Ho Chi Minh City, June 30, 2024 – The Institute for Sustainable Development Management (MSD), in collaboration with the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Union and the Ho Chi Minh City Children’s Council, organized the “Spreading Love Festival” at the Youth Activities Center of Binh Chanh District. The event is part of the “Spreading Love Campaign 2024,” implemented by MSD in partnership with relevant stakeholders, with support from Save the Children, under the framework of the project “Preventing Physical and Mental Violence and Discrimination Against Children, Including Children with Disabilities.”
Overview of the “SPREADING LOVE FESTIVAL” 2024
In 2024, under the theme “Education Through Love – Love Drives Away Violence,” the campaign targets parents, caregivers, teachers, and stakeholders to eliminate physical and mental punishment and discrimination against children. It aims to create a safe and positive environment where children can express their opinions and collaboratively solve issues related to them, especially by promoting non-violent educational methods in the upbringing of children.
An annual event organized by the Management and Sustainable Development Institute (MSD) since 2017, the “Spreading Love Festival” 2024 was held with the goal of creating a bond between parents and children to practice and spread the values of positive, non-violent educational methods, aiming to end all forms of physical and mental punishment in the process of raising children. The event saw the participation of representatives from the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Union, the Ho Chi Minh City Children’s Council, the Management and Sustainable Development Institute (MSD), Save the Children, and 100 families from Binh Chanh District, with over 300 attendees, including parents, children, teachers, volunteers, and media representatives.
At the opening of the event, Ms. Trịnh Thị Hiền Trân, Deputy Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Union and President of the Ho Chi Minh City Children’s Council, emphasized: “The ‘Spreading Love’ series of activities is held annually by the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Union and the Children’s Council in collaboration with the Management and Sustainable Development Institute (MSD), Save the Children, and local district Youth Unions. The purpose is to spread positive values in life, strengthen education and public awareness about the 2016 Child Law, and enhance the role of the Youth Union – Children’s Council in mobilizing society to protect, care for, and educate children. Especially, we aim to encourage families and the entire society to give children the best things. With this message, we hope to collaborate and connect with organizations working in the field of children’s activities to organize meaningful events and join hands to do good for children, the ‘young citizens’ of the city.”
Ms. Trịnh Thị Hiền Trân delivered the opening speech for the festival.
Sharing the goals and message of the “Spreading Love” campaign, Mrs. Trần Vân Anh, Deputy Director of the Management and Sustainable Development Institute (MSD), stated, “This year’s ‘Spreading Love’ campaign is organized in response to the Action Month for Children and Vietnam Family Day. We aim to contribute additional efforts to raise awareness and mobilize resources for investing in children. Specifically, to create a safe environment and space for children, parents and teachers must eliminate all forms of physical and mental punishment against children, as no educational method should ever be disguised as violence. Implementing positive educational methods (also known as non-violent education) is essential to effectively teach children without causing any harm. Listening and understanding are key to connecting with children, and with that, parents and teachers can more easily and promptly support children when issues arise, without leaving any unfortunate consequences.”
Mrs. Trần Vân Anh delivered a speech sharing the message of the festival.
At the festival, a representative from Save the Children had a friendly interaction and conversation with the participating families. He shared, “Every parent should try to spend time with their children to share and understand each other. When parents talk to their children, it creates a connection and partnership, preventing ‘blaming’ and ‘misunderstanding.’ Start with a simple question, ‘How do you feel today?’ We hope to spread even more the positive values of family education, because the family is a safe and happy home for children.”
Mr. Trần Anh Dũng – Representative of Save the Children
Especially at the festival, the presence of MC and writer Liêu Hà Trinh’s family stood out. She engaged with the audience and inspired many parents with the message, “Let’s be responsible and positive parents, soothing, comforting, and giving each other more hugs and words of encouragement every day. From there, the challenges in family life will gradually be shared, and happiness will come to us. I would like to thank the MSD Institute and Save the Children for their continuous efforts to spread the values of family partnership through positive educational methods, aiming to eliminate all forms of physical and mental violence against children.”
The family of MC-Writer Liêu Hà Trinh interacted at the festival
The festival created a space where children and families had the opportunity to learn about children’s rights and eliminate physical and mental punishment against children, especially in families and schools. Some of the fun activities that fostered parent-child participation during the festival included: a joyful family playground, a music playground “Family Singing Together,” a green living family playground, a creative experience zone, and an active play area. Notably, each family attending the festival was given a gift called “Spreading Love” – communication materials aimed at spreading and conveying the values of positive discipline methods.
Eight-year-old N.N.T from a primary school in Binh Chanh district expressed, “I feel the program is very fun. I received gifts, ate sweets, and played many fun games at the festival. Especially today, I got to go on stage and sing with my mom and say: I love you so much, Mom.”
Ms. K.L.A, a parent attending the festival with her child, eagerly shared her happiness at participating in many exciting activities with her child, such as sidewalk drawing, decorating pictures, planting trees, and playing physical games. “My favorite part was the ‘Parents Understand Their Children’ game. Today, my son and I went on stage to participate in this activity, and I suddenly realized, ‘Ah, so my son wants to be a YouTuber – how interesting!’ After this game, I realize I need to spend more time with my son to understand him better and nurture his dreams based on his abilities. Thank you very much for the ‘Spreading Love’ festival.”
The festival was an opportunity for families to come together, and notably, during this event, the phrases “Parents love children” and “Children love parents” were the most frequently expressed. We hope that families will understand and actively practice positive educational methods, building a happy home where violence and physical or mental punishment have no place.
