Indian, Vietnam children paint closer relations

Some 70 Indian and Vietnamese children vividly depicted their impressions about India and friendship between the two nations at a painting contest organised by the Indian consulate in HCM City on January 11.

Consul Deepak Mittal, who was keenly interested in the paintings, said he was surprised by Vietnamese children's knowledge about Indian culture.

"The flag, dress, skin colour, beautiful landscape of India have been depicted vividly in their paintings," he said.

"I am impressed. Many of them have not visited India before, but the Taj Mahal has been featured well in their paintings.”

India and Vietnam enjoy civilisational links and spiritual bonds of friendship over centuries. The outstanding works by the children have amply brought out the strong solidarity between the two countries, he said.

The Consul added the best works will be used for desk calendars and be shown at an exhibition to be organised soon.

At the event, a permanent "India Corner" with materials and books on Indian culture was set up.

It is equipped with a computer to provide Vietnamese youth information on various facets of the South Asian nation.

The contest was organised by the consulate together with the HCM City Union of Friendship Organisations and the library.

The consulate said one more similar contest will be organised this year and annually hereafter to stimulate cultural exchange and mutual understanding between Indians and Vietnamese.

Rock Storm heats up Hanoi

Following hugely successful concerts in Haiphong, Hue, Danang, Bien Hoa, Ho Chi Minh City and Can Tho, Rock Storm 2013 ended its epic tour “burn with aspiration” in the capital city on January 11.

Around 22,000 rock fans gathered at My Dinh National Stadium to enjoy a night of rock with leading Vietnamese rock bands, namely Buc Tuong (the Wall), Ngu Cung (Pentatonic), Microwave, KOP, Oringchains and Thuy Trieu Do (red tide), and in particular a guest appearance from Swedish rock band – Andromeda.

Rock Storm introduced rock singers, songs and bands pathing the way for Vietnam’s rock development. After five years, Rock Storm still manages to attract high profile bands playing ever- popular songs.

The organising board – MobiFone – announced all proceeds from ticket sales of around VND300 million, will be donated to Operation Smile Vietnam providing scholarships for disadvantaged children.

Japanese culture fair to be held in Hanoi

Vietnamese will have a chance to learn more about the unique culture of Japan at the Cool Japan Fukuoka Fair 2014 slate for January 18 and 19.

The fair, which will be held at the National Museum of History on 25 Tong Dan Street in Hanoi, will showcase a number of activities, including a fashion show featuring Kawaii costumes, demonstrations of the art of paper folding known as origami and manga painting.

In addition, Japanese make-up artists will update female visitors on the latest make-up trends in Japan.

Along with the fair, organised by the authority of the Fukuoka Prefecture in Japan in collaboration with the museum, an exhibition dedicated to Japanese culture will also be held within the museum.

Seventy exhibits will highlight Japanese antique ceramics, Buddhism-themed sculptures, samurai, the Mongol invasion of Japan in the beginning of the 13th century and the development of ties between Vietnam and Japan.

The exhibition will open to the public from January 16 to March 9.

HCM City festival praises island soldiers

Almost 300 people, including poets, writers, musician, singers and artists joined students and representatives from the armed forces in Ho Chi Minh City on January 10 to celebrate the soldiers protecting the country’s seas and islands.

The event was organised by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper and the city’s Youth Cultural House in conjunction with the Youth Film Studio and Ho Chi Minh City Television.

The participants enjoyed singing and artistic performances, a photography exhibition highlighting the soldiers and a video presentation about their work.

A special DVD was released for the event, featuring 400 singers demonstrating their warm sentiments towards the men and women who are standing guard over the country’s seas and islands.

UNESCO Commission elevates Vietnam’s image

Pham Cao Phong, the General Secretary of the Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO, told a January 10 meeting in Hanoi of the body’s role in advancing Vietnam’s international stature and reputation.

Phong outlined the commission’s important achievements in 2013, highlighting Vietnam’s election to UNESCO’s 21-member World Heritage Committee (WHC).

UNESCO also officially recognised southern Vietnam’s Don Ca Tai Tu (amateur singing) as the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humankind.

UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova paid her term’s second visit to Vietnam during 2013, showing her interest in the country.

Vietnam actively contributed to the contents of UNESCO’s 191st and 192nd Executive Board meetings as well as its 37th General Conference, reaping positive results in education, culture, natural sciences, and information and technology (IT).

 The National Commission for UNESCO has already acknowledged the organisation faces a year of austerity as it enters 2014.. The commission plans to proceed with implementing the 2010–2015 memorandum of understanding between the Vietnamese Government and UNESCO, covering culture, education, science, and IT.

The Vietnamese Government approved a 2013–2018 project expanding Vietnam’s UNESCO participation in January 2013. The commission intends to nominate Vietnam for election to UNESCO’s Executive Board for the 2015–2019 term.

As a member of the WHC, Vietnam will lobby UNESCO to recognise the world heritage status of the Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex and Cat Ba Archipelago.

Vietnam is considering becoming a signatory of UNESCO’s 2011 Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage.

The commission will press on with Vietnam’s Green Network initiative, a project designed to facilitate heritage and world biosphere management experiences within ASEAN and its partner nations.

It will also support the provinces of Ha Giang and Lam Dong through their submissions for UNESCO recognition as World Biosphere Reserves.  

Culture fund offers southern artists support

The Vietnamese-Danish Cultural Development and Exchange Fund (CDEF) under the Embassy of Denmark, hosted an introductory workshop in HCM City on Thursday for local artists and the south to have a chance to access its financial support programme.

Danish ambassador John Nielsen, who is also chairman of CDEF said that CDEF provides support to contemporary artists and cultural performances in Viet Nam, and to cultural exchange activities between Denmark and Viet Nam.

He stressed that the project must be innovative, modern and further develop the cultural art scene in the two countries in order to receive funding.

The total budget for the programme is more than US$3 million.

Half of the budget has already been allocated, mostly to artists in the north.

Now the ambassador wants to use this workshop to raise awareness of the fund among artists in the south.

"The art scene in Viet Nam is developing fast these days," Nielsen said.

"It is important that our support for cultural events has outreach, both in terms of cultural areas and trends, and in terms of reaching artists in all corners of Viet Nam."

The next deadline for applications to CDEF is mid-march of this year.

CDEF has supported nearly 60 projects since 2011, with both minor and major grants, in diverse fields such as art, contemporary dance, installation art, publishing and film making.

"Ha Noi artisan" title awarded to 36 craftsmen

The Ha Noi People's Committee has honoured 36 local craftsmen for preserving traditional handicrafts.

The specialists in wood and bronze carving, pottery and porcelain making, lacquer, silk weaving and making three-string plucked lutes, among other crafts, were given the title "Ha Noi Artisan".

The oldest artisan is sculptor Do Danh Chung, born in 1933 at Ngoc Hiep Commune, Quoc Oai District, while the youngest is gold leaf laminator Le Ba Tuoi, a 28-year-old resident of Kieu Ky Commune, Gia Lam District.

Six are among 16 craftsmen nationwide who received a certificate of skilled craftsmanship from President Truong Tan Sang in 2013.

Vietnamese students in Singapore hold singing contest for charity

Pham Thi Thu Trang, a talented young student from Amity Global Business School in Singapore won the annual charitable signing contest Music Revolution 2014 for Vietnamese students based in the country.

Trang claimed victory after defeating seven competitors from universities across Singapore during a final gala on January 11.

According to the organisers, this year all money from ticket sales will be presented to two boys suffering from blood cancer in the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre .

Held by the Vietnamese Students’ Association at the Singapore Institute of Management since 2001, the contest has become a special event to foster connectivity among students in Singapore and a meaningful charity activity to help unlucky people in Vietnam.

Year of Horse gallops into view with festival

A spring festival celebrating the upcoming Year of the Horse will take place in Hanoi from January 16-23 with an exciting and varied programme.

The event will include an exhibition on the horse-themed Saint Giong Festival – which is recognised as Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO – as well as celebrating all things equine in Vietnam ’s long and illustrious history.

The festival will also host a market with nearly 100 booths introducing household items, handicrafts, interior decorations, souvenirs and healthcare products – many offering a nod to horses.

Visitors will also be able to engage in artistic and cultural programmes, folk games and competitions during the festival.-

Concert wows Vietnamese in Russia

Well-known artists from Vietnam recently entertained their countrymen in Russia with special performances at a music programme held in Moscow’s Croscus City Hall on the occasion of the upcoming Lunar New Year.

My Linh, Ho Quynh Huong, Tuan Hung, Tan Nhan and Phuong My Chi, MC Diem Quynh all took to the stage, together with comedians Van Dung, Viet Bac and Quan Anh.

On this occasion, the programme’s organising board provided 100 million VND (4,700 USD) to Vietnam Television for charitable activities.

Vietnamese women in Moscow also contributed 40 million VND (1,880 USD) to Agent Orange victims in the northern port city of Hai Phong.

The event was attended by Vietnamese Ambassador Pham Xuan Son and about 3,500 Vietnamese people living in the capital city.-

HCM City festival praises island soldiers

Almost 300 people, including poets, writers, musician, singers and artists joined students and representatives from the armed forces in Ho Chi Minh City on January 10 to celebrate the soldiers protecting the country’s seas and islands.

The event was organised by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper and the city’s Youth Cultural House in conjunction with the Youth Film Studio and Ho Chi Minh City Television.

The participants enjoyed singing and artistic performances, a photography exhibition highlighting the soldiers and a video presentation about their work.

A special DVD was released for the event, featuring 400 singers demonstrating their warm sentiments towards the men and women who are standing guard over the country’s seas and islands.

Photos of General Giap displayed in HCM City

A photo exhibition named “General Vo Nguyen Giap: Always in my heart” opened in Ho Chi Minh City on January 9 to commemorate the national hero 100 days after his passing.

Nearly 40 snapshots have been selected from a photo book by journalist Colonel Đoàn Hoài Trung. The images recall General Giap’s meetings with comrades, his visits to former battlefields and the public’s sentiments towards the General.

Visitors to the ten-day exhibition can learn more about his extraordinary life dedicated to the revolutionary cause and the construction and development of the nation.

General Vo Nguyen Giap died in Hanoi on October 4 at the age of 103. As an eminent disciple of President Ho Chi Minh, the first General and Commander-in-Chief of the

Vietnam People’s Army , he led his people to victory over both French and American armies.

With over 80 years serving the nation, he was loved and respected by Vietnamese people and international friends, and was a pride of generations of officers and soldiers nationwide.

Annual street book festival reflects city’s cultural characteristics

A street book festival, part of Nguyen Hue Flower Street-the much awaited annual flower show will open from January 28-February 3, according to the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee's  Department of Culture, Sport and Tourism.

The book fair will include an exhibition of books and paintings commemorating the revered General Vo  Nguyen Giap and pay tribute to his great contribution to the country.

The display featuring 80 photos will be divided into four themes including “Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap in people's hearts”, “General Vo Nguyen Giap, the Commander-in-chief of the Vietnam People's Army”, “General Vo Nguyen Giap and international friends”, and “Vo Nguyen Giap, General of Peace”.

Exhibits will present to viewers the General’s revolutionary life and daily activities.

The street book festival featuring thousands of copies of publications of various genres such as politics, culture, history, literature and economics, and universal knowledge will be held on Mac Thi Buoi, Nguyen Hue and Ngo Duc Ke.

Publishing houses namely Fahasa Book Distribution Joint Stock Company, Thai Ha Books, Nha Nam, Tiki, Phan Thi and HCM City’s General Science Library will join the event.

Readers will have a chance to participate in exchanges with Italian painter Valentina Giannangeli; local painter Pham Thanh Tam; teacher and writer Nguyen Ngoc Ky; young writer Hamlet Truong and storyteller on radio, Nguyen Huong Duong, director of the Speaking Book Library for the Blind.

Vietnam to have 110,000 new breast cancer cases a year

The latest figure showed a rise in breast cancer cases in Vietnam with around 11,000 new cases a year.

The Cancer Prevention Institute of Vietnam, one out of every ten women is diagnosed with breast cancer.

According to Dr. Tran Van Thuan, director of Cancer Patient Support Fund, the rate of cancer patients increased because people can’t access to information of treatment; consequently, people lack full knowledge of the disease and they just go to hospitals for treatment in last stage of the disease.

Thuan believed that early detection tests for breast cancer save thousands of lives each year. Half of breast cancer patients  will be saved with different treatment methods including operation, chemical, medicines if they have early breast cancer detection

Accordingly, in the end of the year 2013, the Ministry of Health and the Cancer Patient Support Fund in coordination with Roche Corporation have implemented the ‘Vi Phu nu, vi Ngay mai’ ( We care for her) project  so as to raise women’s awareness of self-exam, prevention and treatment.

Under the project, a free medical check-up for breast cancer will be launched in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, the central city of Da Nang, the central province of Thua Thien-Hue and the Mekong delta city of Can Tho.