Vietnam Fashion Week unveils Spring-Summer designs

Wife of the consul general of France in HCMC, Boivineau Bich Hue inspects a crocodile leather wallet by Ton Phat Crocodile at the fashion-week press conference on Thursday - Photo: Kieu Giang

Twenty Vietnam designers will unveil nearly 1000 of their latest designs at Vietnam Fashion Week Spring-Summer 2011 at the Consulate General of France in HCMC’s District 1 at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

Veteran designers like Minh Hanh, Viet Lien, Trong Nguyen and Quang Huy will join colleagues from Viet Thang Corporation - Hong Vuong, Van Khoa and Bich Ha and free-lance designers including Tuan Huy, Duc Hai, Van Vo, Hung Viet, Cuong Thinh, Thanh Huyen, Hien Le Hai Long-The Huy, Le Hang, Minh Minh, Bao Kim, Minh Hoa and Dang Khoa at the parade.

“I have witnessed the development of Vietnam’s fashion industry and I’m truly impressed by the creativeness of young and talented designers,” Gérard Boivineau, the French consul general in HCMC, said at the press conference on Thursday.

“That’s why I and the consulate general of France are honored to host the Vietnam Fashion Week for the second year since the first one in 200,” Boivineau said.

Together with Viet Thang Corporation other local accessory-makers like Vitco shoes, Ton Phat crocodile leather, Phuc Khanh jewelry and shoe-maker Le Huy Tien will be sending their creations down the catwalk.

The collections hail a return of bright colors and checks. Materials like crocodile leather, python leather, precious stones and Viet Thang’s new 3D textiles will make the show uniquely Vietnamese.

The Vietnam Fashion Week Spring-Summer 2011 is organized by the Consulate General of France in HCMC, Vietnam National Textile Garment Group (Vinatex), Vietnam Textile & Apparel Association (Vitas) and Vietnam Leather & Footwear Association (Lefaso).

The event will be held in the consulate,  6 Le Duan Boulevard, District 1, HCMC.

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Miss Earth committee names judging panel

Hollywood actress Rachel Grant, one of the 10 members of the Miss Earth jury - Photo: Official website of Rachel Grant

The organizing committee of Miss Earth beauty pageant 2010 on Wednesday announced the 10-member judging panel for the crowning night which will take place at the Vinpearl Land in Nha Trang City, Khanh Hoa Province on Saturday.

The jury consists of seven international members and three local members. They are Michael Jeffrey Rosentha, well-known photographer in Hollywood and guest judge of the U.S. reality show America’s Next Top Model; Marie J.Y.E.Collart, actress, publicist and spokesperson to American and French Stars; Rachel Grant, Hollywood actress (starring in the movie Die Another Day) and eco and social activist; Ella Bella, Youth Ambassador for the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP), Eddy Tan, Vice President, Programming for Fox International Channels (Star World, FX, [V], tvN & Nat Geo Music Asia), Karla Paula Henry - Miss Earth 2008; Nenad Bratic, famous architect of Aedas Interiors Company in Hong Kong.

Three Vietnamese judges are Pham Sanh Chau, secretary general of the Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO, Hoang Dai Thanh,
editor-in-chief of Thoi Trang Tre (young fashion) magazine and Nguyen Nhu Quynh, artist, violinist and dancer, many of her designs were selected for exhibition at the Musée de Mode, Paris in 2010.

84 contestants of the beauty pageant are now training for the dancing and performing skills for the crowning night at the Vinpearl Land musical fountain stage. It is expected that over 5,000 will attend.

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HCMC non-profits hold event for Int’l Volunteer Day

Volunteers from the organizing committee discuss plans for Sunday’s International Volunteer Day event in HCMC - Photo: Courtesy of LIN Center for Community Development

A special event for International Volunteer Day will be held by not-for-profit organizations this Sunday Dec. 5 with 200 volunteers expected to attend.

Event organizers said the event aims to show the NPOs’ appreciation and encouragement for the many ways volunteers help build strong communities.

“Volunteers in Vietnam mainly just want to help and support the community,” said Pham Truong Son, Event Coordinator and Community Liaison at LIN Center for Community Development, one of the organizers.

Son said the 12 NPOs that were organizing the event had thousands of volunteers to thank for the work they have done through their volunteering projects. The event will be special because more than 80% of the NPOs that are organizing the event for International Volunteer Day are Vietnamese, Son said.

The NGOs that are organizing the event are Blue Dreams Volunteer Group, DRD Volunteer Club, Habitat for Humanity Vietnam, Health Volunteers Organization, IVC (International Volunteer Club), LIN Center for Community Development, SIFE Economic University HCMC, Smile Group, Suc tre (Youth Energy) Group, Sunshine Volunteer Group, Tri thuc tre (Young Experienced) Group, Volunteers for Peace Vietnam and the HCMC Women’s Charity Association.

Only two of the NGOs in the organizing committee, Habitat and Sunshine Volunteer Group were international, the Lin community liaison officer said.

The program to be held at the International International School Saigon Pearl in HCMC (92 Nguyen Huu Canh Street, Ward 22, Binh Thanh District) from 8:30 am to 11:30 am will have booths and games plus a forum for volunteers and NPO representatives to share their stories.

It will be much bigger than last year’s small gathering for volunteers, said Dana Doan, full time Advisor to the LIN Center.

Volunteers in Vietnam not only give their time they also provide important skills.

Son said LIN had about 60 active skilled volunteers who were indispensable to the organization, because they provided important services for free that the new NPO could not afford to pay for.

That included online volunteers who help with translating, website design, graphic design and financial management.

Ms. Bao, vice-head of Blue Dreams said, “The event is also a great chance for me and my colleagues to meet our counterparts at other volunteer host organizations to learn new approaches to attracting new volunteers and keeping existing volunteers engaged and motivated.”

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Vietnamese wins Australian education award

K'Chin has been named Queensland's international student of the year.

HA NOI – Vietnamese K'Chin, 21, who underwent life-changing surgery in Australia, has been named Queensland's international student of the year.

Born in a remote village near Da Lat in central-highland Lam Dong Province, K'Chin broke his leg as an infant and spent his first 13 years crawling or hopping because he could not walk.

Rotary Oceania Medical Aid for Children took him to Australia in 2002 and provided him with both medial treatment and an education.

"I couldn't walk so I just crawled until the age that I could hop on one leg, and I hopped for 13 years," he told an Australian Broadcasting Corporation reporter.

Now he can not only walk, he has been nominated his school captain for next year.

"I think that education and being educated is the most important part of our life," said the young man who never went to school in Viet Nam let alone spoke English.

"It's a great honour," he said of the award made by the Queensland Education Department.

"I came to Australia for surgery. It's so wonderful that I am awarded the title."

K'Chin thinks all children should have an education. – VNS

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The reality of living with HIV

Speaking for themselves: The exhibition allows visitors to listen to people with HIV tell their own stories. — VNS/Photo

HA NOI — The exhibition Pain and Hope tells the stories of people living with HIV and is one of ten national events being held this year to mark the 20 years since the first case of HIV/AIDS case was diagnosed in Viet Nam.

Since that time, public awareness and education about HIV education have increased considerably, but this was the first time the HIV epidemic has been approached from the perspective of a museum exhibition, said museum director Vo Quang Trong.

"The exhibition aims to encourage wide discussions in society about the HIV epidemic and related issues and create an opportunity for people living with HIV and people working in HIV prevention to share and exchange experiences and professional knowledge, as well as to look back at the response to AIDS by people living with HIV, the Government, and society as a whole in the past 20 years," said Trong.

Through the images and voices of health officers, journalists, volunteers, religious organisations, scientists, and people living with HIV, the exhibition uses the museum language to guide visitors through different stages of emotion experienced by people living with HIV and those working in HIV prevention, he said.

"This is extremely difficult work, but the lessons of the world can't be applied in Viet Nam," said Nguyen Thi Hue from HCM City's AIDS Prevention Committee. "Although peer models are very successful, it depends on the culture of each country. We took things step-by-step. At first, I simply had to obey what my organisation was telling me. Then I began to understand and sympathise with the people."

Materials for this exhibition were gathered from three research sites in the northern city of Hai Phong, the northern province of Dien Bien and HCM City. Materials also came from organisations and individuals in Ha Noi, the northern province of Ninh Binh, the central province of Quang Binh and the southern province of An Giang.

The resulting exhibition has been arranged into sections entitled Pain, Stigma, Will to Live, Joint Forces and Grateful Hearts.

Nguyen Thi Khuyen, 13, a girl from HCM City who lost her mother to AIDS, spoke about her plastic piggy bank displayed in the exhibition.

"My adoptive mother sometimes gives me money to put in a piggy bank, so I take the money out once a year and buy offerings on the anniversary of my mother's death," Khuyen said.

Visitors to the exhibition have left many messages in a guestbook for those afflicted with HIV.

"You are very courageous that you can face the stigma and society's prejudice," wrote one visitor. "Be patient and strong to show how valuable you are."

The exhibition, co-sponsored by the Viet Nam Museum of Ethnology and the Centre for Community Health Research and Development, runs through June of next year.

During the event, the Viet Nam Museum of Ethnology is also holding ongoing educational activities and events for young visitors to help them experience the exhibition space and more fully understand the HIV epidemic in Viet Nam. — VNS

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Disabled Chinese dancers take stage

Illuminating: The Disabled People's Performing Art Troupe performs a dance entitled Goddess of Mercy with Hundreds of Arms and Thousands of Eyes. — Photo courtesy China Disabled People's Performing Art Troupe

HA NOI — A troupe of 50 disabled youth performers from China will appear at the Ha Noi Opera House tomorrow evening, with a simulcast on the giant screen outside.

The China Disabled People's Performing Arts Troupe will perform the dances Goddess of Mercy with Hundreds of Arms and Thousands of Eyes and My Dream.

The vocal, musical and dance performances of the troupe cover such styles as ballet, Latin dance, and modern dance, as well as elements from Peking opera and musical drama. New forms, such as sign-language poems and dances by the visually impaired are also included in their shows.

The 110-member troupe was founded in 1987 and was the subject of a documentary film entitled My Dream. It has been honoured by the Disabled People's Sixth International World Assembly as "image ambassadors for 600 million people with disabilities around the world", and by UNESCO as "Artists for Peace".

Tai Lihua, who is hearing-impaired, became a dancer with the troupe at the age of 15 and said she was happy to be a dancer.

"There are hundreds and thousands of outstanding artists in my country," Tai said.

"Disabled artists have been privileged to perform in famous theatres in more than 40 countries. Our country has made this possible for us, and many kind people have helped us realise our dream.

Our success in this special art is an expression of the Chinese culture and humane spirit."

The troupe has presented beauty to the world, said Liu San-zhen, counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in Viet Nam. Performers have brought audiences the joy of art, enlightenment of heart and emotional interaction beyond any barriers of language, culture or nationality, said Liu.

The troupe's Ha Noi appearance coincides with the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Viet Nam and China. — VNS

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Ceremony honours revolutionary historian

HA NOI — A ceremony commemorating the 125th anniversary of the death of historian Pham Than Duat (1825-85) was held at Ha Noi's Literature Temple on Monday, honouring his great contributions to Vietnamese people's revolution against the French colonialists.

Duat, who was born in the northern province of Ninh Binh, died on November 29, 1885, after the French had sent him into exile on the island of Tahiti.

Duat's life was that of a patriotic intellectual. Born into a poor family, he succeeded in royal exams and worked for King Tu Duc as a royal mandarin. He was put in charge of the Temple of Literature and also served as a tutor to princes. He also contributed substantially to an 1884 book of national history that remains a valuable reference source for current historians.

He became embroiled in the revolution, when he was assigned to resist a French invasion by senior mandarin Ton That Thuyet (1839-1913). Duat and his family were captured by the French in July 1885.

Ha Noi to host National Fine Arts Exhibition 2010

HA NOI — The National Fine Arts Exhibition 2010 representing Viet Nam's fine arts industry will open in Ha Noi today.

On display will be representative works from the 2006-10 period to gauge fine arts development during the process of national industrialisation and modernisation towards global integration.

More than 863 works of art by 735 artists including paintings, graphics, installations and sculptures will be displayed to reflect contemporary life and society from different angles.

The exhibition will run until December 15 at the Viet Nam Exhibition Centre for Culture and Arts, Hoa Lu Street, Ha Noi. — VNS

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