The Movement “Building and Maintaining Bright, Green, Clean, Beautiful, and Safe Villages, Hamlets, and Streets”: Transforming the Rural Landscape

Joining Hands to Build and Maintain Bright, Green, Clean, Beautiful, and Safe Roads, Villages, and Neighborhoods

According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong Lan, Deputy Head of the Culture and Information Office of Phuc Tho District, in recent years, the People’s Committee of Phuc Tho District has launched the contest “Maintaining Bright, Green, Clean, Beautiful, and Safe Villages, Streets, and Neighborhoods.” This initiative has seen active participation from various departments, organizations, and has spread widely among local residents. After each evaluation round, feedback and assessments are sent to every commune and town to provide insights for improved implementation. The concerted efforts of various departments and social organizations have created a strong ripple effect. For instance, the Women’s Union has successfully rolled out the “Three No Green Fields” model (No pesticide packaging, no plastic waste in irrigation channels, no use of harmful herbicides or growth stimulants in agriculture) across its local chapters. They have also established and maintained flower-lined roads and vibrant murals. The Youth Union has initiated the self-managed “Bright, Green, Clean, Beautiful, and Safe” roads project for 2024 and beyond. It continues to effectively mobilize teams for building new rural and civilized urban areas in communes and towns across the district, contributing to the success of the “Three Clean” campaign. The Youth Union has directed 100% of its chapters to participate in “Green Sundays” and “Volunteer Saturdays,” focusing on planting and caring for trees and flowers along the roads. They have launched youth projects such as “Mural Roads” and “Youth Tree Rows,” addressing waste hotspots, and removing illegal advertisements and flyers.

Residents of Vong Xuyen Commune, Phuc Tho District, on a clean and well-maintained road

In Vong Xuyen Commune, Phuc Tho District, Deputy Chairman of the People’s Committee, Mr. Le Nam Hung, reported that upon receiving the district’s contest plan, the commune took proactive measures to build a Bright, Green, Clean, Beautiful, and Safe Vong Xuyen. All cultural houses are regularly cleaned by their management teams, with beautiful flower gardens in their premises, outdoor sports equipment installed, and information boards prominently displayed. The commune has developed flower-lined main roads, and women’s associations manage additional flower-lined sections in each village. The People’s Committee has also installed a new system of flag holders and pink-flag poles from Route 418 to the People’s Committee office at Vong Ngoai Hamlet, with a total investment of VND 40 million. Notably, in 2024, the commune mobilized funds to repair and build several new welcome gates, with a total socialized funding of VND 1,176.7 million.

 Route 418 leading to the People’s Committee office of Vong Xuyen Commune, Phuc Tho District

In Thanh My Commune, Son Tay Town, efforts to create a green, clean, and beautiful environment have gained widespread support from local residents. People have actively contributed their resources and labor to build green, clean, and beautiful streets and alleys. This success is attributed to the strong commitment from local authorities and social organizations. From the beginning of the year, the Party Committee and the People’s Committee of Thanh My identified the creation of a green, clean, and beautiful environment as a key task in building a model new rural area. Establishing bright, green, clean, beautiful, and safe roads is a top priority. After the commune launched its plan, the hamlets and neighborhood groups registered roads to participate in the contest. The political and social organizations played a core role in encouraging residents to maintain environmental cleanliness and build green, clean, and beautiful streets. Village heads and self-managed groups regularly mobilized residents to conduct environmental cleanups every Saturday and Sunday. The People’s Committee formed an inspection team to oversee urban order and the development of green, clean, and beautiful roads registered for the contest by the hamlets and neighborhood groups. Each village registered 2-3 roads for the contest, aiming to expand the movement throughout the entire commune. In total, 21 roads from across the commune participated in the contest.

A street in Thanh My commune (Son Tay town) was personally renovated and decorated by residents in the residential area.

A New Look for the Countryside
Upon entering the welcoming gate of Phong Van Commune (Ba Vi District), one can immediately notice the transformation of this traditional agricultural area. The village roads are now spacious and clean, lined with well-maintained flower pots and ornamental plants blooming throughout many alleyways. According to Mr. Khong Minh Chien, Party Secretary of Phong Van Commune, in response to the Ba Vi District People’s Committee’s plan to implement the movement and competition titled “Building and Maintaining Bright, Green, Clean, Beautiful, and Safe Villages and Hamlets,” the Party Committee of Phong Van Commune issued a dedicated resolution for leading and directing the contest. Subsequently, the Commune People’s Committee rolled out a detailed plan for its execution. Throughout the implementation, monthly and quarterly review meetings are held to evaluate progress, score entries, and reward the top-performing villages. The commune has achieved remarkable progress, with 100% of its alleyways and hamlets now illuminated, paved with concrete, and including 12 kilometers of asphalted roads. All residential areas have implemented waste separation at the source. This success is largely due to the significant contributions from the local residents. From early 2024 until now, the total amount of community funding raised by the residents for neighborhood improvements has reached over 2.1 billion VND, with 7,343 volunteer efforts for environmental sanitation. These efforts are propelling Phong Van Commune toward achieving its goal of becoming a model new rural area in 2024.

A road in Phong Van commune (Ba Vi district)

Office of the People’s Committee of Phong Van Commune

To achieve these results, Mr. Nguyen Duc Anh, Vice Chairman of Ba Vi District People’s Committee, shared that in order to effectively and widely implement the competition, the district recognized the need for public awareness campaigns to help citizens understand that they would directly benefit from the outcomes of the competition. Therefore, the funding for the competition at the grassroots level will come from social contributions. The district has closely supervised the implementation with 22 official documents issued to carry out the movement and the competition titled “Building and Preserving Bright, Green, Clean, Beautiful, and Safe Villages and Neighborhoods” in 2024. Ba Vi District People’s Committee developed two specific sets of criteria for scoring, one for mountainous areas and one for the plains, ensuring that the criteria align with the distinct characteristics of each region. Each month, the district evaluates and scores exemplary villages selected by the communes and towns to participate in the district-level competition. The district also established 8 evaluation teams consisting of 53 members and assigned team members in a rotating manner every three months, ensuring the evaluation is conducted objectively and scientifically. Additionally, regular meetings of the Steering Committee and Organizing Committee are held to assess the results of the competition’s implementation. The district has also continued to maintain effective, regular communication through Zalo groups to gather information from the local level. As a result, the Party Committees of all 31 communes and towns have continued to lead and effectively implement the specialized resolutions for the movement and competition. 100% of local People’s Committees have developed and implemented their plans for the competition in 2024, with inspection schedules set for the 20th to 25th of each month. Reports are compiled and submitted to the evaluation teams. To strengthen the initiative, nearly VND 23 billion has been mobilized from social contributions. In residential areas, along main roads, near historical sites, and in other suitable locations, the local authorities have focused on planting and maintaining trees and ornamental plants. They continue to develop and sustain models such as the “Women’s Flowering Path” and organic waste separation at home. In addition, 282 households have donated land totaling 3,261 square meters, while 244 villages have installed “security cameras,” 303 village cultural centers have set up free Wi-Fi, and old house walls and fences have been repaired and pruned. With social contributions, 23,639 flagpoles, 528 community bulletin boards, and 3,641 streetlights have been installed, all meeting technical and aesthetic standards. Furthermore, weekly environmental cleanup campaigns have been organized, attracting over 112,473 participants.

Inspection Team working with Ba Vi District

Recognizing the achievements of various localities, the inspection team praised the active involvement of local party committees and governments in carrying out and maintaining the competition. The team recommended that, for the issue of lingering advertising flyers, local authorities should provide additional free advertising boards. The team also advised that power and telecommunication lines should be bundled together for a tidier appearance. Bui Minh Hoang, Head of the Department of Cultural Lifestyle and Family Building (Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports) and head of the inspection team, also recommended that local authorities continue strengthening communication efforts to involve the entire community, ensuring the widespread growth of the competition for bright, green, clean, beautiful, and safe villages and streets. This should become an ongoing practice, integrated into daily life, to continually improve the living environment for residents.

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To Nga