Will You Speak up or Keep Silence?

A schoolboy was approached by his classmate girl, and he had a crush on her. She was the class’ chic and he was the geek. Whenever she asked, he always shared with her everything: favourite books, love songs, even clean paper sheet for examinations. She was his teenage dream.

Though, will he be her “peeking – partner” during his examination?

That’s the script of the clip “No Room for Love” – winning the first prize of the “Speak up or Silence” contest in the Gala night on 19 July. The contest was organized by FACE club, Hoa Sen University with support of Towards Transparency (TT).

The goal of the contest was to select best ideas and best performance of young people to communicate on academic integrity and spread the message “For a Clean Education”.

In the poster category, first prize went to an art work illustrating a tree growing firmly on a green background with the message of the contest. Juries explained that the poster was selected because of its simplicity and symbolization and that it can be sustainably used as an icon of FACE club. The poster sends the message directly, clearly and ignites deeper thought on integrity in education.

Winners in the poster category

In the film category, Hoai Thuong – director of the first-prize clip shared that she couldn’t sleep the day she first heard of the contest because it reminded her of the unforgettable cheating when she was a schoolgirl. She was cheating for best grade, making excuse that she had always been a top student and the mistake she had made in the exam was just too small to deprive her of high grade. Her teacher detected afterwards and gave Thuong the lowest grade she had ever had in life. She took it as a severe punishment and was burst into tears. Then a friend came to her, and said “Teacher’s rejection today will do you good for now and for ever.” Friend’s saying and her teacher’s reaction are life lessons that Thuong she has brought along since then.

“I don’t know who I would be now if my teacher hadn’t taught me how to face with my own mistake” – Hoai Thuong said

Inspired by Thuong’s story, in her closing speech at the gala, Dr. Bui Tran Phuong – the principal of Hoa Sen University said that she would love to see more “sleepless people” who want to make efforts to change permanent social issues such as academic misconduct and to contribute to a better society where people can comfortably live with integrity.

” We need true engagement of people and being engaged is never as easy as said. I wish all of us strength to continue what we have rooted today, and thank you for being here. I look forward to seeing more engagement” – Dr. Bui Tran Phuong

The contest lasted from 14 April to 15 June, 2014, with 137 contestants, mostly school and university students, 27 clips and 83 posters. This total number was three times exceeding the expectation of organizers from the beginning (which was set at 10 clips and 25 posters.)

>> Read an article on Thanh Nien news on the contest.