Campaign launched to celebrate 25th Anniversary of MRC, inspire river protection
The Mekong River Commission has launched a social media campaign in which all nationalities can enter and stand a chance to win different prizes.

The campaign, entitled Mekong 2030, aims to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the MRC – the day that marks the birth of the Commission when Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Viet Nam signed on 5 April 1995 the Mekong Agreement. It is also to seek entries that depict people’s dreams and visions of the kind of the Mekong River that they would like to have in 10 years from now.

“Through this short campaign we hope to hear messages that can be used as an inspiration, a call to action, for the MRC and for all of us to continue protecting and managing the river in the most practical and effective way in this changing context,” Dr. An Pich Hatda, Chief Executive Officer of the MRC Secretariat, says.

The Mekong River basin, according to the MRC’s latest State of the Basin Report, has been under increasing pressures from developments and climate change. It has experienced a continuing loss of wetlands, increasing temperatures, deterioration of riverine habitats, and reduction in fish catches and sediment transport that is threatening agricultural yields and livelihoods of 65 million people living in and depending on the river.

Published in October last year, the report calls for an urgent, more proactive regional approach to basin planning and management to address the challenges before further losses happen.

To join this campaign, Facebook users are required to post their photo of the Mekong River, along with their wish about the River they want to see in 2030. The post and wish can be written in any language, but must be made in a public mode, with two hashtags: #MRC25 #MekongRiverCommission.

The contestants, who must already be the fans or followers of the MRC’s Facebook page, are required to submit a link of their post to the Commission’s Facebook page via a private message. The campaign will accept submissions up to 27 March 2020.

Entries will be evaluated by a panel of judges every week, and winners will be announced every Monday until the campaign is closed. Each winner will receive a cash prize of US$100 plus some eco-friendly gifts and memorabilia of the MRC. Non-winning posts but are considered inspiring will receive MRC’s eco-friendly gifts and memorabilia.

All the entries will be displayed at the celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the MRC, slated for 3 April 2020 in the Lao capital city Vientiane, where high-level government officials from the four Mekong countries, and representatives from diplomatic corps and development partners will attend. These photos and wishes will continue to be displayed for public viewing at the Headquarters of the MRC Secretariat in Vientiane, until the end of this year.

Interested applicants may find full details at: http://bit.ly/33lLdWy



Note to editors:

The Mekong River Commission is an intergovernmental organization for regional dialogue and cooperation in the lower Mekong river basin, established in 1995 based on the Mekong Agreement between Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Viet Nam. The organization serves as a regional platform for water diplomacy as well as a knowledge hub of water resources management for the sustainable development of the region.



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For more information, please contact:
Mr. Sopheak Meas, Communication Officer for Press
Mekong River Commission Secretariat
E-mail: sopheak@mrcmekong.org
Mobile/WhatsApp: +856-20-77779168