1. A meeting was held in Hanoi on August 8 to review 15 years of implementation of the fifth resolution of the Party Central Committee, eighth tenure on building an advanced Vietnamese culture imbued with national identity.
Vietnam has made significant achievements in building and developing the national culture over the past 15 years, which is reflected by expanded international cultural co-operation, comprehensively developed cultural resources and the expansion of the Party guidelines on culture in social life.
The Party and State always pay special attention to cultural development, considering it an important factor that contributes significantly to the success of the national revolutionary cause.
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Various activities were held across the country to mark the 70th anniversary of Nhat Ky Trong Tu (Prison Diary), a collection of poetry by President Ho Chi Minh.
The collection comprises 133 poems written in Han script during the months between August 25, 1942 and September 19, 1943 when President Ho was wrongfully imprisoned in China’s Guangxi province. The artistic value, humanism and vitality of the collection have been appreciated, not only in Vietnam, but also in foreign countries.
‘Prison Diary’ is an epic of the inner world of President Ho Chi Minh, an outstanding soldier who devoted his entire life to the national cause of independence and freedom.
3. A national conference was held by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism at the Hanoi Opera House on December 18 to honour outstanding cultural families in 2013.
Two hundred and twenty-five delegates representing typical cultural families around the country attended the conference, along with 58 others representing collectives and individuals that recorded outstanding achievements in implementing a domestic violence prevention model.
The event is highlight of Vietnam Year of the Family 2013, which aims to honour the traditional beauty of Vietnamese families and the movement for building cultural families.
4. Don Ca Tai Tu Nam Bo (Southern amateur music) was officially recognized as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity at the 8th Session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage held in Baku, Azerbaijan from December 2-7.
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Known as a musical genre with both scholarly and folk roots, Don Ca Tai Tu (amateur singing) developed in southern Vietnam in the late 19th century. People in the south consider it an indispensable spiritual and cultural activity, and a highly valued part of their cultural heritage, which is performed at numerous events, such as festivals, death anniversary rituals, and celebratory social events.
5. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) adopted a resolution honouring Vietnamese poet Nguyen Du and other famous world figures at the 37th General Assembly of UNESCO.
UNESCO recognised the global influence of the poet’s ‘Truyen Kieu’ (Tale of Kieu) for its creativity, independent thinking and distillation of Vietnamese culture. The masterpiece has been translated into over 20 foreign languages to date.
It is a great honour for Vietnam. Accordingly, a series of activities aiming to mark the author’s 250th birthday anniversary and UNESCO’s recognition of Nguyen Du as a world cultural celebrity are scheduled to take place around the world between 2014-2015.
6. The Khmer Pagoda Complex was inaugurated at the Culture-Tourism Village of Vietnamese Ethnic Groups in Dong Mo, Son Tay, Hanoi.
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Built on 0.8 hectares and based on the K'Leang temple in the Mekong Delta, The complex consists of the main temple, shrines, corner towers, garden tower, boat house, flag poles and lotus pond. Each work has a different height and they are connected by a system of corridors paved with rough stones that mingle with the surrounding landscape.
The complex serves as a cultural spiritual center for the Khmer people in Hanoi, as well as a place to connect the Khmer with other ethnic communities. Along with other works of the Culture-Tourism Village, it has become a tourist destination, attracting domestic and foreign tourists
7. The Seventh International Photo Contest was held by the Vietnam Association of Photographic Artists’ (VAPA), with the participation of 1,430 entrants from 51 countries and territories around the world.
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The contest received 15,360 entries, including 4,005 portraits, 2,688 works on nature, 3,854 photos on tourism and 4,812 free-style photos.
The VAPA presented four gold, four silver and four bronze medals, as well as 12 consolation prizes. The Federation of International Art Photography (FIAP) also presented four gold, four silver and four bronze medals, and 12 certificates. Three Vietnamese photographers received gold prizes. Dang Van No won a FIAP gold medal for the photo ‘Co Tu Kid’. Nguyen A and Ngo Thanh Binh won VAPA gold medals for ‘Dong Ky - My Hometown Festival’ and ‘Fishing in the rain’.
8. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Anh, a 20-year-old from Thanh Hoa province, was crowned Miss Ethnic Vietnam 2013 on June 26 in Hoi An city, Quang Nam province.
Sixty-three finalists from 21 ethnic groups in 38 cities and provinces across the country competed in traditional costume, swimsuit and evening gown categories and the top six were chosen to enter the question and answer round to determine the new queen.
The contest was the highlight of the five-day Quang Nam Heritage Festival, which featured an array of cultural and sporting events including the participation of art troupes from ASEAN and Northeast Asian countries.
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9. People's Artist Dang Thai Son returned to Vietnam to perform a concert titled ‘Dang Thai Son-New Sound in 20th Century’ in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.
Dang Thai Son performed the works of two famous French composers, Claude Debussy and Francis Poulenc, for the first time. Additionally, he performed two works by musicians Do Hong Quan and Dang Huu Phuoc.
The program was attended by artist Luu Hong Quang, who played piano pieces by Francis Poulenc together with Son for the first time.
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10. The 5th National Sculpture Exhibition (2003-2013), celebrating a decade of developments in Vietnamese sculpture, opened on December 11 at the Hanoi Museum and runs to January 15, 2014.
The exhibition features 286 outstanding sculptures by 230 artists from across the country, marking a profound shift in artistic conception, forms of expression and techniques used to create this type of artwork. The exhibits were selected from 675 pieces submitted to the organising board by 352 artists.
