Experts promote digital archives

Around 120 audiovisual experts from 12 countries in Southeast Asia, Australasia and three Pacific Islands have gathered in HCM City for the 16th annual conference of SEAPAVAA, an association set up in 1996 of organisations and individuals involved in the development of audiovisual archiving.

The two-day 16th SEAPAVAA conference and general assembly kicked off yesterday, April 17, discussing issues related to the rapid development of digital preservation technology.

As archives evolve into digital ones, the conference theme focused on "Creating, Funding, Protecting a Digital Audio Visual Archive". The event is hosted by the Viet Nam Film Institute.

The Restoration Asia session introduced restoration work done by archives and companies in the Asian region.

This is the third times Viet Nam has organised the annual SEAPAVAA conference.

Three more dead after gas explosion

Three more people have died from burns at Cho Ray Hospital, HCM City, after a gas cylinder exploded in the southern province of Binh Duong's Thuan An Town on April 7, local police reported on Monday.

Three more people have died from burns at Cho Ray Hospital, HCM City. (Photo: VNN)

A 44-year-old woman from Ha Noi's Long Bien District was arrested on Monday for selling a newborn baby.

The baby's natural mother had allegedly given the baby to the woman whom she asked to find adoptive parents.

Instead, she allegedly sold the baby to another woman for VND50 million (US$2,480).

She was found out when she took the baby to the National Hospital of Obstetrics and Gynaecology for a birth certificate. She claimed the baby had been born out of wedlock.

World Conference of Historic Cities opens in Hue

Representatives, academics and the mayors of 32 cities from 16 countries and territories around the world attended the 13th World Conference of Historical Cities which opened in the former imperial city of Hue on April 16.

The three day biennial conference, entitled "Defining Universal Heritage, Challenges and Solutions," saw the delegates discuss the best ways of preserving and promoting the cultural values of historic cities.

The conference includes a forum called "Youth Awareness and Action in Promoting Heritage and Traditional Cultural Values", a seminar on "Challenges to Industrial Heritage and Solutions” and a debate on "Heritage Policies and Action Plans for Better Local Governance".

First founded in 1994, the League of Historical Cities now numbers 92 cities, including Hue, which became a member in 2006. Hue is the first city in Southeast Asia to host such an event.

Human remains found on Con Dao Island

The remains of five bodies, thought to be foreigners, were discovered on Monday on Con Dao Island where workers were clearing a site for a park.

Con Dao District's People's Committee official Duong Van Phai said the site, in the south of the island, used to be a French cemetary.

The remains, found under a cross, were thought to be of French nationals or foreigners who worked for the French during the resistance.

The site has been cordoned off and secured, awaiting inspections by authorities.

"We don't know if there are more remains to be found," Phai said.

Representatives of the French Consulate in HCM City were expected to begin identifying the remains today.

Migration center to be set up in Hanoi

Vietnam and the International Organization for Migration have recently agreed to jointly set up an information center for migrants to help Vietnamese migrant workers.

The center will be located in the Department of Overseas Labor (DOLAB) under the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs and based at 41B LY Thai To Street in Hanoi.

Its function is to provide Vietnamese migrant workers with necessary information about their destinations, their rights and responsibilities, Vietnam’s policies towards its migrant workers abroad, as well as raising workers’ awareness of migration issues through consultation and media programs.

After the establishment of the center, a hotline and a database will be set up to meet the demands of migrant workers.

According to DOLAB, Vietnam sent 88,000 workers overseas, mainly to South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Malaysia in 2011 and plans to increase the number to 90,000 this year.

Vietnam has plans to study new labor markets in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Russia, Finland and Sweden.

Vietnam attends 15th WIDF Congress

A delegation from the Vietnam Women’s Union (VWU) led by President Nguyen Thi Thanh Hoa took part in the 15 th Congress of the Women’s International Democratic Federation (WIDF) in Brazil from April 8-12.

Speaking at the congress, Hoa highlighted Vietnam ’s achievements in gender equality, the policies of the Party, the State and the Government on women, and VWU experience in poverty reduction, vocational training and job generation for women.

She affirmed that as the country had experienced wars in the past, the Vietnamese people, especially women, wished to live in a country of peace, independence, freedom, prosperity and happiness.

At a young women’s forum as part of the congress, a Vietnamese film titled, “The Paths of Justice” was screened to continue the call for world support for Agent Orange victims.

During the congress, participants discussed such topics as the impacts of the financial crisis on women, climate change and food security and women’s access to equality, development and peace.

Marcia Campos of Brazil was re-elected as WIDF President for the third tenure. The congress also elected five Vice Presidents, representing Asia, Europe, Africa, America and Arabian countries.

VNN/VOV/VNS/Tuoi Tre