country environment as it does in Japan.”
Under the Group’s value of “Sharing the profit with society”, SPVB has a strong commitment to sustainable business practices that are beneficial to its employees, business partners and communities, especially on environmental protection activities such as Recycle Day, World Environment Day, World Ocean Day, Think and Drink Campaign, Waterhope Project in Quang Nam province, etc. Mizuiku Programme is not a project-based initiative but it is a long-term project that is closely tied to SPVB’s operation.
TLD
Vietnamese
