VN photo shortlisted in Britain

Ly Hoang Long figures among the world's top environment photographers, with one of his photos being included among the top 111 photos of an international contest in the United Kingdom.

His photo, entitled Checking Fishing Net, features a fisherman checking his nets in a blue-water river, an idyllic scene in Viet Nam's countryside.

More than 10,000 entries by photographers from 60 nations in the world were received by the Environmental Photographers of the Year contest, which focuses on issues ranging from sustainable development to poverty, climate change and human rights.

The shortlisted entries will be displayed at The Royal Geographical Society Exhibition in London from June 22 to July 10, before being displayed in a mobile exhibition around the United Kingdom.

The winner of the 5,000-pound (US$7,800) award, which was set up in 2007 by the Chartered Institute of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM), will be announced on June 25.

Long, who is based in Lam Dong Province, has won more than 200 prizes in photography in and outside the country, and has been nicknamed the "King of digital photos".

Viet Van gets Annual Pollux Awards in UK

Tran Viet Van- the unique Vietnamese photographer- has received a prize at the 7th Annual Pollux Awards of the Worldwide Photography Gala Awards (WPGA) in the UK.

His photo collection entitled ‘Greed Hatred and Delusion’ won the first prize in the Fine Art category for professional photographers.

Another of his photo collection named Love also qualified for the final round in the Journalism-Documentary category.

All his artworks will be exhibited at the Berlininternational photojournalism festival Berlin slated to take place in Germany next year.

Van is also the sole Vietnamese photographer, who has carried off the prestigious awards for the four consecutive years.

Award-winning artist displays work

An art exhibition Mixed Media Paintings, displaying works by Nguyen Da Quyen, winner of an Asian Creative Award last year, will open on June 12 – July 17 at the Workshop Cafe in District 1.

The paintings express deep social problems with the use of simple brushstrokes and colours.

She captures the everyday life of Viet Nam under the pictures' names of Doi Thoai (Dialogue), Giac Mo (Dream), and Mo Hon Don (Chaos). The "communication world" with metaphoric stories and daily news is depicted.

Other paintings such as Chung Cu (Dormitory), Nhung Cuc Gach (Bricks), and Hop Trong Hop (Box in Box) are shown as a "piece of music" about the beauty of life.

Modern urban life is expressed through Cap Doi (Couple), Xe May (Motorbike), Song Trong Man Hinh (Live in a Screen) pictures.

Artist Da Quyen said painting was a way to help connect to her internal life and everyday life.

"With art, I feel like I am re-birthed, transforming myself from the ‘have-to' bonsai to the wild-but-free plant in the jungle."

She believes that everyone can be an artist if they expose themselves to the arts and are encouraged to express themselves freely without any pre-conceptions or limits.

The Asian Creative Awards (ACA) Vol.1 2014 was organised by Asian Creative Network with thousands of artists from 26 Asian countries.

The inaugural Asian Creative Awards was initiated to look for graphic artwork that will be in the forefront of the Asian creative scene.

The aim of ACA is to support the next generation of artists in the region by providing them opportunities to present their work abroad.

Travel film featuring Niigata Prefecture to air in Vietnam

Well-known actor Nguyen Binh Minh and actress Omomo Miyoko are starring in a public relations marketing film featuring the historic sites, cuisine and world class ski resorts of Niigata Prefecture in Japan.

The film takes a holistic approach to promoting the prefecture as part of an attempt to rebrand the region that has become all too well known around the globe for its close association with food.

The film will broadcast on Hanoi1 channel at 9.15 am on June 13 and 20, the VTV Danang channel at 10.50 pm on the same day and VTV9 channel at 9.45 pm on June 14 and 21.

Work by regional artists to go on exhibition in Hanoi

An exhibition showing the work of 14 Southeast Asian artists will open on June 17 at the Goethe Institute.

The exhibition will showcase works by the artists including performances, interactive installations, painting and photography.

The works are a small selection of an exhibition initiated by Iola Lenz from Singapore, Agung Hujatnikajennong from Indonesia and Vipash Purichanont from Thailand.

It was shown at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre last year. The exhibition will be held from June 18 to 30 at the Goethe Institute.

Talks with the artists and curators will be held at 7pm on June 18.

Contest encourages artists to make self-portraits

Artists aged 18 and over have a chance to take part in a contest launched in Hanoi recently.

The contest will feature painting, sculpture and film featuring the artists themselves.

Submissions will be accepted until July 1. The top entries will be included in an upcoming exhibition at the Vietnam National Fine Arts Museum.

The contest, entitled Dogma Prize, is organised by the Mekong Artists Company and sponsored by arts collector Dominic Scriven.

The works will be judged by Luong Xuan Doan, deputy-head of the Vietnam Fine Arts Association; artist and art critic Pham Thi Nhu Quynh; and Italian artist-curator, Richard San Marzano.

Artists living in Vietnam can send their submissions to www.dogmaprize.vn.

It is the fourth time the Dogma Prize has been held in Vietnam.

Vietnam attends International Children’s Festival in Norway

The Vietnamese Embassy in Norway has participated in the 2015 International Children’s Festival recently held in Hamar, Norway, to promote the image of Vietnam’s people and landscapes among international communities.

The embassy’s stall at the event welcomed visitors with the traditional village entrance gate decorated with palm-leaf conical hats, lanterns and masks.

On display are folk toys that Vietnamese children always play during Mid-Autumn festivals and folk instruments, such as monochord, flute and K’long put.

Children to the festival were taught how to play Vietnamese folk games and entertained by lion dances, drumbeating and sand painting.

Also present at the event were a number of foreign embassies, including Indonesia, Thailand, Italy and Georgia, and expat communities.

Artists from the host Norway, Brazil, Indonesia, Thailand and Georgia staged many performances at the event.-

The Vietnam - Japan Festival kicked off in Tokyo on June 13 under the themed “Hand in Hand”, attracting thousands of visitors in the opening day.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Japanese former senator and Secretary of State Matsuda Iwao said the event give a chance for boosting people-to-people contacts between the two nations.

It is becoming one of important and most awaited festivals of its kind in Japan , he said, expressing belief that with interesting activities, the festival will satisfy visitors.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Doan Xuan Hung thanked the Government and people of Japan for supporting Vietnam over the past years. He said he hopes through the festival, people of both countries will get deeper mutual understanding.

The two-day event consists of diverse activities, including Vietnamese traditional art performances, “ao dai” shows, as well as performances by famous Japanese artists.

At the same time, 80 booths, including 50 food pavilions serving Vietnamese and Japanese traditional food, is also a highlight of the festival.

According to the organising board, the event is expected to welcome 150,000 visitors.

Vietnamese music composer honoured in Slovakia

Music composer and pianist Hoang Thi Kieu Anh was honoured during Author Day, held by the Eugena Suchona Basic Art School in Bratislava, Slovakia’s capital.

Author Day is organised to honour composers who made substantial contributions to Slovakian music and are prominently featured by young candidates in Slovakia’s national piano contests.

Author Day’s key event was a performance night of 29 famous works by Anh on the piano and a few instruments; it was a resounding success.

On the occasion, Vietnamese culture and traditional music was introduced to the Slovak public.

Anh said it was a great honour to be the first foreign composer in 30 years to be the main honouree of Author Day.

Born into a family with a background in music in Thanh Hoa, Anh was sent to study at the Slovakia Academy of Music after graduating from the Vietnam National Academy of Music and has lived there since then.

She has composed around 100 works so far, many of which are popular in the Slovakian music community.

Son La Prison to be renovated

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam has just approved a proposal to convert the French-built Son La Prison in the northern province of Son La into a national special relic site.

He has asked the authorities in Son La to draft a master plan to renovate the site and submit it to the Prime Minister.

The prison was built by French colonialists in 1908 covering an area of 500 sq.m. It was expanded in 1940 to 1,700 sq.m. Between 1930 and 1945, the French regime kept thousands of Vietnamese patriots there, who in turn turned the prison into a "revolutionary school" to help sharpen the will of freedom fighters to liberate the nation.

The area was listed as a national relic site in 1962, and has become a tourist attraction for domestic and foreign visitors.

Singer-actress Minh Hang became the brand ambassador of Taiwan Excellence Vietnam 2015 at its 6th international promotion campaign which was launched in Hanoi on June 11.

Co-organised by the Bureau of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Economic Affairs of Taiwan (MOEA) and the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), the Taiwan Excellence campaign aims to introduce leading Taiwanese products to developing markets.

Around 69 renowned brand names in the fields of IT, home appliances, sports equipment, healthcare facilities and means of transport are being displayed at Taiwan Excellence 2015.

2015 marks the sixth year the campaign has been held in Vietnam.

Minh Hang said she was very proud of being a brand ambassador for the international large-scale campaign.

Phong Nha-Ke Bang Park to get UNESCO recognition for 2nd time

The Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, which boasts the high-profile Son Doong Cave, which is the world’s largest, is looking forward to its second recognition by the UNESCO as a world heritage site next month.

The management of the park, secluded in the central Vietnamese province of Quang Binh, is poised to receive a recognition certificate from the United Nations organization for the second time during its third Cave Week, according to Tran Tien Dung, vice chair of the provincial People’s Committee.

The second recognition is based on the park’s stunning biological diversity and resplendent landscape, Dung told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

The park first earned the coveted honor in 2003 for its astounding geological and geomorphologic values.

The aforementioned Cave Week, held on a biennial basis, is slated to run from July 17.

Nha Nam Culture and Communication JSC will hold a meeting in HCM City with Trinh Tuan, whose touching autobiography Ba Muon Nuoi Con Bang Sua Me (Dad Wants to Raise Baby with Breast milk) was published this year, to mark Father's Day and Viet Nam Family Day.

The meeting will take place at 9am tomorrow (Sunday, June 16) at Workshop Coffee, 27 Ngo Duc Ke Street, District 1.

Tuan will speak about his unrelenting and moving struggle to find breast milk and raise his daughter, in the process of which he established the Breast Milk Bank.

There will also be a photo exhibition titled Ba Me Oi (Dear Parents) with pictures of Tuan and his daughter highlighting some mistakes parents make in bringing up children.

Amateur singers stay evergreen

Dinh Van Long's passion for music and singing has never ebbed.

"I love singing and will continue singing until I cannot," said Long, a worker at the HCM City-based Viet Thang Textile Joint Stock Company.

Long, who began singing for a church choir at the age of 17, has performed at cultural activities organised by local authorities since 1975.

Two years later, he stopped his dream of being a professional singer to spend his life to take care of his family.

After nurturing his passion for several decades, he appeared in 2012, participating in Tieng Hat Mai Xanh (Evergreen Voice) contest for amateur singers aged 35 and up, organised by the HCM City Television and the MayQ Media Company.

"The contest continues my dream of standing on stage," said Long, who has taken part in the competition for four consecutive years.

"Fortunately, I entered this year's final round."

Like Long, many finalists are those who have taken part in the contest at least twice.

With experience and singing skills, the final nine showed their beautiful and strong voices to defeat more than 2,600 others in the preliminary and semi-final rounds.

MC Quynh Huong, who has hosted the programme since it began in 2011, said that he as one of the contestants had shown "passion and youthfulness in their performances."

In the final round, the contestants will be divided into three groups of three people aged between 35 and 50, between 51 and 65, and 66 and up.

They will sing romantic, folk and revolutionary songs in three shows to be broadcast live on HTV9 every Friday nights, beginning tonight.

The jury board consists of composers Tran Long An, Phan Huynh Dieu and Phu Quang, and the director of the city's Conservatory of Music, Van Thi Minh Huong.

Based on the judges' score and the audiences' votes, the winners of each group and the second-placed contestant with the highest score of all groups will enter the grand finale at Lan Anh Club in District 10 on July 3.

They will be required to sing a solo and perform in a duet with a professional singer.

The winner will receive a prize of VND100 million (US$4,700) in cash and gifts.

Musician Phan Hong Son, head of the HTV's arts and literatures department, said: "The contest is well-known in the country. Older people nationwide have an opportunity to meet, sing together and share their stories."

Tieng Hat Mai Xanh attracts from 1,000 -1,500 people each event.

"It is a chance for us to sing in front of audiences," Long said, adding that in the past, he just stayed at home or went to karaoke stores to sing with his family and friends.

Le Do Yen Huong, CEO of MayQ, said her company had received many suggestions from local television stations about the contest, especially for those who cannot travel far.

"With their voices and passion, participants in Tieng Hat Mai Xanh have left an inspiring and insightful message for other people," she said.

Int’l art competition for kids opens in Hanoi

Over 100 local and expatriate children aged 5 to 18 living in Hanoi participated in an international drawing competition themed “I love Hanoi- a Peaceful City” at the city’s Children’s Palace on June 14.

Co-organised by the Hanoi Union of Friendship Organisations (HUFO), Hanoi’s Peace Committee and the Children’s Palace, the event aimed to encourage children’s creativity as well as strengthen friendship and solidarity between Vietnamese children and children from Hanoi’s international community.

Event attendees included Deputy Ambassadors, counsellors and representatives from the embassies of Cuba, Palestine, the Philippines and Venezuela in Vietnam.

Addressing the event, HUFO’s Deputy Chairwoman Dao Thanh Huong said Hanoi is the only city in the Asia-Pacific region that has received the prestigious UNESCO award “a city for peace”. She also stressed the importance of communicating with and educating the young generation on the importance of maintaining peace.

The participating children based their artwork on their favourite subjects such as people and life, peace, environment, dreams and aspirations, love for the homeland, and in particular love for the peaceful city of Hanoi.

Grapefruit village a good getaway

With its green orchards, fresh air and tranquil setting, Tan Trieu grapefruit village in the south-eastern province of Dong Nai is an ideal place for weekend tourism.

Situated 40km from HCM City, the village is in Tan Trieu Islet in Vinh Cuu District. The 1,114ha islet is surrounded by the Dong Nai River. Though fertile, the place is only suitable for grapefruits since it is often inundated.

The village grows various varieties of grapefruits, but the most popular is buoi duong la cam (a kind that is very sweet and has small leaves like orange). In recent years village households have turned their grapefruit orchards into eco-tourism sites.

Nam Hue tourism grapefruit orchard is one of the most famous of its kind in the village, offering tourists various dishes made from the fruit like grapefruit salad, chicken steamed in grapefruit, and grapefruit hot pot besides wine.

The wine is produced by the orchard owner Huynh Minh Hue and put in grapefruit-shaped pots.

Nam Hue also has a one-hour sightseeing boat tour around the islet.

Hoi An develops farm tourism

The Hoi An People's Committee has decided to develop tourism and services in An My village in Cam Chau Ward to create more new attractions for visitors to the ancient city, a UNESCO world heritage site.

The tours will take in farming and fishing, with visitors doing work on farms like growing vegetables and rice and catching fish.

Located 3km from Hoi An and 1.5km from Cua Dai Beach, An My has paddy fields, natural ponds and vegetable farms.

Ha Giang shows off buckwheat

The northernmost province of Ha Giang, which has the largest area under buckwheat in the north-western region, will organise the first ever buckwheat flower festival in early October when fields in full bloom and look most beautiful.

The festival will be held in Dong Van District together with a H'Mong panpipe festival, a tourism fair, and a photo exhibition about the Dong Van Karst Plateau, a member of the Global Network of National Geoparks.

Buckwheat flowers are small and turn from light pink to light purple several days after blooming. Their beauty has attracted a large number of tourists to Ha Giang's buckwheat flower fields in recent years.

The province plans to bring more under the plant in Dong Van District, including in seven communes that are popular tourism spots.

VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/TT