Japanese films shown in Vietnam
 
A Japanese film week was launched in Nha Trang by the Consulate General of Japan in Ho Chi Minh City and the Khanh Hoa provincial department for Culture, Sports and Tourism on October 22.

During the week, Vietnamese audiences will be able to enjoy eight Japanese films of all kinds including comedies, animation, and detective movies.

Furudate Seiki, chief of the cultural section, said this is the first time the Consulate General of Japan in Ho Chi Minh City has held such an event.

The film week aims to boost the cultural cooperation between the two countries and offer the people of Nha Trang an opportunity to learn more about Japanese culture.

Students win video news quest

A student competition to produce a video news clip has been won by a team from Phan Chu Trinh Secondary School in Ha Noi.

Panasonic Viet Nam yesterday awarded the first prize of the Kid Witness News (KWN) Viet Nam 2010 national contest for the video clip entitled The circles.

The story was about recycling through creative use of milk cans to make useful items.

Phan Chu Trinh Secondary School will represent Viet Nam in the Kids Witness News regional contest in Singapore in December this year. The global contest will be held in Japan in July next year.

The contest introduced a recycling topic in an attractive and figurative reporting style with "firm audio-visual effects", the judges said.

Panasonic believed the contest would encourage pupils to develop their video making abilities, said Panasonic Viet Nam general manager Shinichi Wakita.

Best Script was won by a team from Giang Vo Secondary School with a video clip entitled My Ha Noi; Best Anchor went to a Lomonosov Secondary School team with Advantage and Disadvantage; Best Editing: Ly Thuong Kiet Secondary School with The Soul of Viet Nam's Bamboo ; Most Original: Thuc Nghiem Secondary School with An Unforgettable Trip.

A Phan Chu Trinh School team member said that through the video clip they showed the daily life and that pupils could also help protect the environment by recycling so-called useless items into useful products.

Photos on Hanoi’s architecture and life showcased in Paris
 
A photo exhibition and a seminar on Hanoi ’s architecture and urban life were opened in the Vietnam Cultural Centre in Paris , France , on October 21.

The documentary photos chronicled Hanoi from the past till the present day with its famous relic sites namely Hoan Kiem Lake and Van Mieu ( Temple of Literature ), or French-styled architectural works such as Long Bien Bridge , Hanoi Opera House and Presidential Palace.

At the seminar, French architect Christian Pedelahore de Loddis, who used to live in Hanoi for ten years and has a good understanding about the city, explained Hanoi ’s architectural characters through pictures on the screen.

The exhibition will remain open until October 27.

Vietnam-Hungary culture club makes its debut
 
A Vietnam-Hungary culture club officially made its debut in Hanoi on October 22 to mark the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

At a ceremony, Zsolt Németh, the Hungarian Secretary of State expressed delight at the fine diplomatic ties between the two countries over the past 60 years. So far, around 4,000 Vietnamese students have graduated from universities in Hungary.

Nemeth expressed his hope that the club’s activities will boost relations in such fields as politics and economics and lay a solid foundation for the development of friendship between the two nations.

The establishment of the club will contribute to elevating the status of Vietnam and Hungary globally.

Dutch culture promoted in Vietnam
 
An event called “The Netherlands House” is being held by the Netherlands consulate general in HCM City from October 22 to 31 to mark the 37th anniversary of the diplomatic ties between Vietnam and the Netherlands.

The event vividly portrays the daily lives and customs of Dutch people as well as the country’s traditional symbols such as windmills, ancient houses, tulips, music, culinary arts, and folk games.

Visitors can enjoy decorative wooden shoes and sophisticated Delft pottery products from skilled Dutch artisans as well as, folk music performances by street artists.

Visitors and children also have the opportunity to get involved in many games during the event, co-organized by the Netherlands consulate general, and the Dutch company’s FrieslandCampina, Phillips and Dulux.

France’s newspaper praises General Giap
 
The French newspaper Humanity has published a feature on General Vo Nguyen Giap to celebrate his 100th birthday.

The feature’s author is French director Daniel Roussel, who worked as a correspondent in Vietnam for the paper in the 1980s.

In his article, Roussel recounted the life and career of the talented Vietnamese strategist from his childhood until he became a General and led the People’s Army to win victory over the French colonialists.

Roussel also highlighted General Giap’s role in the war against the US and his contributions to Vietnam’s renewal (Doi Moi) process.

The author said the feature was the result of many previous talks between him and the general. “I met him about 40 times from 1982 to 2009 and video-taped him for nearly 8 hours. I know him wearing many hats – military leader, man of culture, or simply a man with a family.”

Daniel Roussel has written many articles and books on General Giap but he still hopes his new story will help the French public to better understand the renowned Vietnamese general, who he said is foremost a simple, humane and peace-loving person.

Int’l seminar focuses on Asian ethnic groups
 
 An international seminar entitled “Ethnic groups of Vietnam, China and ASEAN countries – Integration and Development” was held in Hanoi on October 21.

The seminar focused on issues relating to ethnic people, including economic development and poverty reduction; education and health care policies, preservation and promotion of traditional cultural values; environmental protection in the integration process; and scientific research on ethnic groups.

According to Dr. Phan Van Hung, Director of the Vietnam Institute of Ethnology (VIE), the organising board received 38 reports covering a wide range of topics, from macroeconomic issues to development models of an ethnic minority, and changes in a village.

Integration is an inevitable trend of ASEAN nations and ethnic minorities cannot be outsiders, he said, adding that economic integration brings great benefits and creates opportunities for ethnic minority people to access social services, information and new cultures.

In the face of potential risks and challenges, Vietnam and other ASEAN countries have issued a number of policies which aim to raise awareness, educational standards and working skills for ethnic people and implemented programmes and policies to boost socio-economic development and poverty reduction as well as strengthening social security systems for ethnic people.

The seminar, co-organized by the VIE and the Institute of Ethnology and Sociology under the Guangxi University of Nationalities, offered an opportunity for countries to share experiences and outline their responsibilities and plans for national and regional development, Hung said.

Chung Thuc Quyen in China for Miss International pageant
 
Chung Thuc Quyen, who represents Vietnam’s beauty queens, has gone to China to attend the Miss International 2010 pageant.

Quyen and 80 other beauties from all over the world will visit the Sanghai Expo and several schools for disabled children. 

The Vietnamese model, who has participated in a number of international beauty contests, worked with designers and trained for over a month prior to this.

This year the Miss International pageant will take place in Chengdu, Sichuan, China, over 18 days.

On November 11, the current Miss International, Anahabriela Espinoza, will present her crown to the new Miss International.

Da Nang to host int’l fireworks contest
 
A two-day international fireworks contest with the theme “Han River” will be held in the central city of Da Nang from April 29-30, 2011.

Da Nang Authorities has announced the participation of four foreign teams including the Republic of Korea (ROK), China, Italy and the United Kingdom (UK) besides the host Da Nang team.

According to the schedule, the UK team (Jubilee Fireworks company), the RoK team (Hanwha Group) and the host Vietnam ( Da Nang city’s team) will perform in the first night. The second night will see fireworks set off by the Italian team (Parente Fireworks A&C SNC Group) and the Chinese team (Panda Fireworks Art Display company limited).

Along with this activity, Da Nang has also launched a contest of fireworks display on computer in 2011 with deadline for entries on December 31 this year.

The awarding ceremony is expected to take place in January 30, 2011.

PV