Exhibition on daily life in HCM City

An exhibition titled “Inside the City”, showing everyday life in Ho Chi Minh City through photographs and videos, is now open at the HCM City Exhibition House in Le Thanh Ton Street in District 1.

The exhibition is being held by the HCM City British Council and shows 17 videos on HCM City at the turn of the 21st century as seen by three teams of writers and photographers.

The stories are grouped into six topics of Coffee, Bach Dang Port, the Apartment, an Acting Career, Upstream and He and She.

The exhibition will remain open until March 24.

US veteran-poet hopes to heal war wounds with poems

American poet Kevin Bowen, who recently won the Phan Chau Trinh Ethnographic Award, will hold a poetry reading session in Hanoi today to showcase his collection “Songs of the Co Loa Citadel” featuring poems about Vietnam before and after 1975.

The verses will offer audiences a look at the Vietnam War and are also an effort to help Vietnam and America heal the war wounds.

Kevin Bowen was an American soldier during the War in 1968 - 1969. Later he returned home to study and started composing poems on the Vietnam War and the country and people of Vietnam.

Bowen was earlier known in Vietnam as the author of “Playing Basketball with the Viet Cong.”

He is now director of the William Joiner Center at Massachusetts University in Boston, the US. In 2010 he won the Medal for Cultural Causes from the Vietnam Union of Literature and Art Associations.

The poetry night will be held at 7:30 pm at the Hanoi Culture House for Pupils and Students, 37 – Tran Binh Trong.

Vietnam Idol becomes Earth Hour ambassador

Together with popular singers Anh Khoa, Le Hieu, and Siu Black, Vietnam Idol 2010 winner Uyen Linh has been named goodwill ambassador for the Earth Hour campaign being held in Nha Trang coastal city in the central province of Khanh Hoa.

According to the organizers, these singers will have an interactive session titled “Saving power and protecting the environment” with students from Nha Trang-based Nguyen Hien Junior School and Ly Tu Trong High School on March 25.

They will aslo join the Earth Hour event along with other celebrities like singers Ho Ngoc Ha, Phuong Thanh, and musician Duc Huy at the city’s 2-4 Square one day later.

The event, which would be broadcast live on local TV channel KTV, is expected to draw participation of nearly 10,000 people.

Previously, Hanoi, Hue city, Hoi An, and Ho Chi Minh City registered for this year’s Earth Hour campaign.

Earth Hour - initiated by WWF in 2007 - is an annual international event, held on the last Saturday of March.

First held in Vietnam in 2009, the global environmental campaign is aimed at calling on households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights and electrical appliances for one hour to raise awareness towards the need to fight climate change.

Around one billion people in over 1,400 cities in the world will participate in this program.

‘Youth Aspiration’ to mark Youth Union’s anniversary

The third “Youth Aspiration” music show is expected to heat up the Military Zone 7’s stadium March 26 as part of various activities to mark the 80th anniversary of the city’s Communist Youth Union.

The event will be broadcast live on HTV9 and other channels like VTV6, VTV4, VTC9.

Tran Vi My and Hong Phuoc will direct the show.

It will feature performances by famous local singers like My Linh, Dam Vinh Hung, Quang Dung, Ha Anh Tuan, Phuong Linh, among others.

They will perform war songs like “Truong Son Dong – Truong Son Tay”, “Biet on chi Vo Thi Sau”, and “Tuoi Tre the he Bac Ho”.

A guitar players record

1,000 young people will play guitar in Hoang Van Thu park, Tan Binh district, Ho Chi Minh City on March 26.

As part of activities to celebrate the founding anniversary of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (HCYU), the performance of three famous songs written by Luu Huu Phuoc, Hoang Hoa and Trinh Cong Son, will set a new record in Guinness Vietnam.

Vietnam culture day opens in Copenhagen

A “Vietnam Culture Day” programme took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, on March 19.

It aimed at increasing understanding on Vietnam’s land and people and promoting cooperation.

Apart from a display of coloured photos and banners with images of Vietnam, the programme exhibited traditional musical instruments, embroideries, handicraft items, books, publications and screened videos featuring the country’s tourism and cuisine, land and culture.

Addressing a workshop on Vietnam, held within the framework of the programme Vietnamese Ambassador to Denmark Vu Van Luu highlighted Vietnam’s achievements on socio-economic development and external affairs in 2010, and the success of the 11th National Party Congress in January.