Viet Nam receives award in environmental photography

The winning photo.

A photograph by Do Tuyet Trinh has been selected as one of the best five at the Atkins CIWEM Environmental Photographer of the Year 2014 competition.

The photographs, selected at the international showcase for the very best in environmental photography and film, will be on display at the Royal Geographical Society in London from June 23 to July 4, 2014. Works were selected through an open submission process: entries are judged on impact, composition, originality, creativity and technical ability.

The Fishing Net Making in Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta that Trinh took in 2012 features women in fishing villages in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta. The work emphasises the effects of climate change and the annual unusual flooding occurring in the region.

Trinh, an amateur photographer born in Ha Noi, works as an expert in financial and banking sector. In 2010, she received a Humphrey scholarship to study at Boston University, USA. There she attended a training course in journalism photography.

Since then, a Canon camera has been Trinh's inseparable partner that helps her record the diverse colours of life across the world. Though she has travelled to five continents, Viet Nam remains her never-ending inspiration.

During a visit to the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta's Bac Lieu Province, the beauty of women weaving fishing net allured her to capture the moment and made her to shoot non-stop. The Fishing Net Making in Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta has brought her two awards from the Atkins CIWEM Environmental Photographer of the Year 2014 (the UK) and the People&Planet International Photo Competition 2013 (Australia).

Aussie multicultural band returns

Music of Joy, an Australian multicultural band, will perform in Hai Phong on Thursday and Ha Noi on Saturday.

Established over 20 years ago, the band has around 30 musicians from different countries with and cultures. Their common goal is to share the most joyful and uplifting music, using many instruments like the harmonium and tabla from India, and the djembe drums of Africa.

The band is no stranger to Viet Nam, having performed here in 2010, 2012 and 2013.

MasterChef Viet Nam to air

The second season of the reality cooking show MasterChef Viet Nam will be aired on VTV3 channel from this Saturday.

Thousands of cooks across the country registered to make the cut in Can Tho, An Giang, Hue, Nam Dinh, Ha Noi, and HCM City. Only a few hundred contestants then had the chance to audition in HCM City for one of the 17 white aprons.

Vietnamese-Australia chef Luke Nguyen and gastronomy expert Tuan Hai will return to the second season as judges. The remaining spots on the judging panel will include businesswoman Kim Oanh and actress Tang Thanh Ha.

Last year, Vietnamese-Australian cook Ngo Thanh Hoa beat out several strong rivals to win the first-ever MasterChef Viet Nam title.

Filmmakers share their knowhow

Well-known directors Le Thanh Son, who made Bay Rong (Clash), and Phan Dang Di of Bi, dung so! (Bi, Don't be afraid) fame, and Tran Thi Bich Ngoc, producer of Scandal and Qua tim mau (Vengeful heart), will teach a eight-week course in making short films at the Sai Gon International Film School starting on July 21.

Together with cameraman Nguyen Tuong Nguyen Phuong and sound expert Quang Dao they will focus on script writing, screen design, image directing, sound and light, direction, screening, making posters, and promotion.

Making short films is a growing trend among young people who are unafraid to leave the beaten path.

This has seen massive participation in short film contests like YxineFF, Take 5, and 48h in recent times.

SIFS is at 15A Hoang Hoa Tham Street, Binh Thanh District, HCM City.

Ethnic community revives traditional house

Members of the Co Tu ethnic minority in Quang Nam Province are trying to preserve the Guol house, used traditionally as a place for meetings and conducting business.

Tay Giang District is located near the Lao border. It is an area with many Co Tu households and is steeped in the culture of that ethnic minority. Recently, more and more Guol houses have been built along the Ho Chi Minh Highway. According to the villagers, they already have comfortable living spaces and working kitchens, but what their communities lack are Guol houses so they can gather. They say that, without a Guol house, the a village is not complete.

Despite his old age, the head of the Xa Oi 3 Village, Bhling Tro Ngar, still carves traditional reliefs on the wood columns of the house. He said, "Everybody knows how to build a Guol house but it's more difficult to create details that will make the house unique and give the community strength."

This time of year is harvest season for the Co Tu people, but each household still sends members of the family to help in build Guol houses. When the village festival is held, the households will donate some of their housewares to be used in the gathering place.

Alang Buu, the Party Secretary of Avuong Commune, said villagers are building Guol houses on new settlement areas so that, even if they move, they will not lose Co Tu tradition and heritage. Taghey Village has just completed their biggest Guol house to date to celebrate the new settlement and the incoming communal party congress. Alang Buu went on to say that they completed five village and one communal Guol house.

Meanwhile, Alang Dieu, Secretary of Bhalee Commune, said that it is important for young people to be the main force behind this project. "Our culture will be lost if it is not embraced by the young generations," he said. According to the deputy head of the Office of Culture and Information of Tay Giang District, 61 out of 70 Co Tu villages have rebuilt their Guol houses. Rebuilding the these traditional gathering spots will help them preserve traditions and keep the people connected.

More exhibitions confirm Vietnam’s sea, island sovereignty

People living in Hanoi are being given a chance to see with their own eyes photos, documents and items which are evidence affirming Vietnam’s sovereignty and the fight to safeguard its sovereignty over Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos.

The exhibition, which kicked off on July 15, is a collection of administrative records under the Nguyen Dynasty in the 17th and 18th centuries, as well as archives and ancient maps published by Vietnam, China and Western countries.

Visitors to the event can see evidence confirming that Vietnam has established and exercised its sovereignty over the two archipelagos in a peaceful and continuous manner in line with international law. They include a certificate of birth, issued in 1940 by the French administrative agency in Hoang Sa to Mai Kim Quy, who was born in the archipelago, and a decree of the Governor-General of Indochina dividing the Hoang Sa administrative district into two districts belonging to Thua Thien-Hue province.

Also on the display are items on the Vietnam People’s Navy liberating and taking over islands of Truong Sa archipelago in 1975, and Vietnamese soldiers’ activities to safeguard the archipelago, including a liaison machine, a flag, binoculars and first-aid stretchers.

The exhibition displays photos featuring China’s violations of Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, and Chinese ships’ sinking of a Vietnamese fishing boat and ramming of Vietnamese coast guard vessels.

On the same day, photos and documents affirming Vietnam’s sovereignty over the two archipelagos are also put on show in central Thua Thien-Hue province and southern Dong Nai province.

Seven more national relic, tourism sites named

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has issued a decision recognising seven more national relic and tourism sites.

They include Quan Dai temple and Man mountain historical and scenic complex in the northern province of Quang Ninh, and Hoang Chau temple historical relic site in northern Hai Phong city.

The northern province of Hai Duong is home to two historical relic sites, namely Nguyen Thi Due temple and tomb complex, and Khuc Thua Du temple.

The decision also names Bui Dang Chau temple and tomb complex, and Phan Thuy temple in the northern province of Hung Yen.

The Quan Dai temple, built in 1877 in Quang Yen town, worships two generals under the Nguyen dynasty (19th century), namely Truong Quoc Dung and Van Duc Giai, who contributed to maintaining security in the northern border area and combating French troops.

Meanwhile, the Nguyen Thi Due temple is located in Hai Duong’s Chi Linh district to worship Nguyen Thi Due, the first female doctor in the Vietnamese feudal history. She dressed in disguise as a man to take an examination held by the Mac dynasty in Cao Bang province in the 16th century and got the doctorate degree.

Islands exhibition opens in Hue

An exhibition of 400 documents and photos depicting Vietnamese sovereignty over the Truong Sa (Spratly) islands and the Hoang Sa (Paracel) islands opened yesterday in Hue City.

The exhibits are grouped under several headings, including Spratly Islands and Paracel Islands Belong to Viet Nam, Determination to Protect the Country's Sovereignty, and Fishing on Spratly and Paracel seas by Vietnamese fishermen.

According to organisers, the exhibition is to publicly display proof of Vietnamese sovereignty over the islands and seas.

The documents and photos are strong legal and historical evidence, proving that Viet Nam had confirmed its administration and sovereignty over the archipelagoes.

The exhibition also displays maps printed by international publishers showing that Hainan Island was the southern most end of Chinese territory.

Similar exhibitions have been held in Da Nang, Quang Ngai and Ly Son island.

The exhibition in the former royal capital city of Hue was held by local Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and will run until the end of this month.

Thousands flock to Bodhisattva festival in Thua Thien-Hue

Thousands of Buddhist monks, nuns, followers, and tourists flocked to the Quan The Am (Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva) festival that opened in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue on July 15 or the 19th day of the sixth lunar month.

The two-day festival includes a ceremony to pray for peace of the nation with balloon and pigeon releases, and other activities featuring Buddhist culture, including incense offerings and a Buddhist family camp.

It is held annually at the Quan The Am Buddhist Spiritual Tourism Centre in Huong Thuy town by the provincial chapter of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha’s Executive Committee.

It aims to enrich and preserve the spiritual cultural heritage of the UNESCO-recognised World Heritage site, the imperial city of Hue, which welcomed one million tourists over the past six months of the year.-

Ancient bronze gong set discovered in Kontum

On July 8, Nguyen Van Phiem, deputy head of culture and information of Sa Thay District of Kon Tum Province, revealed that a group of culture officers have been dispatched to verify information about people discovering a gong set while searching for scraps, reports VietnamPlus.

The gong set of eight was found during the late afternoon of July 7 by some people while they were deep inside the jungle, about 20km away from the closest residential area.

According to Nguyen Van Phiem, the area where the gong set was found might once belong to some ethnic minorities. There is also a chance that the area was a farming field where those ethnic minorities chose to store their gong sets.

Despite the public opinion that the newly discovered gong set can be worth a lot in values, Nguyen Van Phiem revealed that the district’s department of culture couldn’t determine the gong set’s origin. Thus, the department has already sent a group of officers to local areas to get a grasp of the situation, and therefore can determine the ethnic group in which the gong set belonged to; and also to report the situation to their chiefs, in order to have the right solution. If the gongs were to belong to a local ethnic minority, there would usually be 12-14 gongs in the set.

On Monday, some people of rural hamlet 1, Ya Xier Village, Sa Thay District discovered a gong buried three meters deep. After digging and expanding the surrounding areas, they found seven more gongs.

After the discovery, these people hid those gongs in a house of a villager named Luong Van Quy, located at rural Hamlet 1, Ya Xier Village. Some villagers reveal there were some traders and collectors who approached them asking to buy the gong set for more than VND100 million, but the people who were responsible for the discovery have yet to agree.