Art performance highlights Vietnam-Cambodia friendship

A special art performance was given by the Art Troupe of the Royal Cambodian Army in Hanoi on August 4 to celebrate the 45th anniversary of Vietnamese-Cambodian diplomatic ties and to welcome the Vietnam-Cambodia Friendship Year 2012.  

Present at the programme were representatives from the General Department of Politics of the Vietnam People’s Army, the Cambodian Embassy in Vietnam and Cambodian military trainees who are studying in Vietnam.

During the performance, the audience enjoyed dances and songs to praise the solidarity and time-honoured traditions between the two armies and peoples.

The event gave Vietnamese military cadres and soldiers the chance to get a better understanding of arts and culture from the country famous for its temples and pagodas.

Vietnam promotes culture at Berlin Beer Festival

Vietnamese beer was represented along-side 2,000 other international brews from 86 nations at the 16th Berlin International Beer Festival which took place on Karl Marx Boulevard, Berlin from August 3-5.

This is the 12th time Vietnam has attended the event, with several popular beers, such as Saigon, Hanoi, and 333.

Nguyen Xuan Hung, Director of Asia Sky Tours, said the festival provided a good chance for Vietnam to promote its country, people and culture.

With a wide range of cultural activities, images of Vietnam have become more familiar with international friends.

Guests to the Vietnamese stand can not only enjoy beer, but also traditional food and special art performances, as well as buy handicraft products and souvenirs.

Asia Sky Tours, in coordination with the Hanoians Association in Germany and Vietnam Television, raised funds for disabled people in Vietnam during the three-day festival.

The festival was expected to attract around 1 million visitors from around the world.

Exhibit spotlights Malay weddings

Malaysian art is on display at a three-day wedding exhibition that opened yesterday at the Grand Plaza Ha Noi Hotel.

Visitors can enjoy artist Mior Sazali's demonstration of Tea Tarik, a traditional Malaysian hot milk tea which literally mean, " pouring tea - drinking in one gulp", and Maizatulshima Ramdan's Henna hand-drawings which convey a wish for good luck, happiness and beauty.

The Honeymoon&Wedding Perfect 2012 is the biggest wedding event of the year organised by the Travellive magazine and the Malaysia Tourism Board with the participation of 100 wedding brand names.

The exhibition is providing thousands of young couples who are to be married convenient wedding services and an exciting playground with a variety of activities such as musical performances, fashion shows, hair shows and make-up displays.

Thousand-year-old tower discovered

Archaeologists unearthed on Thursday a 1,000 year-old Champa temple-tower in central Da Nang City during their one – month excavation there.

The 16m-wide, 16m-high temple's tower is located in Phong Le Village, Hoa Tho Dong Ward, Cam Le District. It has one main gate and three secondary gates.

According to Vo Van Thang, director of the Da Nang Museum of Cham Sculpture, no precious objects were found during the excavation.

SEAYCO seeks young musical talents

The Southeast Asian Youth Concert Orchestra (SEAYCO) is seeking 25 young members and is hoping to add some Vietnamese talent at an audition on August 11 at 9 a.m. at Goethe Institute in Hanoi.

The project is co-organized by Thailand’s Mahidol University and the Goethe-Institute in Southeast Asia.

A group of artists from the Mahidol University will come to different countries to conduct some auditions and find the best talents who will participate in a two-week masterclass under the instruction of a prestigious conductor.  

The first class instructed by conductor Nicolas Pasquet, who is also a professor of the Liszt School of Music Weima in Germany, will be held in October. After the class, the artists will tour Bangkok, Thailand and Yangon in Myanmar. They will play music together for three consecutive years and keep in contact with each other and gradually lift their orchestra to a professional level.

Those who wish to be members of SEAYCO can contact Ms. Nguyen Thanh Tam of Goethe Institute in Hanoi at 56-58 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi, tel: 04 3734 2252 (ext. 27) or email thanhtam.nguyen@hanoi.goethe.org.

ASEAN quiz opens

The Fifth ASEAN Regional Quiz opened on August 3 in Phnom Penh, aiming to raise the awareness of the association and strengthen the friendship and solidarity among people of its member countries.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Cambodian Minister of Information Khieu Kanharith said the quiz is an opportunity for each member country to promote their image and enhance understanding through the exchange with the other countries members.
The competition attracts 30 school contestants from all the 10 ASEAN member nations.

The contestants will take three test rounds in English. Each round will cover 20 questions on various fields such as geography, history, culture, economics, politics and ASEAN. They will also participate in several debates.

The Vietnamese team includes three members, who won first prizes in a similar competition in Vietnam last August.

VNN/SGT/VNS/VNA/VOV