From 9th to 11th November 2018, the Wildlife Village as a part of the UK Embassy’s InspireMe Festival is successfully organized in front of Cam Tu monument (Hoan Kiem Lake, Hanoi) with the participation of 16 non-government organizations (NGOs) and the general public to raise an united voice against the illegal wildlife trade.

Wildlife plays a vital role in the biodiversity balance; however, human activities have had a detrimental effect on it in the last few decades. Facing this issue, The UK Government has cooperated with other governments, including Vietnam, in wildlife conservation and protection through the various events of the annual “UK InspireMe Festival” program, particularly the Wildlife Village.

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The Wildlife Village included the participation of several wildlife-focused NGOs such as ENV, FOUR PAWS, and WAP. Source: Ngôi làng thiên nhiên – “Wildlife Village”/Facebook

The Wildlife Village aims to bring people together to help eradicate illegal wildlife trade and better protect the world’s most iconic species from the threat of extinction. Indeed, it has brought a significant change in people’s perspective of wildlife protection and gave visitors the opportunity to publicly promise never to consume illegal wildlife by writing their intentions on a pledge.

The Wildlife Village is made from environmentally friendly materials such as bamboo, wood and paper. This black-tie event takes place within a spectacular garden setting in front of Cam Tu Monument. It is surrounded with many half-moon shaped bamboo booths. Each booth is designed with different interactive activities such as fashion shows, film screenings, live music, and kid games.

This is some captures of the event’s activities:

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Photograph: Nguyen Thi Minh Chau

The Wildlife Village follows up on multiple events held in the country recently, for example, Wild Fest (2015) and the Hanoi Conference on Illegal Wildlife Trade (2016). Besides focusing on campaigns to raise people’s awareness, the government of Vietnam has made the concerted effort in protecting the diverse biodiversity through a wide range of actions such as the commitment of ending bear farming, the adoption of the tougher penal code.

Watch our recap of this event:

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Trang, the founder and CEO of WildAct organization, said: “ This event provides an excellent opportunity for NGOs to interact directly with the people of Hanoi and convey messages about wildlife conservation.”

Ms. Vu Hoai Thu, a local resident, also expressed: “ I’m really impressed by wildlife-related picture show. These thought-provoking pictures remind me of the importance of protecting the country’s biodiversity. It’s not only necessary for us but for the next generations as well.”

“The public awareness campaigns like this should be further popularly organized both in Vietnam and other countries to reduce the demand for endangered wildlife products.” she said.

Individuals can view more activities on the “Wildlife Village” fanpage and share the information on social media with the hashtag #InspireMe, #EndWildlifeCrime, #IvoryAlliance, #BaoVeDongVatHoangDa, #KhongSuDungNgaVoi or call hotline 18001522 for free to report illegal activity.