Amine's Experience at CSDS (Centre For Sustainable Development Studies) Vietnam

I've now been in Hanoi for 3 weeks, and I can say that I'm falling in love with the city and probably the country too it reminds me of my chaotic hometown Casablanca, but chaotic on another level. The scents and colors make my senses go crazy, and I like it. It's that kind of craziness that heals your soul
from the Western lifestyle.

The second week I started working in CSDS (centre for sustainable development studies). CSDS promotes education for sustainable development in Vietnam and intervenes at community level to improve basic necessities such as food, water, shelter and clothing for people in rural areas, especially children. They also raise awareness on the environment, water and sanitation. I'm taking part in two main projects; one is creating a campaign to reduce the use of plastic bags in a local market in a busy area of Hanoi. I believe that in order to create a green environment, all we need is the right attitude: an eco-lifestyle attitude. We need creative campaigns such as the Plastic Bags Campaign to improve environmental awareness among members of the community.

We're going to start the campaign by Dong Xa market and then who knows, we could spread the campaign to other markets and areas in Hanoi. Right now, we are working in the base survey asking sellers and customers about their daily use of plastic bags, some young students are helping us with the Vietnamese language, and I'm filming a clip about it. By the end of May we will start doing workshops in schools close to the market.

The second project I'm working on is a project to promote and develop a Community Based Eco-tourism project in four villages in An-Lac rural area. In 2 weeks I'm going to visit the project.

Last month I participated in Hanoi Global Volunteer Day (GVD 2014), a Cultural Exchange Program that has attracted significant numbers of young people from many countries that are volunteering in Vietnam.

"Global Volunteering Day" is an annual activity put forth by the Volunteers for Peace Vietnam club (VPV Club). The program was organized in a large scale and is considered the largest festival about cultural exchange of volunteers from many countries around the world. The money raised from the program will help the children of Dao Yen Bai province, one of the many ethnic communities in Vietnam.

The international volunteers contributed many excellent performances such as traditional dancing from Thailand, Japan, Indonesia and Palestine.

Each country was represented by a booth with more than 20 cultural from Vietnam, France, Palestine, Germany, Australia, Japan, Korea, Spain, Denmark, Morocco etc. Each booth displayed the country’s unique features from food, traditional costumes to other cultural characteristics. In the event Irepresented both Morocco and Spain. I went to the Moroccan and the Spanish embassy in Hanoi where they gave us some flags, pictures, brochures, etc. The young Vietnamese were very impressed by the diversity in Moroccan and Spanish cultures. It was an opportunity for me to interact directly with young Vietnamese and other international volunteers learn about their country and make some friends.

This kind of event contributes to the formation of good values and intercultural exchanges that will surely help the Vietnamese youth create a better future for their country.

Since arriving, I’ve been really impressed by the Vietnamese evolution regarding the economy,
technology and tourist attractions. It will be even more developed in 10 years probably.

For now, I will remain an observer—but an observer who will attempt mixing among the colors.

Amine Nadir