Miss Vietnam 2010 becomes goodwill ambassador of charity fund for elderly

Miss Vietnam 2010 Dang Thi Ngoc Han has been officially invited as a goodwill ambassador to the Charity Fund for the Elderly (CFE).

The fund, established by the Ministry of Home Affairs, aims to improve the quality of the elders’ physical and spiritual life, and raise the responsibility of the community to take care of the elderly, especially those who are disabled and live alone without income or family support.        

To mark the official debut of the fund, an art performance will be held at Military Theatre on the evening of November 13 with the participation of famous artists such as singer Thanh Lam, fluter Bui Cong Thom and Sao Mai trio.

It will be broadcast live on VTV2 channel.

Science Film Festival for kids and teenagers to open in Vietnam

The Science Film Festival for kids and teenagers will be held for the first time in Vietnam from November 11-27 in nine cities and provinces including Hanoi.

The event will provide an opportunity for children to enjoy 19 scientific interesting films from many nations around the world.

These films selected from 60 entries from Germany, France, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines and Austria, are divided into major themes such as ecology and environment, science, life and technology, culture and history. Especially, family-related films are very interesting and useful with a good sense of humour. Vietnam will show a film on pollution at the festival.

Young people in the capital city can watch the films at the Trung Vuong High School from November 11-13, the Goethe Institute from November 13-14 and the Doan Thi Diem Private Primary School from November 15-17.

All the selected films are dubbed into Vietnamese. Free tickets are available at the Goethe Institute in Hanoi.

11th-century stone tower excavated in Bac Ninh

The foundation of an 11th-century stone tower has been unearthed at Dam Pagoda in the northern city of Bac Ninh, 30km northeast of Ha Noi, revealing complex features of Buddhist architecture of the period.

Located on the southern side of Lam Son Mountain, construction of Dam Pagoda started in 1086 under the reign of Ly Nhan Tong and was completed in 1094. It was one of the leading examples of Buddhist architecture in the north during the Tran (1225-1400) and Le (1428-1788) dynasties. In the Tran dynasty, the pagoda consisted of 12 buildings while in the Le dynasty it was expanded to have more than 100 rooms.

According to researcher Le Dinh Phung, who directed the excavation, the foundation formed a square measuring 8.4m by 8.4m. The missing tower was assumed to face east to a height of 1.56m and built with stones decorated in wave patterns. There might be a Buddha statue sitting on top to face the remaining stone column at the pagoda, Phung said.

While excavating the foundation on a site of 300sq.m, archaeologists found building materials from the Ly, Tran and Le dynasties and concluded that Dam Pagoda was an architectural complex of four layers on an area of over 7,500sq.m along the slope of Lam Son Mountain.

"This is one of the most intact examples of architecture from the Ly dynasty," said Vietnam Archaeology Institute director Tong Trung Tin.

Luu Tran Tieu, chairman of the National Culture Heritage Council, said the excavation revealed various unique features of the pagoda beside the stone pillar of the pagoda. He proposed further research at the site to gain greater understanding of the architecture of the Ly dynasty.

Rice festival begins to honor agriculture

The second Vietnam Rice Festival themed “Honoring Vietnamese rice – Green environment for yellow fields” begins today in the Mekong Delta’s Soc Trang Province to highlight the country’s agricultural achievements.

The festival, with the participation of some 1,000 local and foreign delegates, will provide an insight into the country’s wet rice civilization, farming tools and utensils in agricultural production.

The event is aimed to promote farm produce of Soc Trang and the country, honor Vietnamese farmers, and project the image of Vietnamese rice to the world market.

Many activities took place this morning, such as a farmer competition and the “Vietnamese rice way” exhibition. The official opening ceremony will occur tonight at Ho Nuoc Ngot Cultural and Exhibition Center in Soc Trang with art performances and fireworks.

An international seminar named “Positioning the brand of Vietnamese rice” will be organized tomorrow, along with cultural activities such as a rice contest, a beauty contest, and the Khmer traditional ngo boat race.

A seminar and a writing competition on Bai Xau Port will be held on the following days to provide participants with thorough knowledge about the development of the commercial port and its important role in the socio-economic development of Soc Trang Province.

These seminars will help farmers and other rice stakeholders enhance the value of their production chains via quality improvement, productivity increase, distribution system upgrade and trade promotion, said Nguyen Thanh Son, a member of the festival’s organization board.

The second Vietnam Rice Festival is organized by Soc Trang’s government in cooperation with other associations. The closing ceremony will take place this Friday.
 
Free classical music concert in Hanoi street

Free community music concert Luala will take place at 61 Ly Thai To Street, Hanoi on Friday.

This is a classical music program organized under the cooperation of Music Publishing House and the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra (VNSO). Twenty string artists will perform international and local pieces, including Emperor Waltz by Strauss and Divertimento No.136 and No.137 by Mozart, which are arranged and directed by violinist Xuan Huy.

Unlike other symphony concerts, Luala will take place in front of Music Publishing House in a bid to bring the delights of classical music to local residents and visitors to the capital.

Free concerts, which have the participation of artists from VNSO, the Vietnam Song and Dance Theater and the Hanoi Conservatory of Music, will take place every Saturday and Sunday until the end of next month.
 
Musical programme promotes Vietnam-Russia relations

A musical performance entitled ‘Vietnam-Russia Melody 2011’ was held at Hanoi’s Au Co Performing Arts Centre on November 7.

The programme was one of various events to mark the 94th anniversary of the Russian October Revolution (1917-2011), the 61st anniversary of Vietnam-Russia diplomatic relations (1950-2011), and the 10th anniversary of their strategic partnership (2001-2011).

Passionate melodies reflecting the patriotic revolutionary spirit of both peoples were performed at the event, which drew the participation of many famous singers.

It also symbolised the traditional friendship, comprehensive co-operation and strategic partnership between Vietnam and Russia.

The programme was co-organised by the online newspaper of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and Hanoi Radio and Television, with support from the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PVN), HTV Media JSC, Petro IMICO Construction Investment JSC, and Civil Engineering Construction Corporation No.5.

Vietnamese legend told in New York
 
The rich culture of Vietnam was represented through fairy tales at a two-day festival that opened in Long Island Children’s Museum (LICM) in New York on November 5.

The event was co-organised by the New York Humanitarian Science Council and the Vietnamese Permanent Mission to the United Nations.

The festival brought visitors back in time to early days in the history of the Vietnamese nation when Au Co, a mountain fairy got married to a dragon, Lac Long Quan, and gave birth to a sac containing 100 eggs. The eggs hatched 100 children who were the ancestors of the Vietnamese. They then travelled through tales about the uprising led by the Trung sisters against northern aggressors and legendary hero Thanh Giong’s victory against An aggressors and learnt about the nation’s traditions and customs, also through stories that have been passed down many Vietnamese generations.

Dr. Ngo Thanh Nhan, a researcher at the New York-based Centre for Vietnamese Philosophy, Culture and Society, performed the traditional ‘Dan Tranh’ (16-string zither) at the event.