HCM CITY — The Centre for Environmental Community Communication in HCM City has launched a book called Chia Sẻ và Tỉnh Thức (Sharing and Awakening) that harnesses the expressive power of visual art to honour Agent Orange (AO)/dioxin victims and inspire compassion.

The centre, under the Vietnam Association for the Protection of Nature and Environment, launched the new book to mark the 64th anniversary of the Day for AO/dioxin Victims (August 10, 1961–2025).

The book features outstanding works from a logo design contest held to commemorate the day, serving as both a creative showcase and a heartfelt testament to compassion, justice and a vision of a world where no one is left behind.

Speaking at the launch, the centre’s director Lê Việt Nhân said the contest aimed to raise public awareness and empathy for AO/dioxin victims, while awakening a global conscience in the fight for justice.

Though modest in scale, the contest carries profound meaning in healing the wounds of war and spreading empathy, he said.

“It is a reminder that while the war has ended, the pain remains — and we must not turn our backs on those losses.”

The book was created to inspire kindness, encourage concrete actions and sustain public attention on the victims’ plight.

Hà Huy Phượng of the Academy of Journalism and Communication praised the book for its educational and communicative value.

“This is not merely a collection of designs. Each piece is the crystallisation of emotion, creativity and social responsibility, delivering powerful messages of compassion, justice and hope for a fairer, more loving world.”

The book serves as a valuable resource for students of design, architecture, fine arts and communication, and as a bridge for the public to understand and act for the victims.

The visual motifs — mothers, children, tears, embracing arms and doves of peace — were described as a “silent yet weighty call to action.”

Trần Đình Lý, vice chairman of the Vietnam Marketing Association, highlighted the symbolic strength of the selected logos, calling them “condensed and rich in meaning” and “messengers of inspiration that transcend visual boundaries to contribute to social healing.”

“We must remember the sacrifices of previous generations, be grateful, and stand with victims to carry forward their unfinished dreams,” said Phạm Văn Sơn, secretary-general of the Vietnam Association for the Protection of Nature and Environment.

More than a collection of creative works, the book is an artistic and humanistic communication journey — bridging past and present, art and social reality, and reaffirming that collective empathy and action can drive meaningful change so that no one is left behind. — VNS