On 23 December 2012, Youth Box Channel (YBO) launched the “TÔI HỌC THẬT” (roughly translated as I study with integrity) campaign in Hanoi with support from Transparency International/Towards Transparency and For A Clean Education (FACE) Club – Hoa Sen University to raise awareness and strengthen knowledge of anti-plagiarism amongst students.
The campaign promotes clean education and the sustainable development of Vietnamese Youth in the context where plagiarism is becoming normalized. Plagiarism leads to the loss of trust by students, parents and wider society in the core values of education.
The campaign includes a a pledge signing ceremony for students committed to saying no to plagiarism and a series of seminars organised by YBO on referencing techniques and study tips to avoid plagiarism. The seminars will be open to students from universities in Hanoi.
The launch was attended by Prof. Dr. Nguyen Hoang Anh, Director of Asia-Pacific Cooperation Center – Hanoi Foreign Trade University; Dr. Do Thu Hang, Vice Dean, Faculty of Print, Academy of Journalism and Communication; Prof. Dr. Le Thanh Binh, Dean, Faculty of Mass Media and Cross-Cultural Communication, Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam; MSc. Le Ngoc Son, Director of the Intelligent Applied Media School (IAMS), Chief Assistant to Chief Editor of Vietnam Student’s Magazine; together with more than 50 students from various universities in Hanoi.
In their welcoming remarks, Dr. Pham Quoc Loc and Ms. Dao Thi Nga – Interim Director of TT emphasised the goals of the campaign as strengthening integrity and core values in the education system – thereby indirectly improving the quality of human resources to contribute to the sustainable development of the country. The launch also included musical performances by students and introduced creative materials to promote honesty in schools.
The highlight of the launch was an open dialogue between teachers and students who shared examples of real-life situations and discussed the damaging impacts of plagiarism and how to avoid it. Students questioned how teachers and employers will recognise a student’s true capacity and fairness in the recruitment process when academic results are tainted by students who plagarise. The most memorable message delivered by Dr. Pham Quoc Loc was that every student should be “a drop of clean water” by proving themselves with their own capabilities because it is the very sustainable and essential value that will prepare students for a bright future.