HO CHI MINH CITY, January 6, 2011 - FedEx Express, the world’s largest express transportation company and a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) and the Asia Injury Prevention (AIP) Foundation/Safe Kids Vietnam recently organized a ‘PHOTOVOICE’ photography exhibition to promote pedestrian safety from the point of view of children. More than 100 photos taken by 8 students at Nguyen Minh Quang Primary School were chosen to be showcased in the exhibit.
PHOTOVOICE uses photography as a medium to promote social change and improve quality of life in the community. It has been successfully implemented as part of the Safe Kids program in 7 major world cities: Sao Paolo, Brazil; Toronto, Canada; Shanghai, China; Mumbai, India; Seoul, South Korea; and Manila, Philippines.
In Vietnam, the PHOTOVOICE project was launched in October 2010 at Nguyen Minh Quang Primary School, District 9, Ho Chi Minh City. A group of 16 students from Grade 4 and Grade 5 were selected to participate in photography training and pedestrian safety education. After completing two training courses, the eight best students were invited to join a research field trip and take pictures. Each student submitted at least 10 photos for display in the exhibition with summaries regarding what type of improvements are necessary to ensure a safer community for children and pedestrians. During the exhibition, FedEx and AIP Foundation representatives also gave prizes for the “Three Best Traffic Safety Photos” and “Three Best Traffic Safety Photos Comments.”
“FedEx is pleased to be supporting the PHOTOVOICE project as part of the Walk This Way program. It is an opportunity for children to express themselves and communicate their opinions about the environment using photography and words,” said Mr. Nguyen Duy Binh, Senior Country Manager Indochina, Chief Representative of FedEx Vietnam. “Each picture gives a child’s point of view on the issue of traffic and pedestrian safety. Together with the Traffic Safety Park located in XX and the E-learning program for schools of which FedEx is also a proud sponsor, we believe that this PHOTOVOICE exhibition will do much to educate primary school students and the community about pedestrian safety,” added Mr, Binh.
The exhibition will be showcased at Nguyen Quang Minh Primary School for one week and will then be transferred to other schools in Ho Chi Minh City, spending three days at each location.
“We are delighted that AIP Foundation/Safe Kids Vietnam and FedEx have launched PHOTOVOICE in Vietnam where there is such a strong need for traffic and pedestrian safety education. We believe this project will help to educate children about pedestrian and road traffic safety”, said Mirjam Sidik, Executive Director of the AIP Foundation/Safe Kids Vietnam. “Looking at the results of the PHOTOVOICE project in seven other countries, I am confident that this program will be a great success in implementing change and starting dialogue on global road safety.”