Preservation of ethnic minorities’ culture – an urgent task: workshop

Deputy PM Vu Duc Dam speaks at the event (Source: baovanhoa.vn)

How to protect and bring into play the values of folk culture of ethnic minority groups in Vietnam was discussed at a workshop held at the National Village for Ethnic Culture and Tourism in Hanoi on December 14.

According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the preservation and promotion of ethnic minorities’ culture have helped enhance the patriotism and national pride among the public while strengthening the great national unity bloc.

More than 80 traditional festivals of ethnic groups like the Muong, Thai, Tay, Co Tu, Mong, Nung, Dao, Ba Na, Chut and Khmer have been revitalized. Over 30 villages of 25 minorities have been assisted to uphold their traditional cultural heritage such as festivals, folk songs and dances, costumes, crafts and customs.

Many classes teaching traditional intangible culture of the ethnic groups with populations below 10,000 have been opened in many provinces nationwide like Ha Giang, Lai Chau, Dien Bien, Lao Cai and Thai Nguyen in the north, Quang Binh in the central region, and Kon Tum in the Central Highlands.

Notably, 134 of the 271 existing national intangible cultural heritage items belong to ethnic minorities, and 276 of the 617 people recognised as meritorious artisans are from these groups.

At the workshop, many participants said the preservation and promotion of ethnic minorities’ culture are an increasingly urgent task in the face of foreign culture, rapid urbanization, and heritage commercialization.

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam said it takes each ethnic community thousands of years to form their cultural identities. Therefore, cultural preservation and promotion need strategic visions and patience.

The State not only supports cultural heritage conservation activities but also creates a favourable environment for each citizen, each community and the whole society to join in this work, he added.

For her part, Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly Tong Thi Phong said protecting and bringing into play ethnic groups’ cultural identities are not the responsibility of a single group but the task of the entire political system and all people.

She asked the Government to overhaul legal documents on policies, including those on cultural preservation, for ethnic minorities, particularly the groups with small population in border, insular and resettlement areas, to encourage them to uphold beautiful cultural values and give up outdated practices.

The official also called for more manpower training in the work and policies encouraging the transfer of cultural heritage to younger generations.

An exhibition featuring Vietnam’s lacquer paintings and artworks kicked off in Melbourne, Australia, on December 14 as part of activities to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the Australia-Vietnam diplomatic relations.

The event attracted a crowd of Vietnamese expats living, working and studying in Australia; locals and tourists. 

The beauties of Vietnam's heritage, country and people are highlighted in lacquer paintings and photos of Vietnamese artists and photographers.

The exhibition displays 10 lacquer paintings of Tran Van Can, Nguyen Sang, Nguyen Tu Nghiem, Phan Ke An, who are big names of the Vietnamese artists, and photos featuring intangible cultural heritages wining prizes in the country. 

In addition, the exhibition also introduced publications to promote cultural tourism sites, creating a bridge to bring Vietnam closer to the world.

Tran Thi Thu Dong, Vice Head of the Department of Fine Arts, Photography and Exhibition (APE) under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said lacquer painting is the unique material of the Vietnamese fine arts, hoping that through the exhibition, Vietnam’s cultural characteristics and famous tourist sites will be introduced to Australians. 

Tran Ba Phuc, Chairman of the the Vietnam Business Association in Australia, highly appreciated the works of arts displayed at this exhibition.

According to Phuc, the exhibition will help the community of more than 320,000 overseas Vietnamese in Australia to understand more about their homeland.

Organised by the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in cooperation with the Embassy of Vietnam and the Vietnam Business Association in Australia,  the event will last till December 18.

Four teams play in the friendship football tournament.

A friendship football open tournament began on December 15 by the Vietnamese Embassy in Cambodia to mark the 40th anniversary of the fall of the genocidal regime in the host country.

The two-day tourney draws the participation of four teams from the Vietnamese Embassy and other representative offices, the youth unions of the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Ministry of Interior.

They are playing in a round-robin format to decide the champion.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Ke Bun Khieng, deputy chief of the commission for popularisation and education and chief of the CPP’s central Youth Working Group, spoke highly of the football tournament as helping enhance friendship and cooperation between organisations and branches of the two countries to mark Cambodia’s victory over the genocidal regime. 

He expressed his hope that the youths will treasure and elevate the bilateral friendship and cooperation to a new high.

Truong Thi Mai (right), head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Mass Mobilisation, on December 15 extended her Christmas greetings to Catholic dignitaries and followers in the northern province of Nam Dinh. 

Truong Thi Mai, head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Mass Mobilisation, on December 15 extended her Christmas greetings to Catholic dignitaries and followers in the northern province of Nam Dinh. 

Visiting Bishop Vu Dinh Hieu and Catholic dignitaries and followers of the Bui Chu diocese in Xuan Truong district, the official acknowledged their contributions to socio-economic development of the locality and the country at large, and to the great national unity bloc. 

The Party and the State always respect and ensure the freedom of religion and belief of all citizens, meet legal and legitimate demands of religious organisations and followers, and create conditions for them to develop economy and improve their living standards, she said. 

Mai expressed her hope that the local Catholic dignitaries and followers will continue to lead a good secular and religious life, and join hands with people nationwide in national construction and defence. 

In reply, Bishop Hieu said the Bui Chu diocese is home to 413,000 Catholics and highlighted contributions of the local Catholics to rural transport and social welfare projects, environmental protection and security and safety safeguarding. 

Nam Dinh has more than 720 parishes and Catholic families, with about 470,000 followers.

Bac Giang has first new-style rural district

An aerial view of Tien Son commune, Viet Yen district (Photo: baobacgiang.com.vn)

Viet Yen has become the first district in the northern province of Bac Giang to earn the status of a new-style rural district, in 2018, two years ahead of schedule.  

A ceremony was held on December 14 night to hand over the certificate to the district and honour collectives and individuals who have made outstanding contributions to new rural area construction. 

In his remarks, Vice Chairman of the district People’s Committee Nguyen Dai Luong said since the new-style rural area building programme was launched in Viet Yen eight years ago, the locality has all 17 communes recognised as new rural areas and completed all nine criteria set for a new rural district. 

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc signed a decision to recognise the district’s status on November 8, 2018, he said. 

Viet Yen’s annual per capita income is estimated at 36 million VND (1,548 USD), 2.3 times higher than the number recorded in the past, and the rate of poor households drops to over 4.2 percent. 

The district’s vegetable and fruit production areas are using high technologies, and there are new and upgraded medical, educational and cultural facilities. 

More than 2.9 trillion VND (124.7 million USD) has been mobilised for new rural area building in Viet Yen since 2011. 

Addressing the ceremony, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Quoc Doanh congratulated Viet Yen and Bac Giang province in general on the achievements they have gained in new-style rural area building, and urged Bac Giang to make greater efforts to improve the new-style rural area criteria. 

Viet Yen should step up agricultural restructuring, complete infrastructure for agricultural production and form high-tech production areas, he said. 

The National Target Programme on New-style Rural Area Building, initiated by the Vietnamese Government in 2010, sets 19 criteria on socio-economic development, politics, and defence, aiming to boost rural regions of Vietnam.     

The list of criteria includes the development of infrastructure, the improvement of production capacity, environmental protection, and the promotion of cultural values.      

According to the Central Coordination Office for the Programme, as of the end of the first quarter of 2018, 3,289 communes nationwide earned the recognition as new style rural areas, up 220 communes compared to the end of 2017.

Forty-eight districts in 26 centrally-run cities and provinces were recognised as new-style rural areas.

Disadvantaged children in Lam Dong get free heart checkups

Free heart disease screenings began on over 800 disadvantaged children under 16 years old in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong on December 15. 

The two-day programme was jointly organised by the Lam Dong Children Hospital, the Viettel Military Industry and Telecoms Group’s office in the province and the Ho Chi Minh City Medicine and Pharmacy University’s Hospital. 

Sen. Lieut. Col. Doan Van Viet - Director of Viettel Lam Dong said the second event of this kind has offered a chance for children living with heart diseases to be examined and treated timely. 

The programme has pledged to finance the surgery for those with difficult backgrounds, he said. 

This is part of the Tam Long Viet (Vietnamese Heart) Fund's heart operation programme, which has so far provided free life-saving surgeries for 4,500 impoverished children, including 21 in Lam Dong.

Technical assistance project for Vietnam’s sustainable development launched

Volunteers collect waste and polystyrenes on an island in Ha Long Bay 

The Institute of Strategy and Policy on Natural Resources and Environment and the Asian Development Bank recently held a workshop to launch a technical assistance project for countries in Asia-Pacific, including Vietnam, to achieve sustainable development goals in the environmental sector.

The project aims to enhance capacity to implement and monitor environmental sustainable development targets.

In Vietnam, the project focuses on reviewing environmental indicators and identifying financial resources for the country’s natural resources and environment sector. 

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of the United Nations was adopted at the UN Summit from September 25-27, 2015, in New York, the US, with 17 sustainable development goals and 169 criteria. Global sustainable development goals and criteria differ for each nation and depend on their priorities and policies.

In Vietnam, the national action plan for the implementation of the UN agenda was issued by the Government on May 10, 2017, with 17 targets and 115 criteria.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment was tasked to coordinate with ministries, agencies and localities in implementing the plan.

Various ministries, the State Bank of Vietnam and 22 provinces have promulgated action plans to carry out the agenda.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is building an action plan to realise sustainable development goals in Vietnam. 

The draft plan has been basically completed, defining common targets and an implementation roadmap.

500 poor families financially helped to build new houses

Some 500 disadvantaged families in five central provinces receive financial aid worth a total of 25 billion VND (1.07 million USD) to build their own houses. 

Some 500 disadvantaged families in the central provinces of Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen and Khanh Hoa have received financial aid worth a total of 25 billion VND (1.07 million USD) to build their own houses.

The financial support was given by Hung Thinh Land JSC.

Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh presented the aid to needy households in Quang Nam province, each with 50 million VND, at a ceremony in Tam Ky city on December 16.

Speaking at the event, Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh said the Party and State always care for the life of poor people, particularly those living in central Vietnam who suffered from many losses during the past wars and have been struggling to make ends meet. Many of them are living in houses in very poor condition, she added.

She also lauded the gesture of enterprises like Hung Thinh Land JSC, who has not only contributed largely to the State budget but also made generous donations to charity.

Earlier this year, Hung Thinh Land JSC has funded the building of 190 charitable houses for disadvantaged households in Ho Chi Minh City, Vinh Long, Binh Dinh and Ba Ria – Vung Tau. 

Deputy PM urges stoking start-up spirit for national prosperity

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam visits a booth of a student’s startup project at the launch of the National Students’ Startup Day held yesterday in Hanoi 

Each young Vietnamese should be ambitious and fearless to follow start-up dreams and bring prosperity to the country, said Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam. 

He made the appeal in front of hundreds of students at the Hanoi-based National Economics University on December 16 for the launch of the National Students’ Startup Day.

“The country has experienced countless disasters and destruction, Vietnamese people have fought two devastating wars, with unimaginable sacrifices and losses. That’s why, along with the dream of independence and people, Vietnamese also wish for flourishing prosperity,” he said, adding that despite great development leaps in recent times, Vietnam remains a low middle-income country.

“We cannot expect outside countries to make riches for Vietnam, each Vietnamese must do their best to contribute to the country’s growth,” he said, noting younger generations would be the driving force of this growth.

Aside from the youth’s efforts, it’s important for teachers and leaders of education institutions to support the students in science and research, he said, adding that the universities should be the “breeding ground” of new ideas, not an environment for disseminating “old knowledge.”

Deputy PM Dam stressed that universities are the main factor in the national start-up ecosystem.

At the event, Minister of Education and Training Phung Xuan Nha said the ministry had instructed education institutions on how to organise activities to inspire start-up spirit amongst students, including training programmes and counselling sessions to help youths deal with their difficulties in a positive ways and help start-up founders overcome challenges.

After a year of implementing the Government-sponsored project to support students’ start-up efforts, Nha said the education sector has started to pay more attention to start-up education and support, evidenced by the increasing number of projects by younger students in this year’s contest.

The final round of the national students’ start-up competition for this year was also held on December 16 as part of the event, with the 15 best projects chosen amongst 80 start-ups in various fields from health, education to fintech and agriculture.

Alternative care given to orphaned children in Thai Nguyen

At a child protection shelter in Vietnam 

Vulnerable and orphaned children in the northern province of Thai Nguyen will receive family care under the Care for Children project introduced in the locality on December 13 by the Department of Child Affairs under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs (MoLISA).

A report from the Care for Children shows that child protection facilities are the last resort for children with no alternatives, where they have to face formidable challenges to their physical and mental growth. Meanwhile, home care for children with special circumstances is much better, which is in line with international standards and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Thousands of vulnerable children are able to live a more stable and safer childhood if surrounded by a home environment. 

A representative from Care for Children said that the family care model has been carried out effectively in some Asian countries, such as Thailand and China.

The 12-year alternative care project was launched in Vietnam in 2017. It was initiated with a pilot programme in Hanoi and Thai Nguyen province, which will run until 2020 before expanding to other localities nationwide. 

Thai Nguyen province is now home to 293,000 children, including some 3,000 with special circumstances. In the past few years, despite local authorities’ efforts to support such children, the number of those in vulnerable situations has remained high.

According to the MoLISA, Vietnam has about 1.5 million children considered to be living in special circumstances, including 170,000 orphaned and homeless children. More than 22,000 children are currently placed in child protection shelters. 

Nearly 500 entries to compete at 38th National Television Festival

At the press conference (Photo VTV)

Nearly 500 works will be competing at the 38th National Television Festival, which will be held in Da Lat city in the Central Highland province of Lam Dong from December 19-22.

The event, the biggest of its kind all year for Vietnamese TV makers, will be organised by the Lam Dong radio-television station, heard a press conference in Hanoi on December 13.

The organising board will select the best works in various genres including children’s programmes, documentaries, reportage, science-education, talk shows, dialogue, programmes in ethnic minority languages, music shows, and TV serials.

A new feature of this year’s event is that movies adapted from foreign works are allowed to join the competition.

In addition, a range of extended prizes for documentary series will be included for the first time.

As of December 13, the organising board received nearly 500 entries, of which the reportage category continued to attract the largest number of participants.

As part of the event, there will be workshops on social media and television, and solutions to using mobile equipment for TV production. 

Other sideline activities include a free congestive heart screening programme for children under 16 in Lam Dong province, a programme to present clothes to 1,750 children and 2,000 gift packages to students in Lac Duong, Bao Lam, Lam Ha, Don Duong, and Dam Rong districts.

Award honours blood donation organisers

At the award ceremony (Source: tuoitrethudo.com.vn)

The National Institute of Haematology - Blood Transfusion (NIHBT) held a ceremony in Hanoi on December 13 to present the “Giot hong” (Red Drops) Award and meet leaders and managers of units organising blood donation events in 2018.

The award honours agencies, organisations and individuals for their tireless efforts for the lives of patients.

This year’s award was presented to 15 collectives and 12 individuals in Hanoi and northern provinces with excellent achievements in the effort.

Speaking at the event, Dr Bach Quoc Khanh, Director of the NIHBT, said this is the 11th year the institute has hosted the programme to thank the agencies’ leaders and managers for their active contributions to the voluntary blood donation movement.

By the end of November 2018, the NIHBT received more than 320,000 units of blood, including 317,000 units from voluntary donations, accounting for 99 percent of the total and up 6.7 percent compared to the same period last year, he said.

The source helped the institute ensure blood supplies for emergency and treatment at hospitals in 26 northern cities and provinces, he added.

In 2019, the National Institute of Haematology - Blood Transfusion aims to receive at least 350,000 units of blood. To reach this target, Khanh said the institute will strengthen coordination with agencies, units, businesses and steering boards of cities and provinces to organise blood donation events, and improve care for blood donors.

Int’l judicial cooperation in criminal asset recovery discussed

Nguyen Thai Hoc, deputy head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for International Affairs, speaks at the workshop (Source: daibieunhandan.vn)

International judicial cooperation in criminal asset recovery was the main topic of a workshop held in Hanoi on December 13. 

Participants pointed out poor results of criminal asset recovery in Vietnam, such as the small amount of money and assets reclaimed so far, slow progress, and pending cases. 

The recovery of criminal assets stashed abroad has yet to mount to anything substantial, they said. 

Le Tien, Director of the Department of International Cooperation and Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters under the Supreme People’s Procuracy, suggested that Vietnam consider building a law on legal assistance specifically in criminal matters that is separate from the 2007 Law on Legal Assistance in order to improve the efficiency of the work. 

The law must include criminal asset recovery in the legal assistance of criminal matters, and prescribe procedures for international cooperation in this regard, he said, adding laws on criminal asset recovery should also be formed in the long run.

Nguyen Tuan Khanh, Deputy Director of the Inspectorate Strategy and Science Institute, suggested temporary measures such as blockading, sealing off, and seizing assets in order to prevent them from being marketed, transferred, exchanged, or destroyed. 

Nguyen Thai Hoc, deputy head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for International Affairs, touched upon loose coordination between relevant agencies and stressed the need to respect and understand international law and standards in the work. 

Akiko Jujii, Deputy Director of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Vietnam, noted the Vietnamese Government has taken stronger measures to control corruption, in both public and private sectors. 

However, there are still many limitations in monitoring and reclaiming criminal assets, she said. 

Vietnamese soldier remains return home from Laos

Repatriation of Vietnamese soldiers' remains 

The remains of 30 Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and experts who laid down their lives during wartime in Laos, were repatriated from Oudomxay province in northern Laos on December 13.

Attending the repatriation ceremony were representatives from the Vietnamese Military Zone 2’s Steering Committee on Search and Repatriation of Remains of Fallen Soldiers (Steering Committee 515 the Special Working Committee of six northern Lao provinces, local people, and those from the Vietnamese community in Laos.

This was the first repatriation conducted during the 2018-2019 dry season by the Steering Committee 515 and the Special Working Committee of six northern provinces of Laos, including Oudomxay, Luang Prabang, Xayabouly, Phongsaly, Luang Namtha, and Bokeo.

The remains were found in Nga and Xay district in Oudomxay province.

Speaking at the event, Vice Political Commissar of the Vietnamese Military Zone 2 Major General Tran Ngoc Tuan thanked the authorities and people of the six northern Lao provinces for creating favourable conditions for the repatriation.

A memorial and reburial ceremony for the fallen heroes will be held at Tong Khao cemetery, Dien Bien Phu city, Dien Bien province on December 14.

Established in 1994, the Steering Committee 515 has found and brought home the remains of nearly 1,700 Vietnamese soldiers.

Balade en France 2018 opens in Hanoi

French Ambassador to Vietnam Bertrand Lortholary addresses the opening ceremony of Balade en France 2018 in Hanoi on December 14

Balade en France 2018 (Walk in France) began on December 14 night in Hanoi as a concluding event of celebrations for the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between France and Vietnam and marking the fifth anniversary of bilateral strategic partnership.

Addressing the event, Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung said the event will strengthen the solidarity between Vietnam and international friends in general and between Vietnam and France in particular.

French Ambassador to Vietnam Bertrand Lortholary said 2018 marked successful cooperation in politics, economy, culture, education, healthcare, defence and the environment between the two countries, as evidenced by the visit to France by Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in March, and Prime Minister Edouard Philippe’s visit to Vietnam in November.

He expressed his hope that Balade en France 2018 will tighten France-Vietnam ties.

A ceremony was held to light a 6m-tall Christmas tree made of recycled plastic bottles, sending out a message of protecting the environment. 

The site of the event at Ly Thai To Square on Dinh Tien Hoang street and by Hoan Kiem Lake was set up like a Parisian street during Christmas time lined with shops and decorated with sparkling lights.

Visitors will be able to enjoy French dishes offered by French restaurants in Hanoi, as well as cosmetics and technological products presented at 60 booths by French companies.

The event also features an extensive music programme with performances of French music group La Bella et la Bete, DJ Ouissam Mokretar and singer Kenijah David, and Vietnamese singers My Linh, Dong Lan, Trang Phap.

The festival will also include a workshop on theatre guided by French artist, director and actor-improviser Quentin Delorme.

A photo exhibition entitled France and I will display photos taken by former students in France and Francophiles, while screenings of animation movies competing at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival will also be held.

The three-day event is held in the capital for the first time, after nine consecutive years in Ho Chi Minh City.

Balade en France 2018 is organised by the French Embassy in Vietnam, the French Ministry of Agriculture and Food and the People’s Committee of Hanoi.

Int’l conference talks solutions to AO/dioxin consequences

Participants in the conference on the settlement of Agent Orange/dioxin consequences in Vietnam on December 14 

An international conference was held in Hanoi on December 14 to discuss the settlement of Agent Orange (AO)/dioxin consequences which still linger in people’s bodies and the environment across Vietnam.

Deputy Minister of Defence Sen. Lt. Gen. Nguyen Chi Vinh said that although the war ended over 40 years ago, the consequences of toxic chemicals, and unexploded bombs and mines leftover from the war still substantially influence the safety and health of Vietnamese people, the environment, and national socio-economic development.

It is not only dioxin, but also other toxic chemicals used by different countries in the past that have left serious consequences, posing challenges to the realisation of the Millennium Development Goals, as well as environmental protection and the improvement of people’s health, he noted.

Col. Than Thanh Cong, chief of the national steering committee office for addressing post-war unexploded ordnances and toxic chemicals in Vietnam, said that between 1961 and 1971, about 80 million litres of herbicide were sprayed onto 2.63 million ha of land in southern Vietnam. Roughly 61 percent of the total herbicide was AO, containing 366kg of dioxin. More than 2 million ha of forest land was affected to varying degrees.

Aside from these areas, the military bases the US army used to store, mix, and deliver the herbicide and clean its aircraft before and after spraying were also seriously contaminated with AO/dioxin.

Cong said that over the years, the Vietnamese Government has worked alongside domestic and foreign organisations to address the consequences of AO/dioxin contamination. Notably, about 150,000 cu.m of dioxin-contaminated soil in three hotspots – namely Da Nang airport in Da Nang city, Bien Hoa airport in Dong Nai province, and Phu Cat airport in Binh Dinh province – has been safely isolated.

Regarding human contamination, authorities have carried out many activities to support AO/dioxin victims and their children, such as by providing financial aid and medical examination and treatment, building and repairing houses, and presenting scholarships, the official added.

At the conference, participants, including foreign experts, focused on AO/dioxin’s impact on the environment and human health, as well as ways to address the problem.