Honoured to receive a meaningful award in recognition of her contributions to strengthening the friendship of the two peoples, Poldi Sosa Schmidt shared, that during her 26 years working at the ICAV, for her, it is not only work but above all, it is the love for Vietnam.
Nonstop effort
Poldi Sosa Schmidt gave a speech at the award ceremony, in which she expressed her emotion to be awarded the noble and honorary award of the Party and the State of Vietnam, affirming that she will continue to make efforts with ICAV and partners of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO), to coordinate and organise activities of solidarity and friendship between the two countries.
The ICAV Chairwoman believed that the two countries' relations will grow stronger, especially after the official visit to Argentina by NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue and the high-ranking delegation of the NA of Vietnam.
Poldi Sosa Schmidt, born in 1943, is a person with a long history of working in the field of people-to-people diplomacy. For many years, she has devoted her energies, responsibilities and affections, together with Argentinian friends, to cultivate friendship, peace and unity between the peoples of the two countries.
When she was young while in the UK, Poldi Sosa Schmidt took to the streets to join the crowd of protesters against the war of aggression by the US imperialists and expressed support for the fight of the Vietnamese people.
During her university studies in Chile, she participated in the establishment of the Chile-Vietnam Cultural Institute - an organisation that gathers peace-loving people and opposed the brutal invasion of the US imperialists in Vietnam; at the same time actively respond to the activities of the Committee for Solidarity with Vietnam.
Poldi Sosa Schmidt participated in left-wing activities in Argentina and Chile during the dictatorships, she was even expelled when she was a student at the University of Buenos Aires (1965-1966) and the University of Chile (1970-1973), because of the activities of the organisation she participated in.
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NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue presents the Friendship Order to the ICAV and its Chairwoman President Poldi Sosa Schmidt. |
In recognition of Poldi Sosa Schmidt's contributions to the solidarity movement with Vietnam in general and Vietnamese women in particular, in 1997, the Vietnam Women's Union invited her to attend its eighth Congress.
Connecting friends
Returning from Vietnam, she founded the ICAV on December 18, 1997, with 25 members who are sympathetic to Vietnam. ICAV's goal is to introduce Argentinian culture to Vietnam and promote Vietnamese culture to Argentina; the operating costs of this organisation are voluntary contributions from its members.
In November 2004, on the occasion of his visit to Argentina, President Tran Duc Luong presented the Friendship Order of Vietnam to Poldi Sosa Schmidt.
In October 2017 in Buenos Aires, Vice President Truong Thi My Hoa presented her with the medal “For Peace and Friendship among Nations”, the highest award of the VUFO, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of ICAV establishment.
In 2022, within the framework of Mrs. Poldi Sosa Schmidt's visit to Vietnam, on the 25th anniversary of ICAV's establishment, VUFO President awarded Poldi Sosa Schmidt the VUFO's Certificate of Merit, in recognition of her nonstop contributions to the two peoples.
Since its establishment, ICAV has hosted many activities such as organising a painting and photo exhibition, showing a film to introduce a newsletter about Vietnam, celebrating President Ho Chi Minh's birthday, and Vietnam's National Day (September 2), coordinating with the Vietnamese Embassy to organise talks to introduce Vietnam, about Uncle Ho's life and career, as well as meet and exchange with leaders of local authorities and universities.
According to the VUFO, regarding the exchange of delegations, from 1997-2019, ICAV organised 21 delegations of parliamentarians, doctors, lawyers, university professors, and social activists of Argentina, who came to visit and learn about Vietnam's history, culture, and socio-economic development.
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Representatives of the VUFO and ICAV leaders meet and work during the visit to Argentina, by NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue. |
Through practical experiences in Vietnam, Argentinian friends said that they love Vietnam more and gradually become active members of ICAV, participating in exchange and promotion activities, contributing to expanding mutual understanding between the two peoples.
Always supporting Vietnam
Some documents recorded that on July 27, 2016, expressing support for Vietnamese friends, the ICAV stated support of the ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration, related to territorial disputes in the East Sea/South China Sea.
The statement declared that the ruling has created a firm legal foundation for nations involved in disputes on sovereignty in the sea, and guaranteed the principles of the Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (UNCLOS). It also stressed that the verdict has legal validity for all the parties involved.
Through the statement, the ICAV asked the countries involved to comply with the ruling and protect the peace, following international law. It protested all actions that cause tensions in the East Sea, such as increasing military personnel and equipment presence, building artificial islands, and hindering the legitimate rights of fishermen and maritime freedom.
For many years, ICAV leaders said that ICAV has constantly informed Argentinian people, especially the younger generation, about the Vietnamese people's resistance wars against France and the US to save the country, and the war's consequences for the Vietnamese people, especially Agent Orange/dioxin; and at the same time informed about Vietnam's achievements in economic, social, cultural and artistic development.
On May 22, 2015, in Buenos Aires, the Vietnamese Embassy, in collaboration with the ICAV and the Ministry of Defense of Argentina, held a seminar and film screening about the Dien Bien Phu Campaign, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of this great event.
On March 21, 2016, ICAV coordinated with the Vietnamese Embassy to organise a seminar on the role of Vietnamese women in society in Morerno District, Bares Province, on the occasion of International Women's Day (March 8).
In recent years, ICAV has coordinated with the Cuba-Argentina Friendship House to organise a screening of the famous Vietnamese film "Wild Fields", to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the complete liberation of the South and the national reunification of Vietnam.
