Dr Kim Hong awarded First Mrs. World

Dr Doan Thi Kim Hong has been given “First Mrs. World” title for her active contribution to the Mrs. World Organization.  

This was confirmed by Mrs. World Organisation Chairman David Z. Marmel in a letter to Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Tuan Anh.

Dr Doan Thi Kim Hong.

Hong is the first woman in the world has been honoured with this title.

She was overwhelmingly voted in the Mrs. World pageant in India in 2005.

Four years later, she helped bring the world beauty contest to Vietnam.

Both Dr Kim Hong and Chairman David Z. Marmel were then awarded the “For the Cause of Culture, Sports and Tourism” insignia by the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in late 2012.

Besides, Hong was known as a jury member of the Mrs World pageants held in Russia in 2008, and the US in 2010 and 2011.       

Vietnamese Week promises exhibitions and excitement

A Vietnamese Week will take place in Rome, Italy to introduce the country to the local people and strengthen the friendship between the two nations.

The event will take place from tomorrow (January 16) to January 23 and provide a chance to improve co-operation in various fields between Viet Nam and Italy, said Nguyen Hoang Long, Vietnamese Ambassador to Italy.

Activities will include exhibitions of Vietnamese books and newspapers, an economic co-operation forum, a workshop to promote tourism in Viet Nam and an art performance to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the countries' diplomatic relationship.

On the occasion, Viet Nam's Party Secretary General Nguyen Phu Trong will pay a visit to Italy following the invitation of President Giorgio Napolitano.

Hoi An Lantern Festival to light up Lunar New Year nights

The ancient city of Hoi An will host a lantern festival to celebrate the lunar New Year on February 9-16, the city's culture and sport centre told Viet Nam News yesterday.

The festival's organising committee said that around 50 lantern centres in the city would take part in the annual cultural event.

"The best lanterns with traditional designs will light up for lunar New Year's eve on February 9. The 500m long road from An Hoi bridge to the Hoai River Square will be lit up by hundreds of colourful lanterns during seven days of the festival," said event organiser Le Son Ca.

"We will also host a series of cultural and art performances to celebrate across the seven days. We hope domestic and foreign tourists will flock to the town during the lantern festival."

The city, which was included on a list of the top ten Asian cities decided by the US magazine Conde Nast Traveler's Readers Choice Awards, will also host boat racing on the Hoai River, bonsai, calligraphy and flock performances.

The main roads of Tran Hung Dao, Nguyen Hue and Hoang Dieu will be transformed into a flower display for the new year celebrations.

Vietnam Week in Italy

A Vietnam Week will be held in Rome from January 16-23, announced the Embassy of Vietnam at a press conference on January 14.

During the week, many activities will be organized such as an exhibition on Italy-Vietnam solidarity in 1960-1970, a painting exhibition on Vietnam’s arts, a book, newspaper and magazine exhibition, an exhibition on Vietnam’s cultural space, a Vietnam-Italy economic cooperation forum, a seminar on boosting tourism in Vietnam and an art performance to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Italy Nguyen Hoang Long said Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong will pay an official visit to Italy at the invitation of President Giorgio Napolitano on this occasion.

Ambassador Long expressed sincere thanks to the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities, the Dante Alighieri Centre and Italian friends for active cooperation in organizing the Vietnam week.

Since Vietnam and Italy officially established diplomatic ties on March 23, 1973, the relations of friendship and cooperation between the two countries have continued to grow and flourish.

Huong Pagoda Festival organiser vows biggest celebration ever

People living in the Hong (Red) River Delta are preparing to celebrate the Huong Pagoda festival 2013, which a local official has promised will be the biggest ever.

Nguyen Van Hau, deputy chairman of the My Duc District's People's Committee, has promised that the festival – which is celebrating both the Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday and the beginning of the National Tourism Year in the region – will impress with a wide range of activities, exhibitions and spectacle following the theme Traditional Features of Viet Culture.

Festivities will begin on the sixth day of Tet (February 15) when visitors can enjoy a photography exhibition of ancient Vietnamese pagodas and watch birds being released on the picturesque Yen Spring.

The Huong Pagoda is a vast complex of Buddhist temples and shrines built into the Huong Tich limestone mountains in My Duc District's Huong Son Commune, about 60km from central Ha Noi.

The site is most crowded during the festival, which takes place during the first three months of the Lunar New Year.

Kieu Ngan shines in Asian model contest 2013

Vietnam’s representative Kieu Ngan was awarded the “Promising Young Model” prize in Asia New Star Model Contest 2013 in the Republic of Korea on January 14.

The event has had 60 contestants from Asian countries and territories involved in three parts: sports costume, evening gown and traditional clothes.   

The final night of Asia New Star Model Contest 2013 will be held on January 15.

Kieu Ngan was listed in the top 10 of Vietnam Supermodel Contest 2012.

Nostalgic lovers net millions

Rights to a poem about nostalgia between two lovers were sold for VND300 million (US$15,000) by the HCM City-based MASEKO corporation.

The poem, O Hai Dau Noi Nho (At Two Ends of Nostalgia), was first published in the Nhan Dan (People) newspaper in 1984 by journalist Tran Dinh Chinh. Three years later, noted composer Phan Huynh Dieu adapted it into a popular song.

The copyright handover ceremony will take place in Ha Noi during the lunar New Year festival. Representatives from a law firm and the Viet Nam Music Copyright Protection Centre will serve as witnesses.

Such transactions have been going on since the early 2000s. In 2004, the copyright to Mau Tim Hoa Sim (The Purple Colour of Sim Flower) by poet Huu Loan (1915-2010) was sold for 100 million ($5,000).

Phu My Hung's Spring Flower Fair to open in early February

More than one million visitors are expected to attend the Spring Flower Fair on February 3 at the Crescent Quarter in District 7's Phu My Hung area, the event organiser Phu My Hung Corporation has said.

Covering seven hectares, this year's fair, with the theme of "Flowers of the Countryside", will include sections titled Duong Xuan (Spring Roads), Ben Xuan (Spring Wharf), Vuon Xuan (Spring Garden) and Gop Xuan (Spring Contributions). Food areas, Tet specialties and ornaments will also be offered.

At the Spring Contributions section, visitors can donate flowers, bonsai, or other plants.

Thirty wooden boats carrying beautiful flowers will be part of the Spring Wharf section, with depictions of fishermen and traders doing business.

Fair participants will also be able to release flower garlands and coloured lanterns into the river to pray for luck.

War film honoured in Ha Noi

The award-winning-movie Mui Co Chay (The Scent of Burnt Grass) won a prize from the Viet Nam Union of Art and Literature Association at an awards ceremony held on Saturday.

In this debut film by Nguyen Huu Muoi, which takes place in 1971, four students join the army and fight on the Quang Tri battlefield in the centre of Viet Nam. The script, by Hoang Nhuan Cam, draws inspiration from the diary of fallen soldier Nguyen Van Thac.

"It's gratifying to see that the film has been highly appreciated. I'm also moved because a portrait of Vietnamese young people, who gave up their youth for the cause of national liberation, has been shown widely to the international community," Cam said.

The film has received many accolades, including the Golden Kite for Best Picture at the Viet Nam Cinematography's Association awards in March 2012 and a Silver Lotus at the National Film Festival (the Golden Lotus was not awarded) last year. It was also nominated for the 85th Academy Awards in the category Best Foreign Language Film.

The Union awarded 72 prizes for outstanding work produced in 2012, including eight prizes exclusively for those working in arts and culture associations that belong to the Union.

VNN/VOV/VNS