U.K. Organizations Launch E-Idea Competition 2011 in Vietnam

E-idea, an innovative competition, co-held by the British Council and the Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance (LRQA), to seek solutions to protect the environment and cope with climate change, has been launched in Vietnam. The competition’s organizing board will identify six initiatives, either new ideas (start-ups) or expanded existing projects (step-ups), that can make meaningful contributions to the region’s environmental future by focusing on sustainable solutions to real-life challenges. The start-up winners will receive a cash prize of VND100 million ($4,800) and the step-up winners will get VND140 million. Projects need to illustrate their ideas for solving one of the greatest environmental issues threatening urban Vietnam, including improving waste management and reduction, encouraging the use of eco-friendly means of transport, saving energy and using water efficiently. The similar competitions have been launched in Australia, China, Japan, Indonesia, South Korea and Thailand.  Vietnam is facing serious environmental pollution caused by waste, wastewater and exhausted fumes, posing great threats to lives and the public health. It has approved a plan to spend VND1.1 trillion on environmental protection activities in 2011. (vovnews.vn April 26, Thanh Nien – Young People April 27 p8)