First-ever requiem to be held for AO victims

The first-ever requiem for Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange/dioxin will be held in late July, 2011, marking the 50th anniversary of the catastrophe of AO defoliants sprayed by the US on Vietnam.

The event, as part of series of activities for AO victims, was announced by Nguyen Van Rinh, President of the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/dioxin (VAVA), at a press briefing in Hanoi on Dec. 9.

Other prominent events in 2011 will include a meeting in commemoration of the AO catastrophe on August 10, which is Day for AO Victims, and the second international conference on AO victims, which will take place on August 8 and 9.

At the briefing, Rinh told the reporters about his recent visit to the US at the invitation of the Association of Veterans for Peace and the Vietnam Agent Orange Relief and Responsibility Campaign (VAORRC).

During the trip, the VAVA officials visited San Francisco , New York and Washington to gain support from war veterans, lawyers, and scientists for the Vietnamese AO victims’ lawsuit for justice. They were received by US congressmen and representatives from the Department of State for the first time.

At these meetings, these US organisations and individuals agreed that the AO issue in Vietnam was vital and needed to be addressed and that the US government needed to pay more attention to the matter.

In the visit, VAVA and VAORRC issued a joint statement confirming that they will together work with the US government and parliament to win assistance for AO victims in both Vietnam and the US and for the work to purify dioxin “hotspots” in Vietnam .

The two organisations will speed up campaigns to raise money for the Fund for Vietnamese AO victims.

In 2010, VAVA raised 52 billion VND from individuals and organisations in and outside the country and spent over 36.5 billion VND on building houses and care centres for AO victims, as well as providing scholarships and helping victims find jobs.

According to VAVA, in the 1961-1971 period, the US troops sprayed 80 million litres of chemical defoliants containing nearly 400kg of dioxin.

As many as 4.8 million Vietnamese people were exposed to dioxin, of whom 3 million suffer from health problems due to the exposure.

German financial expert honoured

Deputy Minister of Finance Nguyen Cong Nghiep on December 9 granted Dr. Ulrike Maenner, coordinator of the Macroeconomic Reform Programme of the German Development Cooperation (GDC) with an insignia in recognition of her contribution to macroeconomic reform in Vietnam.

Speaking at the ceremony, Carsten Meyer-Wiefhausen, charge d'affaires of the German embassy in Vietnam, said the presentation of the insignia shows the mutual trust and cooperation between the two countries.

“We are delighted that Germany’s experiences are being applied during the development process of public finance in Vietnam,” said the charge d'affaires.

GDC’s Macroeconomic Reform Programme, which has been implemented since 2005, includes three components: economic and social policies, public finance, and the development of financial systems.

Thua Thien-Hue prepares to market community based and eco tourism 

A seminar aiming to promote the concept of community based tourism was held in the central city of Hue. The idea was co-ordinated between farmers, travel companies and the tourism administration.

A proposal to create and market seven exclusive tours was put forward and discussed by those in the tourism trade. The plan included tour visits to the ancient village of Phuoc Tich; to Thanh Tien village which is known for its paper flower craft; to  Sinh village famous for folk painting; to the Tam Giang Lagoon; to the Thanh Toan tiled bridge and to the Nam Dong and A Luoi  areas for eco-tourism.

Several training workshops have now been organized to help residents to promote and market their local areas and tap all available resources to showcase their villages. 

The seminar also focused on developing community based tourism in Thua Thien-Hue Province.

Car crash causes store collapse

A furniture store collapsed after a speeding car crashed into it in Thu Dau Mot Township in southern Binh Duong Province Thursday.

Damage was estimated at VND100 million (US$5,100). No loss of human life was reported.

The two women in the car fled the scene to go to a night club. Local police are continuing investigations.

70m age-old tree certified as national heritage

The Cunninghamia konishii hayata in the Pu Mat National ParkThe Vietnam Association for Conservation of Nature and Environment Thursday certified an age-old evergreen coniferous tree on the upper Khe Bu River in the central Nghe An province as a “Vietnam Heritage Tree.”

The Cunninghamia konishii hayata in Con Cuong District is 70 m high and boasts a trunk more than 5.5 m in diameter. But part of its trunk and root has lain rotten.

Due to its age and scarcity, the tree should be preserved for genes research and development, said Tran Xuan Cuong, deputy director of the Pu Mat National Park.

Called May Pec by local ethnic Thai people, the tree has been growing well, producing sparse conical-shaped canopy.

It takes visitors one day to walk and cross streams to see this heritage up close in the national park.

Volunteer information center opens in Hanoi

A national organization to foster voluntary activities in Vietnam was set up in Hanoi Tuesday.

The Vietnam Volunteer Information Resource Centre, located in Ba Trieu Street at the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union office, will seek to connect individuals and organizations for cooperation and exchange of programs.

It will help improve the skills of volunteers and managers by providing training, and provide information on volunteer activities and organizations in Vietnam.

GE constructs US$1 million first training laboratory for Vietnamese students 

GE inaugurated its first training laboratory at University of Technical Education (UTE) in Ho Chi Minh City on December 9 in response to a growing demand for the education of Vietnam students to the power industry.

The training center contributes to GE’s efforts in improving education opportunities for Vietnamese students. In addition the long established program ‘Scholar-Leader Scholarship’ as well as Vietnam – US Education Task Force were sponsored by GE Foundation, the philanthropic organization of the General Electric Company.

The new laboratory is a high-tech facility for students, which they will be trained on the most advanced and ‘up to date’ Electrical Distribution and Control Equipment.

The total investment of this training center is over US$1 million. It helps with the integration of electrical equipment and systems, used in power distribution. It also protects and controls residential, commercial and industrial applications.

The equipment was donated by several businesses of GE. It is estimated that the newly opened center will attract more than 100 students per day.

Mr. Luis Ramirez, - CEO & President of GE Industrial Solutions said, “We are very excited that GE could help Vietnam students. It was great to find the students eager to study and find out how our equipment is manufactured, assembled and operated. Our initiative of establishing a training center was based on their requests, which has now turned into reality.”

Attending this inauguration were: Luis Ramirez - CEO & President of GE Industrial Solutions, along with James Fisher - CEO & President of GE Industrial Solutions Asia Pacific, Stuart Thomson, Bobby Lubana - General Manager SEA, GE Industrial Solutions  and Nguyen Dinh Manh Chien - Country Manager, Indochina of GE industrial Solutions, Le Thanh An, the US Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City, Do Quoc Anh - Director General, Director of the Representative Agency of Ministry of Education & Training in the South and the faculty and the students of UTE.

PV