Vietnamese Culture Month held in Japan; Vietnam takes second prize in UPU writing contest; Prize awarded to photos for Red River delta region’ competition; Ship museum planned in Hoi An

A campaign promoting Vietnam tourism was launched by the Vietnamese Embassy in Tokyo, Japan on September 10.

A Vietnamese cooking week will also be held in the Okura Hotel in Tokyo, Japan from September 14-21.

As part of the special month, the Vietnamese Embassy in Japan will liaise with Vietnam Airlines and the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism to hold a Road Show and travel agents Exhibition in the 3 major Japanese cities of Osaka, Nagoya and Tokyo on September 12-20.

The cultural activities held during the month will help to strengthen mutual understanding and promote friendly relations between the two countries, said Nguyen Phu Binh, Vietnam’s ambassador to Japan.

As part of the programme the Hello Vietnam festival will take place in Yoyogi Park in Tokyo on September 19-20 and is expected to become the main attraction during the Cultural Month. The festival will feature art performances, handicraft stalls and a traditional food festival.

The festival is expected to draw nearly 200,000 visitors.

Vietnam takes second prize in UPU writing contest

A Vietnamese junior high school pupil has won second prize at the 38th UPU Letter Writing Contest, reported the Ministry of the Post and Telecommunications, citing sources from the Universal Post Union (UPU).

The contestants had to write a letter to someone, explaining that good working conditions can ensure a better and happier life. Nguyen Dac Xuan Thao from the Nguyen Hue city junior high school in Da Nang City spoke about his father’s accident that paralysed him and left him a wheelchair.

“Acting” as the son of a family in many difficulties, Thao wrote a letter to State President Nguyen Minh Trite, asking government leaders to come up with suitable policies and guidelines to reduce accidents at construction sites and factories.

Thao’s letter beat 1.5 million other entries to take first prize at the national UPU contest.
Vietnam has taken part in the UPU contest since 1987.

Prize awarded to photos for Red River delta region’ competition

The artistic photo competition for the Red River delta region concluded in Hai Phong city on Thursday with the first prize given to the photo ‘Truoc Bien’ (In Front of the Sea) by Hoang Dieu from Hung Yen province.

Three silver and eight bronze medals and ten consolation prizes were also awarded to winners at the opening exhibition held yesterday.

The competition, organised by the Vietnam Photographic Artist Association and the Hai Phong Association of Literature and Art, attracted 769 entries by 184 artists from nine cities and provinces of Hai Phong, Hai Duong, Hung Yen, Ha Nam, Bac Ninh, Quang Ninh, Thai Binh and Nam Dinh.

Works reflect lively people, life, landscapes and socio-economic achievements of provinces in the region.

This is the 12th competition of the kind held so far.

Good newspaper layouts exhibited

An installation exhibition on good newspaper layouts has been displayed at the National Library since September 10.

This is resulted from the project on training and improving Vietnam’s press jointly carried out by Vietnam and Sweden.

During the past five years, over 100 activities relating to training have been provided for media houses in localities.

The exhibition displays the best among 850 pages of newspaper and magazines of over 40 media houses.

Twenty four works have been awarded with prizes, including three A prizes, six B prizes, nine C prizes and six consolation prizes.

Ship museum planned in Hoi An

Plans for a trading ships museum in the ancient city of Hoi An in the central province of Quang Nam have been made in co-ordination with the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Hoi An City.

People will have the chance to see ships and other seafaring memorabilia which used to be a part of the atmosphere at Faifoo trading port, giving them a vision of the exciting activities at this port in the 17th and 18th century.

When finished, the 24,400sq.m museum is expected to contribute to the introduction of Vietnamese culture and history in general and advertise Hoi An’s image in particular to visitors.

PV