The Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism has urged ministries, sectors, organisations and local authorities to observe the National Action Month for Prevention and Control of Domestic Violence in 2024, themed 'End Violence, Cultivate Love,' running through June.

This activity aims to raise awareness and responsibility of agencies, organisations and individuals regarding the prevention and control of domestic violence, and to build equal, progressive, and happy Vietnamese families.

Key messages and slogans for National Action Month emphasise collective responsibility in curbing domestic violence, viewing it as crucial for sustainable development.

Encouraging individuals, families and communities to play active roles in prevention and intervention, the campaign stresses that any hindrance to reporting domestic violence is unlawful.

Further messages underscore the imperative to identify, prevent and address all forms of domestic violence, recognising its detrimental impact on family dynamics and societal well-being, including contributing to divorce rates, coercive reproductive practices, elder neglect, and hindering children's educational and holistic development.

Communication strategies during the month-long campaign include rallies, competitions, seminars and media campaigns through television, newspapers, social platforms and text messages.

Additionally, banners and posters will be prominently displayed at various public locations frequented by communities, ensuring widespread visibility and engagement.

To tailor efforts effectively, central ministries, sectors, and local authorities will align strategies with the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism's directives and local contexts, employing diverse approaches to disseminate legal frameworks on domestic violence prevention and control to all levels of society./.

Vietnam ready to secure Futsal World Cup ticket

Vietnam are scheduled to take on Myanmar on April 17 in their opening match of the 2024 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Futsal Asian Cup finals in Thailand, embarking on their quest for a ticket to the 2024 FIFA Futsal World Cup.

Coach Diego Giustozzi aims to get three points in the match to provide primary motivation to Vietnam in their coming Group A matches against Thailand and China.

Myanmar’s footballers have good physics and are good at both defence and counter-attacking. However, they have not had a winning match against Vietnam in recent years. Most recently, Vietnam beat Myanmar 4-0 at the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) in Hanoi in 2022.

Ahead of the tournament, Vietnamese players took part in a training camp and played several quality opponents such as Iran, Morocco, New Zealand, and Malaysia in a series of friendly matches.

Pham Duc Hoa, who won the 2023 Vietnam Futsal Golden Ball and twice played in the World Cup, shared that Vietnam aim to bag the first medal at the Asian tournament in order to achieve a result better than their fourth place finish in the 2016 tournament and more importantly earn a ticket to the 2024 FIFA Futsal World Cup.

The 2024 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Futsal Asian Cup is scheduled to take place in Thailand from April 17 to 28.

All 16 teams are divided into four groups, and only four semi-finalists will win the right to compete in the global the tournament.

The Vietnamese team have played in two Futsal World Cups before, in 2016 and 2020, reaching the knockout-stage in both tournaments.

Potential of domestic market for Vietnamese artistic works

The current numbers from professional galleries to prestigious auctions not only prove the value of Vietnamese artistic works but also affirm the potential of the domestic market. The value of domestic contemporary art is apparently worth exploiting.

The 100th anniversary of the establishment of Indochina College of Fine Arts (now Vietnam University of Fine Arts) is going to be organized, auction house Le Auction House in Hanoi planned to organize an auction of Vietnamese Art 20th century in mid-March, attracting a large number of collectors. At the end of the auction, more than 200 works were bought proving the success of the auction.

During the auction, live collectors, authorized auctioneers and online auction systems combined with international online portals continuously posted leaps and bounds. Notably, many works have received a lot of attention and the bidding time lasts more than 5 minutes.

A unanimous collector revealed that many auctions of Indochina paintings were all organized abroad. This is the first time he participated with a domestic auction house. But this time, he saw professionalism and transparency in the auction organization, at least the value is not inflated.

Although it did not share the total revenue of this auction, representative of Le auction house Le Quang said that the success of this auction will help the painting market in 2024 be more vibrant, especially the domestic trading market. This May, the auction house will organize an exhibition with many rare works by artists of the Indochina College of Fine Arts through the ages.

Although the global economic crisis affected all fields, investors still poured money into the art market with confidence in the professionalism of the domestic market. Of course, everything will slow down when the economy is difficult, but that doesn't mean the painting transaction market won't have a breakthrough. If the auction is reputable and professional enough, not only domestic collectors but also foreign collectors may create a million-dollar record for Vietnamese paintings, said the unanimous collector.

More than a year into operation, Quang San Museum of Art in HCMC affirmed its role as a professional bridge. The museum in turn hosted talks about art with Ms. Sophie Maysonnave - Counselor for Cooperation and Culture, Director of the French Institute in Vietnam and Ms. Hoang Dieu Quynh - Head of Projects & Partners of the French Institute in Vietnam.

Some talks hosted by the museum witnessed the special appearance of Madame Sophie Maysonnave - Counselor for Cooperation and Culture, Director of the French Institute and Head Hoang Dieu Quynh of Projects & Partners of the French Institute in Vietnam.

Recently, the museum also cooperated with UK-based auction house Christie's to organize a talk on the topic ‘A Collector's Journey - A collector's journey’. This is also the first event that Christie's organized in Vietnam. According to art researcher Ngo Kim Khoi, Vietnamese art has good economic potential and value but the market operates professionally enough to attract international collectors and auction houses.

He added that Christie's auction house is not the first unit to organize such an event. France-based Millon auction house which once held the valuable imperial golden seal of the Nguyen Dynasty's Emperor Minh Mang recently established a representative office in Vietnam. In the market rules, value once again affirms the value of works and effectively exploits the potential for the cultural industry process. Moreover, in addition to the professional operation of the market, good mechanisms and policies are needed for further development.

HCMC to pilot digital student records

The education sector in Ho Chi Minh City will pilot digital student records instead of traditional paper-based records.

Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training Nguyen Bao Quoc said that the department will pilot the implementation of digital student records for more than 132,000 first grade students at public and non-public elementary schools citywide.

According to the plan, from June 2024, schools are embracing digital platforms to streamline the retention of student records and creating digital transcripts for all first grade students in the 2023-2024 school year, then continue to roll out the retention of student records of all grades.

One of the most significant advancements in education technology has been the digitization of student records that contribute to the goal of digital transformation, including database synchronization to improve management in schools, said the representative of the Department of Education.

Currently, Ho Chi Minh City has already had software solutions to deploy digital student records for first grade students. Along with that, all teachers in the city have digital signatures.

In the near future, the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City will coordinate with bureaus of Education and Training in districts and Thu Duc City to provide refresher courses for teachers on how to use digital signatures in school records in the digital environment.

Chief of Office of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training Ho Tan Minh said that in the past, parents received students' paper transcripts when their children graduated from elementary schools/ secondary schools/ high schools or when they applied for their child to transfer to a new school.

From the time of implementation of digital student records, parents can look up their children's academic results; thereby, they can coordinate with teachers in educating students.

Việt Nam confident ahead of Group D opener against Kuwait

Despite knowing little about his opposition, U23 coach Hoàng Anh Tuấn is confident of a positive result when his team faces Kuwait in the AFC Asian Cup later today.

The two sides face each other in their Group D opening in Doha, Qatar, and Tuấn believes his squad is prepared for the tournament.

"We have information on Uzbekistan, which played Việt Nam recently at a different football level, and also Malaysia, a team in the same ASEAN region," Tuấn said.

"But we know little about Kuwait. We tried to collect as much data as possible and analysed their style.

"There is no easy game in Group D but, in general, I think Việt Nam has a big opportunity to advance to the next round." 

His team has prepared intensively for two weeks and played a friendly against Jordan last week. Tuấn finalised his 23-member squad on April 15.

Goalkeeper Quan Văn Chuẩn has been appointed team captain. As one of the oldest and most experienced on the team, he is expected to lead his younger teammates to achieve the best possible results. Chuẩn, the best goalkeeper of the AFF Cup 2023, is one of three shot-stoppers in the squad.

In Tuấn's selection, there are only five defenders but he has picked eight midfielders and seven strikers, as the 56-year-old manager prefers an attacking style.

His tactics were confirmed by striker Bùi Vĩ Hào who revealed that Tuấn encouraged all players to feel free to shoot, hunting for goals and victory for Việt Nam.

Tuấn said Việt Nam has completed preparations and are ready for the Cup.

“The performances in training are pretty good. We hope to receive strong support from media and home fans so that we can achieve positive results here," Tuấn said.

Kuwait coach Emilio Peixe only had one week to prepare his squad for the tournament with no friendly games played.

Their last competition was the Asian Games last September in China. They were stopped at the group stages after two draws and one loss.

All Kuwait players compete for local clubs. Their stars are striker Salman Al-Awadhi, midfielders Ebrahim Kameel and Hussain Ashkanani, defender Abdulaziz Murad and goalkeeper Abdulrahman Kameel who have all played for the national team several times.

Kuwait stands at No 139 in the FIFA ranking, 24 places below Việt Nam.

Peixe however was confident his team could secure a place in the next round. 

The Portuguese coach said his staff watched clips of Việt Nam and found them to be a good team with many skillful players.

However, Kuwait had solutions, he said.

Peixe said he also analysed other teams in the group. His first target was to qualify for the quarter-finals before building plans for the knock-out games.

The match between Việt Nam and Kuwait will be officiated by referee Abdulla Al Marri of Qatar. His assistants are fellow countrymen Faisal Al Shammari and Zahy Al Shammari. VAR referee is Hassan Karimov of Tajikistan.

Marri also took charge of the Việt Nam's 1-0 defeat to Iraq at the 2026 World Cup qualifier last November.

In other news, Việt Nam Football Federation President Trần Quốc Tuấn has been appointed Head of the AFC Delegation at this event.

Tuấn is currently Chairman of the AFC Competition Committee for the 2023-27 term, a member of the AFC Asian Cup Organising Committee for 2023-27, Chairman of the AFF Competition Committee for 2022-26, and a member of the AFF Finance Committee.

He was previously appointed by AFC as Head of Football Operations at the Asian Games in Incheon in 2014 and in Hangzhou in 2023 and was also a member of the Executive Committee of the Asian Cup 2024 in Qatar.  

HCM City boosts partnership with foreign NGOs

A partnership between HCM City and foreign non-governmental organisations (NGOs) has been expanded across many fields, including community development, health care, education and social issues, according to the HCM City Union of Friendship Organisations (HUFO).

HUFO and the city's working group for foreign NGOs last Friday co-organised an annual conference with foreign NGOs to discuss co-operation for the coming time.

Đỗ Việt Hà, president of HUFO, said the conference offered a platform for foreign NGOs and Vietnamese partners to discuss co-operation, difficulties and challenges, along with the city’s aid mobilisation demand.

It also gave friendship organisations of other southern localities a chance to present their requests for assistance from foreign NGOs operating in relevant fields, with an aim to enhance co-operation in future projects.

Last year, 127 foreign NGOs were licensed to operate in the city, mainly in the fields of health care, education, social protection, and environment.

The municipal People's Committee approved 58 applications from foreign agencies, organisations, and individuals that provide project and non-project aid for Việt Nam, with committed capital totaling around VNĐ630 billion (US$25.2 million).

“These projects have considerably contributed to local socio-economic development and the implementation of target programmes,” Hà said.

Representatives of Children's Hospital No 2, the HCM City Association for the Support of the Disabled and Orphans, the city's Child Welfare Association, and the friendship organisation unions of Bến Tre, Cà Mau, Đồng Nai, Long An and Tây Ninh provinces introduced their priority projects that need assistance from foreign individuals and organisations.

Those projects focus on such areas as health care, social issues, climate change, and education.

Participants were also updated on regulations on the management of foreign NGOs’ activities, the management and use of non-refundable aid outside foreign official development assistance (ODA) for Việt Nam, and other relevant legal provisions.

On this occasion, the municipal People's Committee and HUFO presented certificates of merit to 10 foreign NGOs for their outstanding contributions to humanitarian projects in the city. 

Data and electronic registration certificates proposed to integrate into VneID application

The Việt Nam Register will research integrating vehicle registration data and electronic registration certificates into the electronic identification application (VNeID).

The Vietnam Register (VR) has proposed the Ministry of Transport set up a project of applying information technology and digital transformation in the management and operation of the registration work by 2026.

According to the agency, the information technology infrastructure that was set up and invested since 2003 has not been supplemented or upgraded enough to meet the requirements of software systems, e-Government architecture and information security.

Professional software programmes have been built individually over many periods of time, and many use outdated programming technologies that no longer meet user needs.

Besides, some fields do not have specialised management software, and have not yet built a shared database system and general reporting module.

Therefore, applying information technology and digital transformation in the management and operation of registration work helps provide high quality services to people and businesses as well as facilitate the integration and sharing of data between units, helping to improve responsiveness and flexibility in management of the register agency.

With the proposal, the agency hopes that at least 50 per cent of administrative procedures can be done remotely online by people and businesses.

In addition, the application will create software and tools to support people and businesses in looking up data and vehicle registration information, carrying out online services including registration reservation and online payment that are provided by registration units, as well as form centralised databases to uniformly manage registration activities, connect and share data with relevant units.

Notably, applying information technology and digital transformation in the management and operation of registration work will provide vehicle registration documents and certificates in electronic form to replace paper copies of documents and certificates.

VR will co-ordinate with units of the Ministry of Public Security to research and integrate vehicle registration data and electronic registration certificates into the electronic identification application (VNeID) to facilitate people and businesses and State management agencies. 

Hà Nội leader orders complete relocation of households from dangerous areas within the month

Hà Nội Party Committee Secretary Đinh Tiến Dũng has urged Ba Đình District's People's Committee to swiftly relocate households from dangerous dilapidated D-level houses in April.

During his inspection of old apartment buildings in Ba Đình District, Dũng directed the Hà Nội City People's Committee and the district to focus on completing inspections, evaluating technical infrastructure projects, and approving detailed planning tasks for apartment buildings.

The People's Committees of Ba Đình, Cầu Giấy, and Hoàn Kiếm districts are expediting the preparation and approval of plans for compensation, support, and resettlement for projects in their areas, aiming to submit project consolidation plans for individual apartment buildings by the third quarter of 2024.

The city's party leader urged competentdepartments and branches to adhere to guidance from the Steering Committee and directives fromthe People's Committee, emphasising the need for timely implementation of plans to renovate and rebuild old apartment buildings in Hà Nội by the second quarter of 2024.

He also stressed the urgency for Ba Đình District People's Committee to complete the relocation of households from hazardous houses by April 2024.

Ba Đình District collaborates with the Department of Natural Resources and Environment and the Department of Planning and Architecture to promptly define the project scope for renovating and reconstructing the entire area, including component projects, and approve detailed planning tasks for phased investment in feasible apartment buildings. Works for the remaining buildings will be "done in a phased manner" as per Article 5 of Decree 69/2021/NĐ-CP, with completion targeted for April 2024.

The district prioritises completing inspection work and making plans in accordance with Decree No 69/2021/ND-CP, focusing on the renovation and reconstruction of three collective housing areas: Khương Thượng, Trung Tự, and Giảng Võ, with a view to finish these tasks by the third quarter of 2024.

Should an extension of the schedule be necessary, the district People's Committees must provide detailed reports on reasons, difficulties, and propose specific schedule recommendations. These reports will be submitted to the Department of Construction and the city People's Committee for consideration and guidance from the Party Committee, with completion targeted for April.

Accompanied by a delegation, Dũng also inspected the Yên Xá wastewater treatment system project and old apartment buildings renovation in Ba Đình District. The visit included an on-site examination of package No 2, focusing on the underground sewer system under the Tô Lịch River in Hoàng Mai District.

The Yên Xá project, with an investment exceeding VNĐ16.293 trillion (US$644 million), primarily funded by ODA loans from the Japanese Government, encompasses critical components such as a wastewater treatment plant and a sewer system spanning 52.62km in Hà Đông's new urban area.

The wastewater treatment plant, situated in Thanh Liệt Commune, Thanh Trì District, occupies approximately 13.8ha. Construction began in 2019 across all four packages, with package No 1 and No 2 already completed and set for testing and operation by 2024. However, the remaining packages face ongoing challenges.

During the inspection, Dũng stressed the importance of urban wastewater treatment, aligning with the city's development plans as outlined in key Party resolutions and programmes.

Hà Nội aims to achieve a 50-55 per cent urban wastewater treatment rate by 2025. Currently, the rate stands at about half of the target, expected to rise significantly with the completion of the Yên Xá wastewater treatment system project.

Given the project's importance, Dũng urged special attention from relevant committees to resolve issues, particularly regarding packages 3-4, with the goal of operationalising the plant by 2024.

Dũng praised the units involved for their construction efforts, emphasising the project's significance and the need for continued dedication to ensure its timely completion and operational efficiency. 

Running Diamond Cup expects 5,000 people running in July

The 2024 Running Diamond Cup has been launched on April 16 in HCM City.

In its second edition, organisers expect to attract as many as 5,000 runners on July 7 to encourage people to practise sports in general and running in particular while support local people with difficulties.

They will run in two classes of 5km and 10km, starting from the Thanh Niên Culture House in Phạm Ngọc Thạch Street, past through cities' most beautiful streets such as - Lê Duẩn, Nam Kỳ Khởi Nghĩa, Lý Tự Trọng, Đồng Khởi, Lê Thánh Tôn and Nguyễn Huệ.

Like the first event, the Dream Cup 2023, the Running Diamond Cup 2024 will feature Việt Nam's famous artists such as super model Hồ Đức Vĩnh.

In addition to prizes to high-ranking runners, organisers will also deliver awards to the oldest runner, best style and best cosplay with a total of VNĐ100 million.

Each athlete runs in this event will contribute VNĐ100,000 to local poor people.

Last year, almost 2,000 runners took part in the Cup, raising more than VNĐ453 million .

The tournament is jointly organised by the HCM City's Youth Union and Diamond Network. 

The National Jujitsu Clubs Championship 2024 was officially kicked off on April 16 in Cần Thơ City.

More than 350 coaches and fighters will compete for 70 sets of medals in men's and women's weight categories at the Cần Thơ's Sports Centre till April 22.

Việt Nam Jujitsu Federation's General Secretary Nguyễn Mạnh Hùng said athletes were all excited to show their abilities as it was five months since the last national tournament in 2023.

Clubs send their best competitors including their national team members setting highest results.

The federation plans to hold event every one to two months.

The strong martial artists will be called for the national team, representing Việt Nam at the Asian championship in June in Japan.

Jujitsu was strongly developing in many countries in the world and was one of sports at international competitions such as Asian Games, Youth Olympics, SEA Games and those in South America, Europe and Asia. 

Vietnam’s financial market forecast to grow positively

The National Financial Supervisory Commission, BIDV, and the Asian Development Bank yesterday co-hosted a conference about the status of the Vietnam’s financial market in 2024.

According to Dr. Can Van Luc, Chief Economist of the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam – BIDV, the financial market of Vietnam in 2023 gradually recovered, with more positives than negatives.

In 2024, this market is expected to develop even more as financial institutions will grow well to earn more profit.

This is because of a harmony among proactive, flexible monetary policies as well as stably low loan interest rates, which are the driving force for economic development. In addition, the capital supply structure of the economy this year and the following ones also shift towards the positive side, resulting in improvements in market liquidity.

In the conference, experts voiced several proposals, such as constructing a more balanced financial market, addressing trouble in the corporate bond market in order to reduce the pressure on medium and long-term capital sources for the banking system, helping to upgrade the ranking of the national stock market from ‘marginal’ to ‘emerging’ as planned.

American International School promotes negotiations with investor group

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training has just said that the department will continue to monitor the restructuring activities of the American International School in Nha Be District, Ho Chi Minh City.

The work will be implemented following the working session between AIS American International Education Joint Stock Company and representatives of DMH Capital Group, INC being unit to invest and reconstruct the school.

Earlier, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training Nguyen Van Hieu required the American International School to publicize the financial status regarding contributions of parents, send official letters to thank them and announce the school operation when the academic year of 2023 – 2024 terminates.

Accordingly, the school must guarantee to refund the parents’ contribution following the restructuring process.

In the afternoon of April 15, the HCMC People’s Committee Office transferred the directions of Deputy Chairman of the Municipal People’s Committee Duong Anh Duc on requiring the municipal Department of Education and Training, inter-sectorial working team to strictly monitor the operation of American International School, ensuring the studying environment and teaching quality for pupils.

Regarding arising issues, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training has to promptly report to the municipal People’s Committee for consideration and direction.

By the April 13, the school received over VND30 billion (US$1.2) from contributions of parents in order to maintain its operation.

However, the total amount mentioned above could not balance the previous unpaid salaries for teachers and employees so the school is not able to maintain the direct teaching for the whole pupils by the end of May.

Concerning to education and training activities, by April 12, the school has received ten official resignation letters from foreign teachers that will be likely to affect the studying schedule for the pupils in the upcoming time.

Amid the current difficulties, the Principal of the American International School (AIS) sent notifications to parents and pupils for the termination of school year 2023 – 2024 on April 26. The termination is earlier than usual, falling in mid-May.

The school's 12th graders will attend the International Baccalaureate (IB) examination so their studying schedule will extend until May 17.

The HCMC Department of Education and Training will continue to proceed the works of receiving information and handling complaints of parents, guide them to change school in need; give professional instructions for other schools of receiving AIS’s pupils, ensuring the studying conditions and integration in new environment.

Better IT access enables PWDs to fully integrate into society