Vietnam competes in Miss Asia-Pacific World 2014

Jenny Nguyen, winner of the Vietnam Supermodel 2012 style prize, is representing Vietnam in the Miss Asia-Pacific World 2014 pageant taking place in Seoul, the RoK from May 18-31.

Miss Asia-Pacific World 2014 is drawing the participation of representatives from 25 countries around the globe, including USA, Canada, Australia, France, India, Poland, Myanmar, and the host, the RoK.

The final night is set for May 31 and will be broadcast live on international channels such as Fashion 1, Media Corp and Zoom.

During the event, contestants are taking part in different rounds of competition, including photo shoots, talent shows, golf playing, swimsuit and traditional costumes of the host country, and communications with RoK fans.

The competition provides contestants the opportunity to visit and learn about the culture and discover the beauty of some places in the RoK, join yacht tours and exchange with the contestants on a boat, and make traditional cakes.

YouTube video aims to preserve cai luong

POPS Worldwide, a mobile technology and service company based in HCM City, and a music partner of the YouTube network in Viet Nam, is bringing cai luong (reformed opera) to the world via its YouTube channel.

"We are trying to bring Vietnamese entertainment to the world. The Nhung bai ca co vang danh (Famous Ancient Songs) programme not only introduces these songs to the public, but also aims to raise awareness about the need to preserve and creatively develop the art form," said Nguyen Huu Vinh Hanh, managing director of POPS Worldwide.

The programme is targeted at both overseas Vietnamese and international viewers.

The musical performances were filmed this year at Thu Do Theatre in District 5 and Ao Dai Museum in District 9 in HCM City.

In early May, the company launched the first video of its programme, called Tim va Giu (Find and Keep), which includes five old songs, Tan Co Giao Duyen (Charming Exchanges between the Modern and Ancient) and extracts of classic cai luong.

Appearing on the video are veteran artists, as well as contemporary singers and Meritorious Artists, including Minh Vuong, Le Thuy, Ngoc Giau, Kim Tu Long, Ngoc Huong Ut Bach Lan, Dieu Hien, Phuong Quang and Bach Tuyet.

The programme's second video, Xuan Que Huong (Spring in the Fatherland), is expected to be launched next year during the Lunar New Year holiday.

Event highlights best street foods in HCM City

A one-day festival of HCM City street foods will be open today at the Centre of Culture and Sports in Tan Binh District at 2pm.

Organised by Hoa Sen University, the festival will feature items like banh trang nuong mo hanh (fried pancake with fat and spring onion or Vietnamese pizza), bo nuong la lot mo chai (ground beef wrapped in lolot leaf and caul fat casing), goi bo kho (green papaya salad with beef jerky), cha gio (spring rolls), flan cake, coconut jelly, and others.

Visitors will also be taught how to make the foods and the best places to eat them in the city.

The festival will also feature fun activities like henna painting, tarot reading, and music performances by the university's students.

Entrance tickets costing VND30,000 are available at the university.

The center is located at 448 Hoang Van Thu Street.

Sofitel Hanoi joins French music festival

More than 120 Sofitel Hotels, including those in Vietnam, will play host to the French multi-genre musical celebration La Fête de la Musique on June 21.

At the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi, a special lower-priced tasting menu will provide attendees the opportunity to taste French gourmet dishes and wine, listen to lively Latin American songs by talented DJ GiMix, and attend fashion shows of two highly prestigious brand names, Double Dose and Chula.  

The organizing board said some programmes will be open to the public at no charge, such as Canapés (includes "finger food" and drink) from 5-6 pm; and Happy Hour (free drinks for guests) from 5-8 pm on June 21.

La Fête de la Musique, also known as the worldwide celebration of music, began in France in 1982 and is now an annual event in many countries across the world.

Review of Vietnam’s heritage management

Delegates raised concerns over shortcomings in Vietnam’s management of world cultural and natural heritage sites, at a seminar hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s Cultural Heritage Department on May 23.

They discussed inappropriate projects on upgrading various heritage sites, environmental pollution in Ha Long Bay, and illegal timber exploitation in Phong Nha-Ke Bang forest.

Dr. Dang Van Bai, Vice Chairman of the National Cultural Heritage Council, stressed the need to increase management capacity for those involved in heritage preservation work via domestic and overseas training courses.

Ha Long Bay management board Head Pham Thuy Duong, proposed the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism issue an inter-agency cooperation measure to increase the effectiveness of heritage management work.

Other delegates called for closer cooperation between relevant agencies and localities and encouraged the participation of the community in preserving and protecting heritage sites.

They also suggested information exchange forums and seminars to share experience among local and international scholars and experts in the field. They agreed it is also essential to complete an overall plan for heritage management, with a focus on relic sites such as former imperial Hue city, Hoi An ancient city, and My Son holy land.

US lecturer showcases Vietnamese music pieces

A special music night entitled “Keri and Friends” will take place at Manzi art space, No.14 Phan Huy Ich, Hanoi, at 8pm on May 25.

“Keri and Friends” is the first ever oboe music concert to be held in Hanoi, performed by Dr. Keri E. McCarthy from the US and her friends from the Vietnam National Academy of Music, the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra, and the Vietnam National Opera Ballet.

The US artist will display three works created by local musicians Do Kien Cuong and Nguyen Phuc Linh as well as masterpieces by renowned composers such as Mozart, Schumann, Britten, Marcello, and Telemann.

Tickets priced at VND150,000 will be available at Manzi until 8pm on May 23.

Dr. Keri currently teaches as Associate Professor of Oboe and Music History at Washington State University.

She completed a 2008 solo tour of Southeast Asia, premiering works by composers from Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia.

“My Vietnam” exhibition held in Italy

A photographic exhibition which opened in Rome on May 22 entitled “My Vietnam”, illustrates the unique beauty of Vietnam.

The exhibited photos were taken by Italian photographer Gianpaolo Arena who travelled across Vietnam capturing the essence of the country.

Arena said his preconceptions of Vietnam were of a war-torn country from watching US and European films. After his one-month journey to the S-shaped country, the Italian photographer was very impressed by the beauty of the landscapes and the people

The photographer has so far organised three photo exhibitions on Vietnam depicting Vietnamese people’s daily lives. He also plans to publish a book on the Southeast Asian country in the year to come.

Vietnamese ambassador to Italy Nguyen Hoang Long hoped the exhibition will help attract more international visitors to Vietnam.

He also revealed that a large-scale photographic exhibition will be held in the Lazio region, Italy, this September to promote Vietnam’s image.

European Literature Days celebrate women

Supporting the evolving ambitions of women is an important goal for all societies, Polish writer Magdalena Witkiewicz said at a seminar held yesterday in Ha Noi.

Vietnamese and European authors joined the discussion to represent female voices in European contemporary literature and expressed the respect for feminism and women's role in the modern society.

Together with Witkiewicz, French literature specialist Le Hong Sam, French-Vietnamese novelist Nuage Rose, German writer Katharina Hagena and the UK-based poet Aoife Mannix delivered the speeches at the event.

Sam has translated works by many major female French authors to Vietnamese. Rose is the author of Trois Nuage au pays des nenuphars (Three Clouds in the Country of Water Lilies), published in Paris. Poet Mannix demonstrates the versatility of literary modes and has become an instantly recognisable voice on the UK live literature scene. Her latest poetry collection is Cocktails from the Ceiling (2013). Well-known German author Hagena wrote Der Geschmack von Apfelkernen (The Taste of Apple Seed), which was translated into 25 languages and adapted into a film in 2013.

In her novels, Witkiewicz mentions the most important problems faced by modern women. In 2013, she had published four best-sellers.

"While people dignify feminism and women's rights, more and more women tend to become independent and strong," Witkiewicz noted.

"A woman has to learn to live and solve the problems with her partner," she stated.

Witkiewicz noted that she had argued with her husband when he opposed her decision to go to Viet Nam. Then they reached an agreement that Witkiewicz will take a 10-day trip and her husband will take care of their children.

"I love my family and observe my husband, but I also love travelling and my work," she said, "a woman can look after the children, so does her husband. I require an equality in this case."

The speakers analysed works by prominent female authors in the twentieth century, namely Sidonie Gabrielle Colette, Marguerite Yourcenar and Marguerite Duras, whose well-known books have been translated into Vietnamese. They pointed out how these authors have influenced European literature and reflected women's inner lives and troubles.

These authors will exchange with Vietnamese readers and introduce their books, which have been translated into Vietnamese.

The workshop is a part of the fourth European Literature Days, organised by the Cultural Institutes Association and European embassies, inaugurated on Thursday at the Goethe Institute, Ha Noi.

The event introduces some literary books translated into Vietnamese from France, Germany, Great Britain, Poland and Sweden together with children's books translated from Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands and Italy.

This year, books by and about women reflecting their roles in society are in focus, stated Almuth Meyer Zollitsch, chairwoman of the European Union National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC).

That is the reason why all the invited authors from Europe are female, she added.

For the first time, there will also be film screenings in the programme of the European Literature Days. The Goethe Institute will present two films based on very successful books: The Taste of Apple Seeds based on Hagena's novel about three generations of women in a family, their fates and secrets, and Rubinrot (Ruby), the all-age fantasy book by Kerstin Gier with lots of romance and exciting action across several centuries and continents.

"Will people risk their lives to rescue books threatened by bombs and devastation?"

"You will have an answer to that in the award-winning documentary The Love of Books: A Sarajevo Story based on the dramatic evacuation of the famous library of Sarajevo during the Balkan war," noted Zollitsch.

For young readers, European countries will present fairy tales of Danish author Hans Christian Andersen, beloved series titled Jip and Janneke from the Netherlands and two books of Italian authors.

The audience will also have the opportunity to meet Christoph Links, a German publisher and former CEO of the Frankfurt Book Fair, listen to talks about market and book marketing.

The event will last until tomorrow. A wide range of activities will take place at the Goethe Institute (56-58 Nguyen Thai Hoc), L'espace (24 Trang Tien) and Casa Italia (18 Le Phung Hieu Street).

HCM City hosts kite festival

The first Artistic Kite Festival will be held in the Tieng Song Ecological Tourism Centre in Can Gio District in HCM City on May 24 and 25.

Kite artistes from 18 kite clubs across the country will show off their skills in making traditional Vietnamese kites at the festival.

The event aims to promote traditional Vietnamese kite flying and also provide a window to international kite flying.

The participants will compete in flying artistic kites and the Japanese rokkaku kite. Another highlight will be a night of flying kites with lights. 

Festival honours Lang Co’s world beautiful bay

A festival is being held in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue on May 24-25 to mark the fifth anniversary of Lang Co recognized as a beautiful bay in the world.

It features a variety of activities to entertain visitors, including sport games, camping, a culinary contest, a unique display of handicrafts, kite flying, photo exhibition, and folk games.

Local authorities say the festival is a good opportunity to promote economic, cultural values, the beauty and ecological environment of Lang Co Bay. It also affirms the position and development potential of the Chan May-Lang Co economic zone with the aim of building a trademark for Lang Co tourism resort to attract both local and foreign investors.

Lang Co lies between two major central cities, Hue and Danang, and on the Central Vietnam Heritage Road (including Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park, Hue ancient city, Hoi An ancient town and My Son relic site) and on the East-West economic corridor.

For the past five consecutive years, Lang Co has witnessed a fast economic and social development with revenue from tourism increasing by 25%-30%, welcoming around 95,000 visitors per year.

Presently, Lang Co town has 53 resorts, hotels and guest houses.  Spanning an area of 280ha, Laguna Lang Co is the first resort complex in the Vietnam constructed by Singapore’s Banyan Tree group at an investment of US$875 million.