UNICEF, health ministry launch “Kindness is Contagious” campaign against COVID-19

The campaign will emphasise three key messages: Be kind, Be tolerant and Be optimistic.

Hanoi (VNA) - UNICEF Vietnam and the Ministry of Health (MoH) on May 6 launched a mass and social media campaign entitled “Kindness is Contagious” to call on adolescents and young people to show support for their community by sharing innovative and creative solutions to the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The campaign will emphasise three key messages: Be kind, Be tolerant and Be optimistic.

It will be rolled out on social and mass media for the next weeks and will tap into the strengths of adolescents and young people who want to do more to fight anxiety, and who want share their feelings and aspirations with their networks and peers all over the country. The goal is to amplify the youngsters’ voices by inviting them to share drawings, videos, innovative and creative solutions through UNICEF and the MoH’s digital platforms.

“We are in uncertain and challenging times, where physical distancing leaves us ‘alone’ more than ever. There is a growing movement wanting the new normal to learn from the past, to be better and kinder. Now more than ever is the time to care and show love and through the campaign, we ask adolescent and young people to undertake acts of kindness. Any action, even modest, will have a strong impact on our community to get through the period and emerge stronger together,” said Rana Flowers, UNICEF Representative in Vietnam.

With this campaign, the MoH wants to offer the Vietnamese young people more opportunities to share their ideas, contribute and maximize the power and passion of youth to join hands with the community to fight COVID-19, said Nguyen Dinh Anh, Director of the ministry’s Department for Communication, Emulation and Award.

From May to June 2020, UNICEF Vietnam in partnership with the MoH will implement the media campaign to raise awareness, and build solidarity and mutual support.

Young Vietnamese artists and organisations, including singer Min, Ngot music band, Rapper/song writer Suboi, Fashionista Chau Bui, Actress Ninh Duong Lan Ngoc, Painter Tamypu and Nha Nam Publishing and Communication Company are joining hands with UNICEF and the MOH to boost the campaign with hashtag #long_tot_de_lay on Instagram and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/events/233671047848078/.

TikTok - a Chinese video-sharing social networking service and UN agencies such as  the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) are also partnering for the implementation of the campaign.

Vietnam boasts a young population, with 70 percent under 35. Young people represent an inexhaustible source of ideas and creativity, a real driving force for change in the country.

In this health crisis context, the campaign is an opportunity for youth people to emerge as a pillar against the spread of the pandemic and misinformation. UNICEF and the MoH want to give them a chance to raise their voices and position themselves as leaders to fight anxiety and support each other.

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. More than 190 countries and territories, it works for every child, everywhere, to build a better world for everyone./.

The campaign’s key activities will be

1. Stimulate dialogues with decision-makers, influencers, adolescents and young people through mass media (TV and Radio talk shows).

2. Promote the voices of young people through UNICEF and MOH social media creative platform involving artists and young people to stimulate creative thinking and problem-solving (#long_tot_de_lay Instagram, Facebook).

3. Engage with influencers, artists through social media platforms and promote positive messages (#long_tot_de_lay TikToK).

4. Amplify adolescent and young champions, promote sharing and caring for others through mass and social media (Human interest story, photo series, short videos).