Exhibition of Vietnamese drawings held in France; Vietnamese and German artists to perform in Hanoi; Da Nang to hold international fireworks contest; Cultural heritage site safeguarded in Truong Sa

Present at the opening ceremony were the ambassador and head of the Vietnamese delegation to UNESCO, Van Nghia Dung, the rector of HCM City Fine Arts University, Nguyen Huy Long, and many Vietnamese residents and French people.

On display are over 40 back-and-white and colour pictures of Vietnam’s land and its people. The exhibition will help visitors to see more of the country’s fine arts industry and contribute to promoting cultural exchanges between Vietnam and France.

In recent times, HCM City Fine Arts University has broadened its relations with many other fine arts universities around the world and has taken part in several regional and international exhibitions, creative retreats and seminars. The University and a number of universities in France are now exchanging teachers and training students.

Vietnamese and German artists to perform in Hanoi

90 German artists from the Berlin Philharmonic and 4 world famous singers will join with the Vietnam National Symphony and Orchestra (VNSO) to perform at the Hanoi Opera House on January 23-24.

The concert is part of cultural events marking the German Year in Vietnam-2010 and 35 years of diplomatic relation between the two countries.

Artists of the two countries will play Beethoven’s Symphony No.9, acknowledge as one of the best works of the Western classical repertoire and one of the greatest artistic achievements in human history.

The symphony was the first example of a major composer using voices in a symphony. The words, sung during the final movement by four vocal soloists and a chorus, were taken from the Ode an die Freude (Ode to Joy), a poem written by Friedrich Schiller in 1785 and revised in 1803.

The four famous singers include German basso Tareq Nazmi, mezzo-soprano Carolin Masur, soprano Susanne Bernhard and Australian-born tenor Michael Smallwood.

The VNSO and Berlin Philharmonic will play under the baton of Jones Alber, one of the Germany’s leading conductors. He has conducted more than 500 concerts featuring musical masterpieces by Mozart, Puccini and Strauss.

Da Nang to hold international fireworks contest

An international fireworks contest will be held with 4 international teams taking part to mark the 35th anniversary of the Central City’s Liberation Day (March 29).

The Deputy Head of the Da Nang City Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Nguyen Huu Chien, said that the Vietnamese team has well prepared for the contest. The other international teams have been asked to come early to have enough time for preparation.

The organising board will issue 10,000 tickets, costing VND200,000 each for tourists and another 10,000 free tickets for guests.

Alongside the contest, a number of cultural activities will also take place in the city.

Cultural heritage site safeguarded in Truong Sa archipelago

A project is underway to preserve a cultural heritage site in Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago.

The project includes building a monument in honour of Ho Chi Minh and fallen combatants. It is to show the Vietnamese people’s gratitude for them and to educate the younger generations living in the south-eastern part of the country.

The project is scheduled to be completed in the second quarter of this year. According to the Chairman of the People’s Committee of Truong Sa town, Vi Duc Thanh, the funding of VND13.8 billion for the project comes from the Nghe An provincial People’s Committee and Rang Dong Company in the southern province of Binh Phuoc.

This year, the island district of Truong Sa will also complete the construction of the Capital Guest House at a total cost of VND16.5, funded by the Hanoi municipal authorities.

Vietnam, US boost cooperation in tertiary education

The Penn State University (PSU) of the US will transfer textbooks of 24 advanced subjects in its original training programme on business administration and accountancy to the Da Nang-based Duy Tan University (DTU).

Under a cooperative agreement signed between the two universities on January 17, the PSU will help train more than 100 lecturers from the DTU so that they can begin teaching the subjects later this year.

From the 2010-2011 school year, the PSU will send its lecturers to help the DTU ensure teaching quality. Students who attend the PSU programme at the DTU will receive from 18 to 24 certificates of finishing PSU subjects and can undertake further studies at the PSU.

According to Rector of the DTU, Le Cong Co, besides the full PSU programme, six out of the 24 PSU subjects will be integrated into the curriculum at the Business Administration, Accountancy and Tourism.

Prof. Dr. Curtis E. Porter, Rector of the PSU, hoped that the programme would help improve the image and international prestige of both universities.

PV