Hanoi hosts exhibition on French press media

An exhibition promoting French print media opened at the French Cultural Centre L’Espace in Hanoi on November 5.

A variety of magazines and newspapers, such as Le Monde, Le Figaro, Monde Diplomatique, Urbanisme, Onze, sport&vie, Guide Cuisine, Bulletin d’information, and Ouest-France, are on display.

The event, organized annually by the Association for French Press Development, UNI-Presse, has been coming to Vietnam since 2001.

Readers will receive a 25 percent discount on UNI-Presse magazines or newspapers during the exhibition, which will last through to November 10.

Aspiring Einsteins learn science is no fiction

An upcoming science film festival will provide young audiences across the country with a chance to learn about how the world works.

The festival's opening ceremony will take place on Thursday at Ha Noi's Nguyen Binh Khiem High School. Films will be shown at 9am and 2pm.

After the screenings, the students will take part in exciting experiments and play games supervised by volunteers.

"We think that the festival is a great way to get Vietnamese children involved in science in a fun and engaging way. It is important that scientific information is available in both rural and urban areas in Viet Nam," said Do Van Nguyet, director of Viet Nam Live and Learn organisation.

This year, audience members include elementary and high school students from Ha Noi, Hai Phong and the northern province of Vinh Phuc; the central cities of Vinh, Hue and Da Nang; the central highland province of Dak Lak and the southern area including HCM City and the provinces of Phu Yen, Bac Lieu, An Giang and Kien Giang.

The 20 films were selected by a four-member jury, according to a representative from the Ha Noi Goethe Institute.

They emphasize the importance of environmental protection and preserving water as a resource for human life, as well as other useful scientific information.

The Science Film Festival has been held annually in a Southeast Asian country since 2005. Last year, the festival was held for the first time in Viet Nam, where over 17,700 attended.

Following that successful debut, this year's festival will take place from November 8 to 30 and is sponsored by the Ha Noi Goethe Institute, Viet Nam Live and Learn and the Centre for Research, Support and Development of Culture (A&C).

"Live&Learn and A&C hold screenings and activities for young audiences from the whole country," said the institute's director, Dr Almuth Meyer-Zollitsch.

The films will be shown in their original languages with Vietnamese subtitles. After each screening, the audience can participate in games and science experiments.

Student dancing to bring focus on AIDS

Students from high schools and universities in Ha Noi are expected to take part in a Start Dancing, Stop AIDS contest, part of the Dance4Life project, launched by Rutgers WPF.

Rutgers WPF is a renowned centre of expertise on sexual and reproductive health and rights. Its activities are mainly carried out in the Netherlands, Africa and Asia.

Under the guidance of professional dancers and crew, such as Sacred Crew and dancer Ha Le, the students will prepare a dance to draw attention to AIDS prevention and discrimination against HIV-infected people.

Goodwill ambassador for the event this year, Le said he wanted to send the message: "Let's dance towards peace, unity, love and fun."

The final round will be held on November 24 at the capital's West Lake Water Park. Judges will focus on music, creation, style and the quality of the dancer's message.

Dance4Life was founded in 2003 and has become an international movement which inspires, mobilises and unites young people to curb HIV and AIDS.

Exhibition to tell Vietnamese history in Japan

As many as 168 ancient artefacts featuring history and culture of Vietnam will be showcased at the Kyushu National Museum of Japan in the second quarter of 2013.

This thematic display, entitled “Vietnam – A Great Story”, is one of the activities to mark the 40th anniversary of Vietnam-Japan diplomatic ties (1973-2013).

The exhibits, selected from the Hoi An Museum, the Hanoi Museum, the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology, the Institute of Han-Nom Studies and the Thang Long Heritage Centre, include ceramic works made between the 8th and 12th centuries and a collection of royal artefacts from the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945).

Following the event, artefacts and photos recalling the history of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and Japan will be introduced to Vietnamese public at the National Museum of History in November, 2013.

VNN/VOV/VNS