Following the success of the Gala Honouring Vietnamese Language programmes held since 2023, on August 26, the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in coordination with the Foreign Affairs Television Department of Viet Nam Television, organised the 2026 Gala Honouring Vietnamese Language under the theme “Kites soaring high on the wings of the mother tongue”.
Speaking at the programme, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang said that with this year's theme, the gala conveys a distinctly Vietnamese image – that of a kite. The Deputy Minister said a kite can fly high and far thanks to the winds of aspiration and integration, but it can only remain truly steady when it is always connected to its roots by a string. For the Vietnamese community overseas, that string is the Vietnamese language – the language of family bonds, identity and national pride.
Since 2023, the gala has become a meaningful annual event, spreading love for the Vietnamese language among the Vietnamese community overseas and international friends.
The 2026 gala honoured eight Vietnamese Language Ambassadors overseas – outstanding individuals who have tirelessly contributed to spreading the Vietnamese language through their love, creativity and enduring spirit of dedication.
The Vietnamese Language Ambassadors include not only overseas Vietnamese but also foreigners who have a special affection for Viet Nam, love the Vietnamese language and have made practical and meaningful contributions to teaching, promoting and spreading Vietnamese to international friends over the years.
The eight outstanding individuals are Shimizu Masaaki (Japan); 11-year-old Tijn Konings Le (the Netherlands); Nguyen Thi Lien Huong (Taiwan, China); Nguyen Thi Thu Hien (Denmark); Tran Ngoc Thao (France); Nguyen Phuong Chung (the US); Tran Huyen Huong (Australia); and Venerable Thich Phap Quang (Sri Lanka).
Deputy Minister Le Thi Thu Hang expressed her hope that every Vietnamese family overseas would continue to preserve the mother tongue as they would a part of the nation's cultural essence; that every teacher would continue to kindle a love for Vietnamese; and that every young person would take pride in speaking and reading Vietnamese and telling the story of Viet Nam in their own language. In this way, love for Viet Nam will continue to be nurtured, spread and soar high alongside the nation's aspirations.
Through artistic performances, television reports and studio exchanges, the 2026 gala introduced stories about Vietnamese language classes, teachers, families and young people who are persistently preserving Vietnamese in many countries around the world.
Expressing his honour and emotion at being named a Vietnamese Language Ambassador overseas, Shimizu Masaaki, a Vietnamese language lecturer at Osaka University (Japan), said he would strive to increase the number of Japanese people learning Vietnamese severalfold from the current level.
The 2026 gala will be broadcast at 8 pm on September 8 on VTV4 and on the digital platforms of Viet Nam Television and the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese.
