Youth cycle for a greener Viet Nam

Eco-warrior: Xen (middle of front row) bikes around Ha Noi on Sunday mornings to promote a greener lifestyle. — VNS File Photo

HA NOI — Vu Thi Xen, 24, is the founder and face of an award-winning project to promote environmental issues among young people. Xen has devoted much of her youth to green issues.

The first time Xen understood the importance of environmental preservation was during an encounter with a club called Cycling for Environment.

Its purpose is to gather youngsters from all over the country to go on bike tours to raise environmental awareness, including global warming.

"My father was very supportive, but my mother was not so approving. She refused to believe that a petite girl like myself could ride a bicycle around the country," Xen said.

The first trip was a six-week journey from Ha Noi on June 29. It crossed 17 provinces and cities before finally arriving in HCM City on August 11.

Fifty young people took part down 2,000km of the legendary Truong Son Trail. Xen was the leader of the group.

"We all tapped into a mysterious spring of energy. We were cycling all day, every other day for six weeks," Xen said, "On average, we made 80km a day, 130 at our best. We woke up at 4.30 and were back on the bikes at five."

The group stopped at every villages on the way to talk with people, including many ethnic villagers, about issues, particularly the protection of rare wild animals.

"There were days when we talked to villagers till one or two in the morning. Even then, next morning we would get back on our seats for another long day of biking," Xen said.

"We slept in villagers' homes. We were shocked to see that people in parts of our country, such as Ta Rut Village, still have to go without a clean water supply, electricity or the basics of hygienic living."

The tour helped connect youth throughout Viet Nam to the cause, as well as planting the seed for more "green" cycling clubs in many areas, including HCM City, Da Nang and Hue.

The further Xen went, the more concerned she became for the environment in the country, a concern that last year earned her praise for her project to promote green issues among the young during Viet Nam Innovation Day, an annual event to promote new ideas.

Xen and other project leaders have held seminars on healthy living at various high schools and universities in Ha Noi.

Funded by the Ministry of Resources and Environment and donations from many charities, the project launched competitions in the capital city to popularise a greener lifestyle. — VNS

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Work starts on eco-village

HA TINH — A project to build an eco-village in Tien Chuong Commune in the central province of Ha Tinh to prompt increasing awareness of the need for environment protection started yesterday.

Jointly launched by Toyota Viet Nam (TMV) and the Viet Nam Environment Protection Agency (VEPA), the project also aimed to help local people learn how to preserve natural resources for sustainable development, said organisers.

The VND800 million project, funded by TMV, will include different training courses on environmental hygiene and how to use safe water in an effort to improve community health.

"Local people will also be trained to improve infertile soil and develop eco-systems along and around their fields; new cultivation methods and how to use suitable fertilisers and pesticides," said Akito Tachibana, general director of TMV.

He said local people would be supplied with 200 books guiding them on how to deal with waste around their homes and community and protect safe water resources.

Last year, a similar project was launched in An San Commune in the north-western province of Lao Cai's Bat Xat District, benefiting some hundreds of local people on how to improve their living standards.

The projects are as part of the major Go Green Programme jointly held by the TMV, the VEPA and the Ministry of Education and Training since 2008. — VNS

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Phase II of My Son restoration completed

Restored grandeur: Visitors at the My Son Holy Site. The Group G tower site has been restored with financial support from the Italian Government. — VNA/VNS Photo Van Son

HA NOI — The safeguarding of the My Son World Heritage Site took another step forward with the completion this month of the second phase of a preservation project, said Italian ambassador Lorenzo Angeloni.

The tripartite project between UNESCO, and the Italian and Vietnamese Governments focused on the preservation of Group G of monuments, the most important collection of remains at My Son Holy Site located in the central province of Quang Nam's Duy Xuyen District.

The group, consisting of five monuments, was selected for UNESCO preservation and sponsorship from the Italian Fund-In-Trust due to its unique decoration and materials and outstanding example of how a Cham sacred area was organised.

It lies on an elevated area never affected by seasonal flooding, and had never been restored, despite its considerable archae-ological importance.

Five key results of Phase II of the project were presented at a press conference held in Ha Noi yesterday.

Consolidation of the restoration of the G1 monument (the sanctuary), the most important of the Group G monuments was completed; with the lessons learnt from the Group G restoration to form a basis for future restoration of Cham brick monuments; and continued training of Vietnamese archaeologists, architects, conservationists and site managers in safeguarding cultural heritage in accordance with international World Heritage standards of conservation.

Training would include evaluation of the archaeological risk factors and vulnerability index of the monuments, which can be used as effective tools in the decision making for the long-term conservation of the World Heritage Site, according to Katherine Muller-Marin, representative and head of the UNESCO Ha Noi office.

She also highly appraised the catalogue of all Cham monuments in My Son which will provide the necessary database for the long-term protection of the site.

The project also helped develop a comprehensive site interpretation plan and design options of a plan for the entrance to the Group G site.

Besides these key results, the most significant success of phase II, was a project dedicated to replicating ancient Cham brickwork.

The success of this project was attributed to a local brick producer, technical staff and researchers from Institute for the Conservation of Monuments in co-operation with Italian experts from Lerici Foundation and University of Polytechnic of Milano.

"Although this research and experiments will continue, this has definitely contributed to taking the conservation work forward," said the ambassador.

In addition to the success gained in brick experimentation and production, the Guidelines for the restoration of Cham Towers with documented lessons learned from the G1 restoration in My Son would act as an important resource of knowledge and experience for conservators, particularly those working with ancient Cham monuments in central Viet Nam and other Hindu-influenced temples in the region.

The project was the first intervention since My Son was added to the World Heritage list in 1999 and only the second following the initial efforts by Polish and Vietnamese architects led by Kazimierz Kwiatkowski and Professor Hoang Dao Kinh in the early 1980s. A project which lacked the conditions to conduct more research into the materials and techniques used in the construction of the Cham monuments.

Phase I of the project began in 2003 and concluded in 2005 with the breakthrough discovery of an organic resin which was very similar to the ancient Cham material utilised as brick mortar.

The project cost 1.3 million euros (US$1.8million) from 2003-10.

"I'm convinced by the results of the project and I'm happy for the project to continue," said the ambassador. — VNS

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Global video project tours Vietnam

Photo: Tuoi Tre

Project 35, an international exhibition of video works selected by 35 curators around the world, is launched by Independent Curators International (ICI) Thursday and expected to attract audiences in Hanoi, Hue and Ho Chi Minh City.

Each of the curators were invited to choose one work from an artist they think is important for audiences from around the world to experience. The resulting video selections are divided into four parts that will play over the period of one year.

The selections will also be presented simultaneously in an increasing number of venues world wide. The project, which was initiated by ICI in New York , has made its way to Vietnam thanks to San Art, the country's most active independent art space.

Project 35 celebrates ICI's 35-year life span as an organisation that connects emerging and established curators, artists and institutions, and fosters the building of international networks.

The exhibition opens with videos focusing on wide-ranging and controversial subject matter, including the uprisings and protests in post-colonial South Africa , the urban roads of modern-day HCMC, and the crime-filled streets of Bogota, Colombia .

Screenings are free and the first four screenings will take place simultaneously in Hanoi's Goethe Institute, HCMC 's Cafe Cao Minh and Hue's New Arts Space beginning at 6.30pm on Sept. 22.

The first session offers nine works, including the works of Vietnamse artists Tuan Andrew Nguyen and Ha Thuc Phu Nam , both of whom currently live and work in HCM City . The two artists were selected by HCM City-based curator and San Art director Zoe Butt.

Other artists were selected by the director of Objectif Exhibitions, Mai Abu El Dahab; the chief curator of the Mori Art Musuem in Tokyo, Mami Kataoka; an adjunct curator at the University of California Berkeley Art Museum and the Pacific Film Archive, Constance Lewallen; the artistic director of Philagrafika 2010, Jose Roca and senior lecturer and head of the Fine Arts Studio Practice in the Department of Visual Arts at the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa, Kathryn Smith.

The selected works will demonstrate the diversity of content and style that the single-channel video can captures, including You Tube-style narrative to documentary format to clay-mation to digital animation. The videos show a variety of approaches from creating performance installations to reformatting a Walt Disney classic.

The project has already been screened in Albania , Mexico , Sweden and the US among others, and will continue to expand as more venues and chapters in the video series emerge. The project is expected to screen in 19 countries over the course of 2010 and 2011.
 

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Global video project tours Viet Nam

HA NOI — Project 35, an international exhibition of video works selected by 35 curators around the world, will be launched by Independent Curators International (ICI) tomorrow and is expected to attract audiences in Ha Noi, Hue and HCM City.

Each of the curators were invited to choose one work from an artist they think is important for audiences from around the world to experience. The resulting video selections are divided into four parts that will play over the period of one year.

The selections will also be presented simultaneously in an increasing number of venues world wide. The project, which was initiated by ICI in New York, has made its way to Viet Nam thanks to San Art, the country's most active independent art space.

Project 35 celebrates ICI's 35-year life span as an organisation that connects emerging and established curators, artists and institutions, and fosters the building of international networks.

The exhibition opens with videos focusing on wide-ranging and controversial subject matter, including the uprisings and protests in post-colonial South Africa, the urban roads of modern-day HCM City, and the crime-filled streets of Bogota, Colombia.

Screenings are free and the first four screenings will take place simultaneously in Ha Noi's Goethe Institute, HCM City's Cafe Cao Minh and Hue's New Arts Space beginning at 6.30pm tomorrow.

The first session offers nine works, including the works of Vietnamse artists Tuan Andrew Nguyen and Ha Thuc Phu Nam, both of whom currently live and work in HCM City. The two artists were selected by HCM City-based curator and San Art director Zoe Butt.

Other artists were selected by the director of Objectif Exhibitions, Mai Abu El Dahab; the chief curator of the Mori Art Musuem in Tokyo, Mami Kataoka; an adjunct curator at the University of California Berkeley Art Museum and the Pacific Film Archive, Constance Lewallen; the artistic director of Philagrafika 2010, Jose Roca and senior lecturer and head of the Fine Arts Studio Practice in the Department of Visual Arts at the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa, Kathryn Smith.

The selected works will demonstrate the diversity of content and style that the single-channel video can captures, including You Tube-style narrative to documentary format to clay-mation to digital animation. The videos show a variety of approaches from creating performance installations to reformatting a Walt Disney classic.

The project has already been screened in Albania, Mexico, Sweden and the US among others, and will continue to expand as more venues and chapters in the video series emerge. The project is expected to screen in 19 countries over the course of 2010 and 2011. — VNS

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Culture Vulture

The Viet Nam Folklore Association has announced the result of the first phase of its project for Publication of Vietnamese Ethnic Folklore, the project began in 2009 but slated to continue to 2019. Viet Nam News spoke to association chairman To Ngoc Thanh about the project.

Please give us a brief introduction to the project.

The project aims at preserving and advertising the abundant folklore cultural values of 54 ethnic groups which have been handed down and developed through generations. The association will select 2,000 works of research for publication out of 5,000 conducted. In the first stage of the project alone, which lasts until 2014, we plan to publish 1,000 works. So far, we have published 100 works.

What types of works are being published?

The works can be compilations of folkloric material, descriptive research or in-depth research on a particular form or aspect of folk culture.

For example, one work is entitled A System of Traditional Festivals of the Cham Ethnic Group in the Central Province of Ninh Thuan. Others include Folk Sayings and Proverbs of the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta Region, Orphaned Characters in the Folk Literature of the Mong, and Folk Music of the Ta Oi.

All books will be published in Vietnamese with an English abstract.

What priorities do you apply when publishing new works?

Of course, we give priority to endangered ethnic cultural values. The topics cover folk knowledge of agriculture and the environment, which expresses the relationship between man and nature. Traditional customs and festivals, which reflect the relationship between people and society, are also a focus.

In addition, we pay attention to people's thoughts expressed through important life passages like birth, coming-of-age ceremonies, marriages, illness and funerals, which reflect the relationship between community and individual. Religious ceremonies revealing the relationships between man and the universe, the supernatural and the spiritual world, are also a topic. Finally, literary achievements which express aesthetic ideals are also covered.

How will the books be distributed?

The publications will be distributed free to central and local libraries throughout the country. The books will reach universities, research institutes, military camps in border areas and offshore islands, and broadcasting stations. The books will also be sent to international cultural organisations based in Viet Nam, as well as universities and research institutes abroad with Viet Nam studies departments.

We will also print additional copies for commercial distribution and we have contacted some publishers. The Ha Noi Publishing House, for instance, will print some titles covering topics related to Ha Noi.

Is there any parallel project to translate the books into English or any other foreign languages so that the books can reach a wider audience?

We don't have any such plan for the time being. We don't have the budget for it. The translation fee is rather high. As far as I know, a page of English translation may cost VND150,000 (US$8). However, if foreign researchers, after reading the abstracts, have further requirements, we will try our best to serve them. — VNS

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