Media Release: DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION
Date: 20 September 2008
VIETNAM’S 2008 CLEAN UP THE WORLD LAUNCH
Can Tho – Vietnam’s 14th National “Clean Up the World Day” campaign will be launched at the Multifunctional Stadium in Can Tho City on the morning of Saturday, 20 September 2008. The event is estimated to attract the partcipation of approximately 3,000 people. The launch will include such activities as parades, awareness campaigns, planting trees in the compound of Huyndai Auto company, and cleaning up Cai Khe ward. The campaign is organised the Vietnam Confederation of Labour Unions and local authorities, and supported by the Australian Embassy in Hanoi and the Australian Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City. Vietnam has been a strong supporter of the “Clean Up the World Day” since its first involvement in 1994.
“Clean Up the World Day” originally started on 8 January 1989 in Australia as “Clean Up Sydney Harbour Day”. The following year, the first “Clean Up Australia Day” was held at 5,000 locations across Australia, and more than 300,000 people took part. In September 1993, the first “Clean Up the World Day” was held, marking the transition from an Australian initiative, to a truly global event. Each year, “Clean Up the World” mobilises an estimated 35 million volunteers across 120 countries, making it one of the largest community-based environmental campaigns in the world. Examples of community-led “Clean Up the World” activities include clean up events, recycling projects, educational campaigns, resource recovery projects, tree planting, competitions, exhibitions, and restoration projects.
The theme for the 2008 “Clean Up the World” campaign is “Start today …. Save tomorrow – Clean Up Our Climate”, which reflects that when action is taken locally, the benefits spread globally and to future generations. Action on a community level to reduce the causes of climate change is what the Clean Up the World campaign is focusing on achieving in 2008.
Ian Kiernan, Founder and Chairman of the Clean Up the World Campaign, said “All over the world people are seeing the devastating effects of climate change. Clean Up the World provides every person and community with the opportunity to do something about it… Tens of millions of people around the world taking simple actions is the perfect first step towards protecting the Earth for our future generations.”