The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Vietnam and the Republic of Korea (RoK)’s S.M. Entertainment have signed a three-year cooperation agreement with a view to assisting music education for Vietnamese children.

Participants in the signing ceremony pose for a photo.

Accordingly, S.M. Entertainment – a leading K-pop company – will donate 450,000 USD to UNICEF’s “Growing with Music” project, which stresses music’s positive impacts on the development of children’s life skills from early childhood.

At the signing ceremony in Hanoi on July 11, company CEO Kim Young Min said he hopes the project will provide Vietnamese children with opportunities to access proper music education to explore and develop their talents.

Suh Dae Won, Executive Director of the RoK Committee for UNICEF, said education is the most important factor in fostering development. As Vietnam and the RoK will celebrate 25 years of their diplomatic ties in 2017, it’s now the right time for the RoK Committee for UNICEF and S.M. Entertainment to kick off a project targeting Vietnamese children.

Meanwhile, Youssouf Abdel-Jelil, UNICEF’s Representative in Vietnam, said the partnership between UNICEF and S.M. Entertainment illustrates the flourishing cooperation between the Vietnamese and RoK peoples. The firm’s financial support will help children gain the chance to nurture their talents at school and at home.

The “Growing with Music” project will be carried out from now until 2019 with the participation of famous music academies and artists. It will promote the capacity of teachers and managers from central to grassroots levels, along with parents, to improve music curriculum design and music show organisation at school.

VNA