Addressing the event, VNA General Director Vu Viet Trang highlighted the press photos as a critical pillar of VNA - the national key press agency, saying that its photo archive holds immense values with images capturing historical moments of the nation, the fierceness of the war for national independence and the country's renewal process.
Launched in 2008 by VNA, the annual press photo contest aims to enrich the collection of valuable images, and honour the contributions of the press photo to the country's photography industry, she said.
Through six editions, the award has gathered and spread the value of diverse photographic works in terms of content, quality and unique expression by Vietnamese journalists and photographers both in and outside the country, Trang added.
After nearly two months of launching, the award received a total of 3,435 entries, including 2,930 single photos and 505 sets of photos by 431 photographers. Of those, 22 most outstanding works were selected for the awards and exhibition at the awarding ceremony.
The first prizes for the single photo and the sets of photos went to the works “Am nhac gan ket moi nguoi” (Music connects people) by Pham Tuan Anh (Hanoi) and “Bo doi dam minh trong bun tim kiem thi the nan nhan Lang Nu” (Soldiers wade in the mud searching for bodies of victims in Lang Nu village) by Pham Ngoc Thanh (Hanoi).
The organising board also presented four second, six third, and ten consolation prizes to photographers with outstanding works.
On this occasion, an exhibition featuring the outstanding photo works from the contest opened at the VNA headquarters.
