Deputy Head of Bokeo province’s Education and Sports Department, Mr Soulintha Malin, Deputy Manager of Nam Tha 1 Lao Power Company Limited, Mr Liu Wei, a representative of Hatnam village lower secondary school, Mr Ounkham Phikchaphon, and schoolgirls on Friday water newly planted saplings at the school in Pha-oudom district, Bokeo province, to mark International Children’s Day and National Arbour Day. 

The 2024-2026 KUCSS-World Friends Korea Volunteer Programme, supported by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and led by the Korea University Council for Social Service (KUCSS), is gaining momentum in Laos as it delivers tangible results in environmental education and sustainable development. A total of 39 Korean university student volunteers are being dispatched in three successive cohorts to Vientiane, working in partnership with the Faculty of Agriculture at the National University of Laos and Paksabkao and Paksabmai primary schools. The programme promotes environmental awareness, sustainable practices, and cultural exchange between the Republic of Korea and Laos. One particularly notable initiative — linking schools with recycling companies — builds on a successful 2023 project by GGGI, also funded by KOICA, which was piloted in Vientiane’s elementary schools. Officials from partner institutions reported visible behavioural changes among schoolchildren towards environmental responsibility and expressed high satisfaction with the outcomes. In recognition of the Korean volunteers’ efforts, the Xaythany district Office of Education and NUOL’s Faculty of Agriculture awarded certificates of appreciation to all 27 Korean participants from the first and second cohorts.

President of the Lao Red Cross, Mr Khamlavanh Chanthalavanh, and staff from the Luang Prabang provincial Red Cross last week teach volunteers in Sobchaek village, Pakxaeng district, about the basics of first aid. The training session was supported by the Swiss Red Cross.

Children experience the excitement of virtual reality, combining fun with exposure to cutting-edge technology, during International Children’s Day activities in Vientiane on May 28. The event, held at the Research Institute for Educational Sciences and supported by Australia through the BEQUAL programme, promotes child protection in education under the theme “Empowering Every Child: Equal Rights, Safe Futures”.