The Vietnamese Women's Association in Hungary and the Vietnamese Embassy in Budapest have jointly organised an award ceremony for the contest which lasted from March, 2023, to April 30 to coincide with the 49th anniversary of national reunification.

With a desire to widely popularize Vietnam's culture, land, and people to international friends, as well as the second and third generations of Vietnamese people in Hungary, the Organizing Board initiated the idea about the painting contest which in turn received a positive response from the community.

The contest was even more successful when recording impressive numbers with 364 entries, 87,867 post updates on the contest's Facebook page, and many Hungarian newspapers reporting on it.

Surprisingly, the first prize in the contest went to two Hungarian students, with Szabó Zétény winning first prize for ages one to four and Sebok Lilla notching up the first prize for ages five to eight.

Speaking at the award ceremony, Vietnamese Ambassador to Hungary Nguyen Thi Bich Thao hailed the Vietnamese Women's Association in Hungary’s initiative of organizing the drawing contest about Vietnam.

“This is a new, very effective direction in popularizing Vietnam. We not only introduce the nation to Hungarian friends, but also inspire and encourage students, teachers, and parents to actively learn about the land, people, traditions, landscapes and development of Vietnam,” Bich said.

At the award ceremony, Ambassador Thao awarded Certificates of Merit to six prize winners. In addition to the two first prizes, whilst the second and third prizes went to contestants from Vietnam, China, and Denmark. In particular, the Organizing Board also received a certificate of merit for its creative ideas and successful organisation of the competition.

The contest has served to truly bring the nation closer to the Hungarian people as a means of contributing to further cultivating the relationship between the two sides moving forward.

VOV