HANOI (ILO News) – Eight young people from Viet Nam, with the support of the International Labour Organization (ILO), made significant contributions to raising awareness about occupational risks and hazards facing youth in the world of work during the 21st World Congress on Safety and Health at Work (XXI WCSH) that took place in Singapore in September 2017. The delegates from Viet Nam to the XXI WCSH included three young workers, two young government officials, one young employer, and two other young advocates for workplace safety and health. They were selected from more than 350 applicants worldwide to participate in the event and form a new international network of 125 young workers, young employers, young government officials and others aged 15 – 24 from 29 countries. The SafeYouth@Work Congress was organized by the ILO at the invitation of the XXI WCSH International Organizing Committee (IOC) and in close collaboration with the Singapore Ministry of Manpower (MoM).

SafeYouth@Work Congress

During the SafeYouth@Work Congress, Viet Nam Youth Champions for Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) participated in international design thinking teams to develop their own prototype solutions to OSH challenges facing youth in the world of work. For example, Dinh Son Tung, a young government official from Viet Nam, collaborated with an international team of youth champions to develop a prototype computer game to educate players about workplace health and safety hazards and appropriate control measures. Players of “Dying Game” would encounter various hazardous workplace situations and would be compelled to make choices, with poor choices leading to work-related injury, illness or death, and safe choices allowing players to advance safely and healthily through to the next level of the game. The prototype was highlighted by a panel of expert judges at the XXI WCSH for being an interactive, innovative and promising starting point for further development. “During the XXI World Congress on Safety and Health at Work, we were empowered to work together in teams to build, test, improve and propose our own innovative ideas on how to improve the OSH situation for young people. My team developed a prototype for a game that we hope would help to communicate a strong message about the importance of workplace health and safety for youth like us, based on interactive and innovative methods of learning”, said Dinh Son Tung.

SafeYouth@Work Media Competition

ILO, in collaboration with the International Media Festival for Prevention (IMFP) and the XXI WCSH, organized the global SafeYouth@Work Media Competition, inviting young people from around the world to submit songs, stories, posters, drawings, photos, and films about the importance of safe and healthy work for youth. A total of 131 submissions from 20 countries were received, including five submissions from Viet Nam.

Nguyen Thi Phuong from Viet Nam won in the film category of the SafeYouth@Work Media Competition for contestants aged 18 – 24 with her documentary "Learn from others' mistakes". The film follows the real life story of a male domestic migrant worker who was employed in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) as an engineer at a mechanical company. Due to fatigue resulting from long working hours through nights, he suffered a serious workplace injury, losing two of his fingers. The film encourages viewers to learn from this emotive case study and sends the key message: “wherever you work, whatever your job is, you should use the right personal protective equipment (PPE)”. “I am so happy and so surprised to receive such an unbelievable prize”, said Nguyen Thi Phuong when she learned that she had won a prize in the SafeYouth@Work Media Competition.

To stay connected and continue to catalyse action to promote safe and healthy workplaces for young people in Viet Nam, the XXI WCSH Viet Nam Youth Champions for OSH started their own Facebook page named “Về nhà an toàn”, and are now preparing their action plans for World Day on Safety and Health at Work on 28 April 2018 and beyond.

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