Vietnam to attend 36th UNESCO General Assembly

A Vietnamese delegation will attend the 36th UNESCO General Assembly in France from October 25 to November 10.

Vietnam has received valuable support from UNESCO in terms of ideas, experiences, and financial and technical assistance for a number of projects in the country.

The Prime Minister has assigned President of the National Commission for UNESCO Vietnam as the head of the Vietnamese delegation and the National Commission has co-ordinated with relevant ministries and agencies to select the members who will attend the event.

Cooperative relations between Vietnam and UNESCO have developed well and achieved some remarkable results. UNESCO General Assembly is held every two years. The 35th UNESCO General Assembly took place in France from October 6-23, 2009 with the participation of representatives from 193 member countries.

17th Vietnam Film Festival to open in mid-December

The 17th Vietnam Film Festival will take place in Tuy Hoa city, Phu Yen province from December 15-18 with the theme of "For a Vietnam's cinematography with renewal and integration".

Five categories of movies, videos, documentaries, scientific films and animations will be screened during the event, announced the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The deadline for registration is October 20, but all entries need to be sent in the first half of November.

Promoting traditional Vietnamese culture in Tokyo

The Vietnamese embassy in Japan held an exchange on September 5 to promote Vietnam’s cultural traditions to Japanese friends.

The event introduced Vietnam’s land and people as well as traditional cuisines. Guests also enjoyed traditional dances presented by Vietnamese students and residents in Japan.

The embassy also displayed and sold traditional Vietnamese handicrafts to raise funds for Japanese tsunami victims.

Earlier this year in May, representatives from the Vietnamese embassy attended the Friends for Friends Charity Bazaar in Tokyo, a fundraiser for Japanese tsunami victims.

Vietnam participates in Moscow int’l floral trade show

Vietnam participated in the International Floral Trade Show 2011 in Moscow from September 1-3.

With the participation of international businesses and artisans, the event hosted pavilions displaying a miniature world of flora and fauna with forests, gardens, streams and ponds.

Vietnam’s display at the event featured a variety of colorful bamboo and rattan flower baskets, crafted rickshaws and bicycles in small sizes, and terracotta plant pots sophisticatedly carved by skilled artisans.

Through this event, Vietnam hopes to introduce the unique characteristics of locally-made handicraft products to international friends.

Hanoi exhibition showcases finger artist’s works

Nearly 40 religious paintings by Le Manh Hung done mainly with his fingers are on display at an exhibition in Hanoi.

“Ben doi” (Waiting terminal) includes works created by the artist while deep in meditation and conveys the Buddhist notion of enlightenment, liberation, and nirvana.

Hung said he spends a lot of time visiting temples and pagodas around Vietnam to find inspiration for his works, which came to public notice through his first exhibition three years ago.

At the opening of “Ben doi” on September 4, he demonstrated his painting skills with his fingers, and sold the work he created for VND 13 million (US$ 625) for a children’s charity.

The exhibition will remain open until September 11 at the Exhibition House, 45 Trang Tien.

Last emperor’s family donates painting

A silk painting portraying Vietnam’s last emperor, King Bao Dai of the Nguyen dynasty, and his family, has been presented by his children and grandchildren to the Center of Hue Relics Preservation, Mai Xuan Minh, the center’s vice director said on Sunday.

Painted before 1945 while Bao Dai was still on the throne in Hue city, the painting is a large-size work and is currently being transported from Ho Chi Minh City to Hue.

Minh said the painting would be installed at Khai Tuong Pavilion in An Dinh Palace where Bao Dai and his family lived after he abdicated in 1945.

The pavilion would become an antique exhibition venue and a museum of Vietnam’s last royal family and be open to the public, Minh said.

Born in 1913, Bao Dai was the 13th king of the Nguyen dynasty which ruled Vietnam from 1802 to 1945 and he passed away in 1997 in Paris.

Most of his descendants are now living in France and America.

Vietnamese writer attends US university program

Young Vietnamese writer Phan Hon Nhien is in the US for the annual International Writing Program organized by the University of Iowa.

The program is meant for outstanding young writers from around the world to compare notes with each other and interact with the American literary community and readers.

Nhien, now the managing editor of Sinh Vien Vietnam (Vietnamese Student) magazine, is famous for writing short stories like Nhung Doi Mat Lanh (Cold Eyes), The Joker, Chuoi Hat Azoth (Azoth Necklace), and especially Canh Trai (Left Wing) which won the 2010 Ho Chi Minh City Writers Association Award.

“I hope this trip to the US will open my mind, give me a chance to learn more, and believe in the career I’ve chosen,” she said.

The program, which began August 27, will last until November 15.

Popular young German jazz band comes to Vietnam

Well-known German jazz quartet Max.Bab will perform in Hanoi on September 17 and Ho Chi Minh City a day later.

One of the most recognized young bands on the German jazz scene, it comprises of saxophonist Max von Mosch, pianist Benedikt Jahnel, bass Henning Sieverts, and drummer Andreas Haberl.

Since its formation over a decade ago, the Munich band has performed at over 400 concerts and produced six albums.

They have also worked with international jazz luminaries like Charlie Mariano, Wolfgang Muthspeil, and David Friedman.

In Hanoi, the concert will take place at the Goethe Institute, 56 – 58 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street.

In HCMC, they will perform at the HCM Conservatory of Music, 112 Nguyen Du, District 1.

Admission is free to both events.

Ho Chi Minh City to house Indonesian culture show

The Ho Chi Minh City University of Social Sciences and Humanities (USSH) will host an Indonesian culture show today, featuring music performances and dances by 50 musicians and dancers hailing from the island country.

“The color of Indonesian culture”, directed by Indonesia’s famous choreographer Denny Malik this time is a regular cultural exchange program of USSH and the Mercu Buana University in Jakarta.

Sponsored by the Indonesian Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh, it will take place at 3pm on Tuesday, September 6 at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Social Sciences and Humanities, 10 - 12 Dinh Tien Hoang, Ben Nghe ward, District 1.

Thanh Hoa to spend more on restoring relics

The central province of Thanh Hoa has earmarked VND36 billion (US$1.8 million) to restore the 70-year-old Ngoc Trao military base.

The base in Thach Thanh District was one of the first to be set up in Vietnam.

 The province earlier approved a VND7 billion (US$350,000) plan to restore several historical and cultural relics including the Binh Khuong Temple in the Ho Dynasty Citadel, a temple dedicated to General Tran Khat Chan who served under the Tran Dynasty, and Luong Ngoc Cultural Village.

In April it spent VND1.2 billion to restore the temple venerating the province’s founding father Trinh Kha and the Tuong Van Pagoda.

Hue exhibition features printmaking works

An exhibition featuring printmaking artworks by Thai and Vietnamese artists is being held in the central city of Hue.

Titled “Make your signs, create your life”, the exhibition features 51 works by 24 artists from the Thai Mahasarakham University and Vietnamese artists from Ho Chi Minh City, Hue and Hanoi.

At the exhibition, the artists will present techniques in contemporary woodcut, batik on cloth, papermaking, and paper block.

Artist Adisak Phupa from the university said that kind of art is very popular in Thailand.

But in Vietnam, there are not many people who know about the art. Almost all people there regard printmaking as a kind of photography or painting, said Dang Mau Tuu, chairman of the Thua Thien Hue Provincial Literature and Arts Association.

The exhibition at New Space Arts Foundation Center at 15 Le Loi Street is part of the “Hue Printmaking Workshop” from August 29 to September 17.

National singing contest closes; 3 crowned winners

Sao Mai 2011, a nationwide singing competition held by national television VTV every two years, found its winners last night in Hue central province.

The finale saw To Loan from Hanoi finish first at the chamber music category; Nguyet Anh from Bac Giang topped the folk music division; and Thuy Trang, another Hanoian, triumphed in the pop category.

Loan, Anh and Trang are all students of the Vietnam National Academy of Music in Hanoi and are not new to singing contests like Sao Mai.

While Loan was a strong candidate at last year’s Tieng Hat Mua Thu (the Autumn Voice) held by Hanoi Television Channel when she was just a freshman, Anh made it to the top 9 of folk music division in Sao Mai 2009 and came second at Tieng Hat Mua Thu 2010.

Thus, it came as no surprise when the two were considered the strongest candidates in their chosen genres and eventually made it to the top.

While Loan and Anh’s victory is predictable, Thuy Trang’s emergence in the pop division came as a surprise as she was considered less competitive than Viet Anh, a male contestant from the Hanoi College of Art.

Seeking to unearth singing talents in these three music genres, the competition, originally founded in 1997 and later changed its name to Sao Mai in 2001, used to be considered one of the best of its kind in Vietnam.

Recently Sao Mai has started to lose its status, as other new singing competitions like Vietnam Idol attracts a larger audience and attention from the press.

Although VTV announced more than 4,000 contestants signed up for Sao Mai this year, scoring the highest in its history, The Thao Van Hoa newspaper reported that the contest hasn’t really dug up any new and outstanding faces.

Sao Mai also earlier caused a stir in the media as well, as during a preliminary round in Ho Chi Minh, an eliminated contestant said she did not give her best as the band was playing in the wrong scale.

Patriotic posters on display in Ho Chi Minh City

The Ho Chi Minh Fine Art Association is hosting a propaganda poster exhibition featuring 128 works with a “Protecting sea and island sovereignty” theme in Ho Chi Minh City starting September 2.

Artists of different generations have joined hands and worked for free to create these artworks that express strong patriotism, artist Huynh Van Muoi, head of the HCMC Fine Art Association said.

The agency will create an A3-size album from these posters to send to the Vietnam People's Navy after the display and plans to hold a larger exhibition featuring other kinds of artworks from paintings to sculptures on the theme next April, Muoi added.

The exhibition will remain open until September 10 at 218 A Pasteur, District 2, Ho Chi Minh City.

TV channel set to begin wedding reality show

Following shows featuring dancing and singing, Ho Chi Minh City Television is set to take reality shows to a whole new level by organizing weddings for poor young couples.

“Mong doi mot ngay vui (Waiting for the happy day),” a 30-minute show starting today, will be in two parts.

The first, titled “The life story,” will showcase a couple’s wedding, complete with photo albums, rings, and parties organized by HTV.

The second, “Double happiness,” will be a game show designed to allow the couple to win cash prizes.

People can call in to the show’s hotline at (08) 38279889 to nominate poor couples they know.

The program will be on HTV7 at 8:30pm on the first and third Mondays of every month.