Prizes will be awarded

Three handicraft products made by Vietnamese artisans have won the "Seal of Excellence" 2006 prize of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). The prize winners, including two pottery vases produced by the Tran Minh Kinh and Chuc Hung pottery kilns and a lacquer bowl by the Kim Ma workshop, were selected from 13 entries submitted from Viet Nam . Chu Shiu-kee, Chief UNESCO Representative in Viet Nam , said the result proved that Vietnamese handicraft products have met with international standards and should gain more opportunities in the world market. "Seal of Excellence" winning products will be updated on e-data systems and trade websites of the ASEAN Handicraft Promotion and Development Association (AHPADA). Source: VNA, Photo: VOV … [Read more...] about Viet Nam’s handicraft products win UNESCO prize

Reporters take part in the third international press conference on May 21. — VNA/VNS Photo Tuấn Đức Thanh Hà HÀ NỘI — The SEA Games 31 is considered an event of solidarity in the spirit of fair play, according to the Organising Committee at the third international press conference on May 21 in Hà Nội. Many local and international reporters and journalists attended the conference chaired by deputy head of the Information and Communications Sub-Committee Lê Thị Hoàng Yến, who summarised and reviewed the regional sports meet's activities. "Almost competitions have been well organised in the spirit of fair play and sportsmanship. Olympic sports are run following clear rules and regulations while sensitive sports, including martial art performance events, are assessed fairly and objectively," said Yến, who is the vice chairwoman of the Việt Nam Sports Administration. "The chief-de-missions of all teams are satisfied with organising activities of the hosts. To date, we have not … [Read more...] about ‘Games held in spirit of fair play’: organisers

This is vovinam, Vietnam's acrobatic martial art with roots dating back to the country's struggle for independence, and it is showing at the SEA Games for the first time since 2013. Proponents are trained to use not only their hands and legs to grapple a rival to the ground, but also fend off assailants armed with blades. Short for "Vo Viet Nam" (literally "Vietnamese Martial Arts") it was inspired by nationalists who sought an end to the country’s French colonial rule. Created in the 1930s, it borrows from elements of Chinese kung fu and other Asian styles but was crafted to suit the Vietnamese of the time. "In the past, the Vietnamese people were small," SEA Games silver medallist Tran The Thuong told AFP outside a packed gymnasium near the capital Hanoi where the artists, men and women, grappled in matches. "(It was made from) the best parts of other martial arts and combined to fit the Vietnamese." Promoting nationalist undertones, vovinam went on a rocky road. It was … [Read more...] about Va-va-vovinam: Vietnam’s martial art flies on SEA Games return