UNESCO and UNICEF, with support from the Australian Embassy in Vietnam, have launched a campaign called “Winning Indoors” for Vietnamese children and their families to find fun ways to stay happy and healthy while at home.

UNESCO and UNICEF, with support from the Australian Embassy in Vietnam,
launch a campaign called “Winning Indoors” for Vietnamese children and
their families to find fun ways to stay happy and healthy while at home.
(Photo: UNICEF) 

“Winning Indoors” is a collection of indoor game ideas created by children and young people and shared on a purpose-built website for children. The social media campaign encourages children to create indoor games and submit their ideas for games to be featured on the website.

The campaign aims to inspire Vietnamese youth to be physically active indoors with their families for their well-being while preventing the spread of COVID-19.

“No one does fun and games better than children. Winning Indoors provides a platform to showcase the imagination and creativity of children to foster a healthy lifestyle, even when stuck at home,” said Michael Croft, UNESCO Representative to Vietnam.

Playing outdoors is challenging for many children due to poor air quality, lack of facilities and bad weather. These challenges have been amplified during the COVID-19 pandemic with social distancing measures, movement restrictions, school closures and confinement. Winning Indoors aims to inspire children to be active through the pandemic and beyond by playing and creating fun, active and inclusive indoor games.

“Measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 have inadvertently caused stress and affected the emotional well-being of children,” said Rana Flowers, UNICEF Representative in Vietnam.

“Play is one of the most important ways by which young children cope with stress and gain essential knowledge and skills. All parents and caregivers are encouraged to spend time playing with children, encouraging them to be creative and to design their own games.”

Several celebrities and influencers including Chau Bui, H’Hen Nie, Quang Dang and Suboi are lending their voices to support the campaign by amplifying the messages to encourage children to participate in the “Winning Indoors”.

The campaign will run until September and hopes to gather hundreds of game ideas submissions through the website. People can follow UNICEF or UNESCO social media accounts in Vietnam, or visit the special website www.winningindoors.com to submit games or to try new games created by other users.