HA NOI — Denmark will grant US$700,000 to fund the second stage of a fine arts education in Viet Nam's primary schools during 2011-15, under an agreement signed on Tuesday between the Danish embassy and Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training.
Building upon the success of the first stage of project during 2006-10, the project would contribute to promoting comprehensive education for Vietnamese school children and encouraging new teaching methods in the arts, said Minister of Education and Training Pham Vu Luan at the signing ceremony.
President Ho's palm leaf testament recognised
HA NOI — The testament of President Ho Chi Minh written on palm leaf will be among 30 new Guinness Records for Viet Nam.
The Centre for Viet Nam Guinness Records says the unique display at the Thoai Son District's Cultural and Tourism Complex, southern province of An Giang, will be included in the new listings to be announced on Saturday
Almost 20 of the new listings are for art and culture.
They include musicologist Tran Quang Hai, who is able to create melodies with spoons. The "King of Spoon" plays jazz, pop, techno and flamenco.
Nguyen Vinh Bao, 92, will be recognised as "The Oldest Musician Who Offers the On-line Course on Vietnamese Traditional Music."
The 118-year-old Tran Thi Viet of southern Long An province of Long An will be recognised as "The Oldest Vietnamese Heroic Mother."
Men fail to make up numbers in quan ho love songs
HA NOI — The number of women singing quan ho (love duets) far exceeds the number of men, according to statistics from the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism in the northern province of Bac Ninh.
Female singers make up 81 per cent of the over 8,000 members of the 598 quan ho clubs in the province, they said.
Quan ho singing is a Vietnamese folk music characterised by its antiphonal nature – with alternating groups of female and male singers issuing musical challenges and responses – and by the fact that most of the songs in the repertoire deal with topics of love and sentimentality as experienced by young adults. The artform was recognised by UNESCO in 2009 as Intangible Cultural Heritage, while Vietnamese authorities are trying various methods to popularise it and train new singers – as well as attract more men to join in.
Writers Association awards prize for historical novel
HA NOI — The novel Hoi The (Oath-Taking Ceremony) by Nguyen Quang Than has been granted the top prize in the Novel Competition of the Viet Nam Writers Association.
The novel reflects the Lam Son uprising against the Chinese domination in the early 15th century which established Le Loi as the first king of the Le dynasty.
The competition, held for the third time, received entries from 245 writers during 2006-09.
The Viet Nam Publishers Association has also granted annual awards since 2005 for books with good design, recognising 77 titles this year. The awards presentation ceremony will take place on Sunday at the Ho Chi Minh Museum in Ha Noi. — VNS