Event

12.07.2011 - 14.07.2011

Quy Nhon 2050: Visioning Development Options under Climate Change (Vietnam Media Workshop)

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Introduction

Responding to climate change galvanized the importance of planning for the future in light of the current trends in global carbon consumption. These may lead into many different scenarios that could be derived from a range of different assumptions depending on how global society will be organized over the next thirty to fifty years. Such projections could aid in the formulation of strategic policy options that might be implemented in the coming decades to help mitigate carbon consumption as well as design adaptation measures to respond to forecasted climate impacts. However, given the implications for climate change that permeates all aspects of society (economic, social and environmental), developing an adaptation strategy and response first requires us to make projections of the future societies these response strategies are to support.

The workshop “Quy Nhon 2050, Visioning City Development Options and Planning for Climate Change Adaptation” was developed to address to these challenges. The style of workshop, which put emphasis on creative thinking from all participants through interactive exercises generated a productive dynamic and equally unique outcome. Through the use of long-term scenario-based planning, extensive public participation at the community level and the participation of journalists, the workshop was the first of its kind in Viet Nam.

Objectives
The main objectives of this workshop include:

1. Introduce the concept of long-term planning under a dynamic socio-economic condition

2. Introduce the concept of multiple scenarios development as a tool for responding to future uncertainties

3. Introduce the concept of a holistic view of the future that embraces climate changein conjunction with socio-economic change, to formulate story lines for testing the effectiveness of various development strategies toward providing climate change resilience across all sectors of society

4. Introduce the concept of climate change adaptation as a dynamic process, requiring repeated and on-going planning and testing over time

The workshop aimed to assist the journalists to identify the Quy Nhon City’s current challenges, outline the scenarios of the city in context of climate change by 2050 and develop strategies to address foreseen issues in the future. It also aimed to convey to the local authorities that the climate change adaptation actions are not just responsibilities of the municipal government but part of wider efforts for further development of the city with participation of communities.

The workshop was conducted in Vietnamese by a facilitator from TBWA/Thailand and was supported by a Vietnamese facilitator. A total of four Vietnamese facilitators assisted in the workshop – one researcher and policy maker, one community based disaster risk management expert and two journalists who provided support for group discussion.

Activities
The workshop began with field trip aimed to expose the participants to the core challenges the coastal communities in Quy Nhon are facing while working to meet their development objectives while responding to climate change at the same time. This was followed by a kick-off activity where all participants were briefed on (i) the national climate change policies by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and (ii) the regional perspective on climate change adaptation by APAN. 

A feature film, The Butterfly Effect, was shown to the participants to set the background for workshop discussion. The participants then visited the Development Planet System photo exhibition to understand the current context and consequences of development directions of Quy Nhon City. The concepts of Future Context and Climate Change Planet System were presented and discussed among the participants, focusing on the interrelation among the different areas in the city. The next day the participants were asked to visualize and imagine what Quy Nhon City would be in 2050 based on their observations from the field trip and photo exhibition develop news headlines and scenario stories. A “Hats Game (Other People’s View)” was conducted afterwards to identify key concerns and solutions raised by the participants from different points of view.

Participants
Over 60 participants attended the workshop, including 23 journalists with diverse backgrounds from different provinces of Viet Nam; 5 ministry-level government offcials; 16 representatives from the local government, development planning office, business sector, and local community; 12 member staff from the national partner organizations in Vietnam and and eight non-Vietnamese participants from APAN, AKP, TBWA/ Thailand, SEA START and SUMERNET.

Results
The participant journalists took notes and records of their field trips around Quy Nhon City. These will be arranged and compiled as “archives” for the city. The participants also proposed initiatives to draft the climate change scenarios for Quy Nhon city in the future. Through the workshop, the journalists gained more knowledge on the climate change, and improved their skills and methods on effective communication to raise people’s awareness on their climate change adaptation abilities.

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