Preparing ENV to Meet New Environmental Challenges Ahead (April 10, 2006)
In January 2006, ENV Founding Director Vu Thi Quyen had the unique opportunity to participate in an intensive three-month training course on Governance and Environmental Democracy, thanks to a Chevening Fellowship Program sponsored by the British Government.
The course bought together 15 environmental leaders from 12 countries and was hosted by the University of Wolverhampton in Birmingham, England. It was focused on environmental policy, management, and communications. Course participants worked long hours on specific case studies, presented their findings, and discussed how similar models might be applied in their home countries.
Quyen gave the course high marks. “In addition to the knowledge I gained from the formal content of the course, the experience of working in small groups under pressure along with other motivated people from different backgrounds and cultures helped build my confidence as a leader.”
Would Quyen recommend similar training to others? As the organization continues to grow and meet new challenges to Vietnam’s environment, “Absolutely”, says Quyen, who is tasked with finding ways to improve the knowledge and skills of her staff at ENV. Quyen notes that another outcome of the course has been the friendships she made with like-minded environmental leaders, which she hopes will last well into the future.
Quyen wishes to thank the British Council in Vietnam for their support and encouragement, as well as Wolverhampton University and the Foreign Commonwealth Office for sponsoring the course.
Vu Thi Quyen established ENV in 2000 as Vietnam’s first local non-government organization. Since then, ENV has grown remarkably with 24 staff members working in five major program areas: training of educators, raising awareness at the community level, combating the illegal wildlife trade, linking educators within the region, and producing educational resources such as popular student magazine, Green Forest.
