Founded in 2019 by Founder Nguyen Ngoc Anh, Green Vietnam is a volunteer community gathering young people with common concerns about the environment. From activities such as cleaning garbage, cleaning public spaces, planting trees to propagating green lifestyles, the community has gradually expanded its network and attracted a large number of volunteers across the country.
After 6 years of operation, Green Vietnam currently has more than 200,000 volunteers at more than 400 bridge points nationwide.
Phan Tung Chi, Hanoi Green Volunteer (Vietnam Green Community in Hanoi), has participated in many activities to clean up garbage, clean up public spaces and propagate a green lifestyle. From direct experience with environmental issues in daily life, Chi realized that changing perceptions often starts from clearly seeing the impact of actions that seem very small.
Previously, when I saw the actions of throwing a small piece of garbage into the environment, I didn't pay too much attention. However, when I participated in the community and directly cleaned up, I clearly saw those seemingly very small actions, but they kept repeating, many people working together left very big consequences for the environment, and I wanted to contribute a part of my effort to change that, even from the smallest things," the female volunteer shared.
Chi said that in the early days of participating, she was also worried about dirty, smelly garbage bags and potential risks of epidemics. However, thanks to the guidance of senior volunteers and the full preparation of protection measures, Chi gradually got used to the job and understood more about the meaning of the activities she was participating in.
Similarly, Quang Nhat started participating in Hanoi Green from his first year of university, after the introduction of his classmates. According to Nhat, social networks are becoming a useful information transmission channel, especially for young people. Through images and videos about volunteer activities, many people can learn about programs, learn how to participate and actively connect with the community.
Nhat said that community activities have received negative comments many times, saying that volunteers are just "showing off". However, instead of arguing, members choose to continue working and let the actual results speak out.
According to Vuong Ngoc Linh, member of the Vietnam Green Communications Committee, bringing community activities to social networks contributes to expanding access, especially among young people.
When environmental activities appear on the news board, viewers can curiously learn, share with friends, or register to participate in subsequent programs. The spread therefore does not lie in the number of views or shares, but in the connections created afterwards. A post about environmental activities can bring a person who has never volunteered closer to the community.
Volunteers after participating also become people who continue to spread the message. They share their experiences, images and stories on their personal pages, helping environmental protection activities continue to be known and connect with new groups of friends," Linh said.
When those actions are shared and continued, environmental awareness also has more opportunities to be sown in the community, starting from simple changes in daily life.
