Earth Day Essay Winners Announced

The judging panel poses with the winners of the Earth Day Essay Contest

In honor of Earth Day, the U.S. Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City and the Institute of International Education held an English-language Earth Day essay contest on the theme, “How Do You View Environmental Issues in Vietnam?” Entries flooded in, each offering a creative vision for environmental solutions in Vietnam. The judging panel, consisting of Assistant Public Affairs Officer Sunshine Ison; Consulate Officer and former environmentalist Ian Rozdilsky; and English Language Fellow Michele Lewis, read more than 150 essays to choose the winners. At a standing-room-only awards ceremony held at the Kim Do Hotel on Saturday, April 26, the top five essayists read portions of their work before being awarded valuable prizes (including bicycles and tourism vouchers of up to 5 million VN Dong each) donated by the Vietnam Waste Solutions, APL Vietnam Ltd., and SaigonTourist. The top honor went to Ms. Tong Thi Tien Chau for her essay, “Plastic Bags: Time to Say Goodbye?” The other winners were as follows: second place, Vu Quynh Chau; third place, Nguyen Thao Van; fourth place, Nguyen Dieu Vu; and fifth place, Vu Anh Kha. Congratulations to the winners and to all participants for their great work!