Young Vietnamese talent honoured in France

The final round of a music competition for Vietnamese students in France was held at Reuilly Theatre, Paris, on February 22, leaving a lasting impression on the international audience.

The twelve finalists took part in the event, held by the Vietnamese Students Association (UEVF) in France, to welcome the new spring and celebrate the 40th anniversary of Vietnam-France diplomatic ties.

Tran Trung Kien, a Vietnamese student from Lille city, won  first prize for his piano performance, while second prize went to 20-member Action dancing group that stole the show.

Vu Ngoc Han from Amiens city was awarded third prize for her sweet voice in presenting songs in both English and French.

In addition, The UEVF and the association of Vietnamese experts and scientists, presented six certificates of merit to Vietnamese students who achieved excellent academic results in 2013.

Italy dedicates new library to Vietnam

A library introducing books on Vietnam and its modern history, by late author Pino Tagliazucchi, has been inaugurated in Allerona city, central Italy.

The library houses approximately 5,000 publications on the contemporary history of Vietnam and Asia, written and collected by Pino Tagliazucchi and his daughter Nora Tagliazucchi and donated to Allerona city after he passed away.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Italy Nguyen Hoang Long appreciated Pino’s significant contributions, affirming the author is a great friend of Vietnam and one of the leading Italian researchers on Vietnam.

Pino wrote and translated many books about Vietnam’s history, literature and folk culture. He also demonstrated a keen interest in writing about great Vietnamese activists, including the late President Ho Chi Minh and the legendary General Vo Nguyen Giap, Long said.

The Vietnamese diplomat spoke highly of Pino’s active role as a member of the Italy-Vietnam Friendship Association, during Vietnam’s past struggles against foreign invasion and the present development process.

He expressed his belief the newly-inaugurated library will help further friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and Italy, as well as with Allerona city.

Mayor of Allerona city Valentino Rocchigiani said the municipal council supports the library’s activities in promoting cooperation between the two countries.

He believed the library, named after Pino Tagliazucchi, will be an ideal venue for those who want to learn about Vietnam.

Nora Tagliazucchi expressed pride in her father’s contributions and said she hopes his books are useful to Italian people.

A photo contest entitled “Land and People” aiming to capture the spirit of the daily lives of rural Vietnam has received more than 2,500 entries.

The year-long contest, launched by Nong Thon Ngay Nay (Rural Today), has attracted a large number of amateur photographers and their entries provide a panoramic view of the life of rural Vietnamese in the renewal process from different angles.

Best entries will be selected and published on Rural Today print newspaper and its Dan Viet online version.

The contest will run until mid-October.

Vietnamese lacquer paintings on display in France

A month-long exhibition, featuring over 40 contemporary lacquers paintings and 200 handicraft products created by Vietnamese artists and artisans, opened in Marseille, France on February 21.

The event, a joint effort of the Vietnamese Embassy in France and the city of Marseille, and part of the “Vietnam Year in France” festivities, attracted the attention of distinguished government officials, diplomats and art lovers from around the world.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, the Deputy Mayor of Marseille city, Roca Serra, expressed his fond sentiments towards Vietnam, recalling his visit to the Southeast Asian nation in 2012.

The exhibition is the continuation of the fine relationship between Marseille and Vietnam, especially in tertiary education and health care, he said.

The event aims to introduce a mix of both traditional and modern Vietnamese culture, contributing to cultural diversity in Marseille.

Photo exhibition on former Venezuelan President

An exhibition themed “Chavez Passed By Here" featuring over 50 photos of former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez during visits with Vietnamese leaders opened in Hanoi on February 21.

The event is the result of a joint effort by the Venezuelan Embassy in Vietnam, Vietnam Institute of American Studies and the Vietnam News Agency (VNA).

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Cu Chi Loi, Director of the Institute of American Studies said the event aims to help the public learn more about the important events in the life and career of the late President Hugo Chavez.

Hugo Chavez devoted his life to the cause of national liberation and the development of Venezuela, and significantly contributed to strengthening friendship between the Vietnamese and Venezuelan peoples, he added.

Forhis part, Venezuelan ambassador to Vietnam Jorge Rondon Uzcategui stressed that the country is organizing world wide exhibitions to honour of the beloved leader.

The year 2014 is an important year in the relationship between Vietnam and Venezuela as it marks the 25th anniversary of the two countries’ diplomatic relations.

It also marks the 50th anniversary of the kidnapping of CIA Lieutenant Smolen by Venezuelan guerillas in exchange for the freedom of Hero Nguyen Van Troi.

The exhibition runs until March 7.

Indian Festival brings food and dance to Vietnam

A Festival of India will be launched in Hanoi, Danang, and Ho Chi Minh City offering participants an opportunity to experience Indian culture and cuisine.

This was announced at a February 21 press conference in Hanoi hosted by the Indian Embassy and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The festivalis set to kick off  in Hanoi from March 5-15 with a series of dance activities, and traditional dancing performances of 16 Indian artists at the Opera house on March 5 and a food festival at the Sheraton Hotel on March 6-8.

A Buddhist festival including meditation, chanting and Buddhist sculptures will also be held at Phat Tich pagoda in Bac Ninh from March 11-15.

The event, aims to introduce Indian culture to Vietnamese people, contributing to strengthening the diplomatic ties between the two countries.

Vietnam joins UNESCO’s int’l conventions

Delegates from international and local agencies gathered at a conference in Hanoi on February 21 to dilate on UNESCO’s international conventions.

The event aimed to disseminate information to reporters and the mass media on matters pertaining to fundamental issues on UNESCO’s international conventions such as international conventions on the World’s Cultural and Natural Heritages and the preservation of intangible cultural heritages.

Katherine Muller-Marine, Chief Representative of UNESCO emphasized that Vietnam has many intangible and tangible heritages recognized by UNESCO and that the Government has made great strides in preserving and promoting them.

She said that it is necessary to ensure there is a harmonic balance between new developments and preservation and that preservation of heritages should be undertaken even when they are yet to receive UNESCO recognition.

Vietnam faces monumental challenges in preserving heritages, so it is imperative to tap into the knowledge of foreign experts to more effectively and efficiently preserve them.

Delegates also discussed the media role in sharing information and devising orientations for the community on issues related on tangible and intangible heritages.

They also discussed issues on UN culture and development, the 1972 Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, Memory of the World Program, the 2001 Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage.

The event was co-organised by UNESCO Office in Hanoi and the Ministry of Information and Communications.

New project targets young filmmakers

Young filmmakers throughout the country have been invited to join a new movie project launched by the Centre for Assistance and Development of Movie Talents (TPD).

Filmmakers, aged 18 to 35, have been asked to apply to participate in the 10 Months 10 Documentaries project, which will support the 10 best filmmakers to film their documentaries. Topics can include social issues such as sexual equality, LGBT, women's rights, the environment or traffic.

The 30 best movie ideas will be chosen, as the candidates move ahead into further rounds. All candidates will have the opportunity to attend short courses to equip them with knowledge about modern social matters, as well as skills needed to present a documentary film making project.

A judges board consisting of famed movie directors Bui Thac Chuyen, Phan Huyen Thu, Pham Thi Hao, cameraman Ly Thai Dung, French film editor Julie Beziau and sound expert Arnaud Soulier, will select the 20 best entries to compete at the final round.

The ten best entries, which will receive financial support, will be announced on April 13. These 10 finalists will be offered the chance to attend courses on filming techniques and using digital equipment.

After completing the filming process, all the documentaries will be presented to the public.

Speaking at the project's launching ceremony in Ha Noi on Friday, director Chuyen, whose movies have won significant national and international awards, said: "I hope the young filmmakers will showcase their youth and enthusiasm through their fresh ideas about their movies and will have the chance to turn those ideas into worth-to-see movies."

The project, which will conclude in October, has received the financial support of the US Embassy in Viet Nam.

Terry White, a representative from the US Embassy, said the project will offer young filmmakers more than the chance to make films.

"By joining the project, the young filmmakers will also have the opportunity to practice and improve life skills, such as becoming more independent, increasing their confidence, communication skills, the ability to work independently, as well as working in a team," he said.

To join the project, candidates are required to send a brief describing the content of their documentary, samples of their movies, along with their CV to tpdmovie@gmail.com or by post to the TPD office, Level 4, 51 Tran Hung Dao Street, Ha Noi, before March 1.

Quang Ninh branches out with bonsai festival

Nearly 1,000 Bonsai trees are on display at the Yen Tu Festival in the northern province of Quang Ninh.

Part of the ongoing festival on Yen Tu Mountain in Uong Bi District, the first exhibition of its kind attracted the participation of almost 300 artisans from ornamental tree clubs nationwide. Many of these "art works" won top prizes at contests both at home and abroad.

According to Nguyen Trung Hai from the management board of the Yen Tu site, this event aimed to honour Bonsai artisans as well as attract fans of ornamental trees.

The exhibition will run until March 2.

Historical quiz encourages kids to collect stamps

A children's quiz on the Dien Bien Phu victory featured on postage stamps has been launched for participants aged between 7 and 15.

The contest, which will run until April 30, aims to encourage children to study the battle of Dien Bien Phu and Viet Nam's postal history, while motivating children to collect stamps.

This is the first in a series of activities to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu victory.

The Central Youth Union plans to organise a camp for children from all over the country to travel to the northern province of Dien Bien to learn more about the victory.

Gong lessons introduced at Central Highland schools

Many schools in the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong have begun teaching students about the area’s ancient gong culture in an effort to preserve and promote its traditional values.

Students in boarding schools in Cu Jut, Krong No, Dak Mil, Dak R’lap and Dak Song districts have learnt how to beat gongs and stage performances.

The unofficial subject has won an enthusiastic response from many students, as it helps them relax after stressful lessons while also educating them about the unique cultural heritage of their ethnic group.

Dieu Lam Doanh, a 12 th grader at N’Trang Long boarding school in Gia Nghia town, said many gong teams have been set up at his school and he is one of many students who have learned the art.

According to To Dinh Tuan, Director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the subject’s popularity among students is a rosy sign for efforts to preserve local culture.

He added that the province also encourages schools to introduce other genres of arts such as folk dances and songs into extra-curricular activities.

The gong is a traditional musical tool of minority ethnic groups in Vietnam ’s Central Highland provinces.

The space of gong culture was recognised by UNESCO as an intangible and oral masterpiece of human culture in 2005.

Singaporean professor to lecture on Asia’s cosmopolitan future

Professor Prasenjit Duara, director of Asia Research Institute and director of Research in Humanities and Social Sciences at the National University of Singapore will give a lecture at HCMC’s University of Social Sciences and Humanities from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on February 26 as part of the San Art ENCOUNTER talk series.

  Professor Duara will talk about the subject Asia as Network: Future of the Past. He will show how the intersection of differing cultural ideas can provide an alternate framework to rethinking the future of the Asian region’s cosmopolitanism. To Duara, historically Asia has had no strict boundaries and has been densely interconnected by trade and religion, evidenced in cultural practice with rituals, arts and crafts and informal networks which have had profound implications on the relationship between culture and society across the region. Today, there is an emerging consensus that continuing our pursuit of existing modes of production, consumption and the political economic arrangements that underpin them will endanger planetary sustainability sooner than we realize.

  Duara is a China historian and more broadly Asian historian of the twentieth century. He also writes on historical thought and historiography. Previously he was Professor and Chair of the Department of History and the Committee on Chinese Studies at the University of Chicago. In 1988, he published Culture, Power and the State: Rural North China, 1900-1942 (Stanford University Press), which won the Fairbank Prize of the AHA and the Levenson Prize of the AAS in the U.S. Duara has spoken as a keynote lecturer or distinguished speaker at over 75 institutions around the world since 1996.

  ENCOUNTER is a three-year cultural lecture series initiated by San Art showcasing eight internationally renowned creative thinkers from interdisciplinary backgrounds, who speak on contemporary developments in art, cultural theory, geography, political and social science, history, architecture, literature, music, film or new media. It forms part of a larger artistic program ‘Conscious Realities’ that is sponsored by a Network Partnership between the Prince Claus Fund and San Art. Admission is free.

Don Ca Tai Tu festival 2014’s media center to be established

A media center will be opened during the first ‘Don Ca Tai Tu’ or Southern Amateur Music Festival 2014, according to Chairwoman of the People’s Committee of Bac Lieu Province Le Thi Ai Nam on February 23.

The center will be at 4 Phan Dinh Phung St. and equipped with 20 computers with high-speed Internet connection.

The center’s website is festivaldcttquocgia.baclieu.gov.vn and provides news and documents covering the festival.

The festival will be held in Bac Lieu Province on April 20-25 giving recognition to the famous style of music.

The festival includes art exhibitions, musical performances and award ceremonies. The theme is “Don Ca Tai Tu—Love of the People and Southern Region” and aims to promote traditional culture in the south.