The Miss Tourism Identity Vietnam contest held in the special zone of Ly Son, Quang Ngai suddenly became the focus of public opinion when a video appeared recording students sitting in the front row, watching the swimsuit performance of the contestants. The organizers apologized to the community's reaction. However, the explanations are sophistry.
The beauty pageant stage with the swimsuit competition is an activity for adult audiences. But when dozens of children wearing school uniforms, arranged to sit in the front seats to watch this competition, the story has shifted from an entertainment event to a cultural and educational issue.
Swimsuit performances in beauty contests are inherently permitted by law. The issue is not in the swimsuit set, but in the audience and the way it is organized. Children are not a "backdrop" to beautify a program. Even more, they cannot become reluctant viewers for content that is not suitable for their age.
However, instead of admitting fault, the Organizing Committee gave many explanations that due to hot weather, to ensure the health of the children, they were brought to the stands early; that was a coordination incident and there was no policy for students to watch this performance...
The organizers can completely let the children stay in a separate area, waiting to receive gifts. If there is a separate gift-giving scenario, they can adjust the program schedule, or use a backup plan.
What public opinion needs is not justification, but taking responsibility for violating the minimum principle of protecting children in the public environment.
Unfortunately, only when public opinion reacted strongly, images spread widely and management agencies intervened, did the Organizing Committee issue an apology letter.
Apologies are necessary, but the incident happened. An apology cannot replace the professional responsibility of the event organizing unit. This is not an incident in a beauty contest. But the organizers still see this as just a "lack of flexibility" error, so similar errors can completely be repeated in other programs.
In recent years, many cultural and entertainment programs often add charity activities, scholarships, and gifts for children to increase human values. That is encouraging. But charity cannot become a "ticket" to bring children to appear in every space, regardless of appropriate standards.
The lesson from Ly Son also sets requirements for local authorities and cultural management agencies. When licensing a program with children's participation, it is not possible to only consider the performance content, but also to carefully evaluate the script, organizational process, streaming plan and ensure an environment suitable for the age group.
Education does not only take place in classrooms. Every social event carries an educational message. When adults are lenient with limits that need to be respected, children themselves will be the ones to bear the consequences.
