A festival for World Milk Day is part of a $2.39 million programme to help young people overcome barriers

The programme, named “For a Vietnam to leap forward and reach higher”, is a long-term project jointly implemented since 2020 by the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) and FrieslandCampina Vietnam (FCV) through its Dutch Lady brand. The programme responded to World Milk Day on June 1 with a festival located in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

This festival, themed on overcoming challenges, aimed to bring Vietnamese children a useful and creative space with physical activities helping them improve their health and readiness to cope with all challenges. This was deemed especially important considering the restrictions of the two previous summers.

The festival also marked an important milestone for the next stage of the programme, which costs around $2.39 million.

With more than 150 years of experience and sustainable development globally, and 25 years with Vietnam, FCV is expanding its mission to not simply stop at the commitment to protect the environment, save energy, minimise waste, and reduce carbon emissions, but also go further when meeting the needs of human development and improving quality of life, in which nutrition and education are the two important contributors.

For that reason, the long-term strategic cooperation programme with the MoET has placed priority on providing comprehensive care for the future young generation. Through it, more than 1.5 million primary school students will receive nutrition education and physical development within five years.

In the first phase of the programme, more than 300,000 students have benefited from the nutrition education initiative, 10 playgrounds have been built, and more than 200 nutrition corners have been created. The programme has thus far been focused on the five southern localities of Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Can Tho, and An Giang, and is set to be carried out in many more localities in the coming years.

Entering its third year, “For a Vietnam to leap forward and reach higher” will reach new heights in its mission with the initiative titled “Nursing the future generation of young people in the 4.0 era”. Under this, the Dutch Lady brand will cooperate with the MoET to deploy electronic teaching schemes, helping people maintain their studies anytime and anywhere, enhancing their acumen and improving their knowledge and intelligence. This is also considered a practical initiative to respond to the digital transformation trends at Dutch Lady in this project.

FCV marketing director Ta Thuy Ha said, “Over the past 25 years in Vietnam, the company has always devoted itself to the market by providing Dutch-standard nutrition suitable for all consumers. We help people, especially children, easily access good nutrition with a view to contributing to the overall development of the country, and fulfilling their mission to grow further together with Vietnam.”

At every quick and steady step towards that goal, Dutch Lady will accompany the government and the community to work towards the comprehensive development of children through healthcare and physical development of future preschoolers, Ha added.

The “For a Vietnam to leap forward and reach higher” programme aims for a total of 1,250 nutrition corners to provide knowledge about balanced nutrition and monitor the progress of height and weight growth for students at 1,250 primary schools nationwide. It will also construct 65 stadiums for schools that garner excellent achievements.

In addition, the programme also implements extracurricular activities for more than 1.5 million primary school students in order to form positive nutritional habits for children. These are carried out through interactive activities and the practical experience of learning while playing, either at the beginning of the week or on break times, at 1,500 primary schools nationwide.

Dutch Lady’s initiatives are keeping thousands of schoolchildren engaged and active

Vietnamese children are being encouraged to reach higher

The festival helps youngsters improve their health and wellbeing