Veteran southern folk music composer Lu Nhat Vu and poet Le Giang received an award for their collection and promotion of southern folk culture.— Photo cand

HCM CITY (VNS)— The 2014 Phan Chau Trinh Culture Foundation's awards for contributions to Viet Nam's culture, education, translation and research have been presented to four Vietnamese and one foreigner.

Veteran southern folk music composer Lu Nhat Vu and poet Le Giang received an award for their collection and promotion of southern folk culture.

They are co-writers of folk music works such as 300 Dieu Ly Nam Bo (300 Southern Folk Songs) and Tim Hieu dan Ca Nam Bo (Studies on Southern Folk Songs).

The translation prize was awarded to Asso. Prof. Ngo Duc Tho for his significant contribution to translating Han-Nom (old Vietnamese characters based on Han Chinese characters) monographs including Dai Viet Su Ky Toan Thu (Encyclopedia of Vietnamese History) and Dong Khanh Dia Du Chi (The Descriptive Geography of Emperor Dong Khanh).

Historical researcher Ta Chi Dai Truong was presented a prize for his research on the country's history, with best-selling books including Lich Su Noi Chien Viet Nam tu 1771 den 1802 (History of Viet Nam Civil War History from 1771 to 1802), and Than, Nguoi va Dat Viet (Spirits, Men and the Viet Land).

Thomas J. Vallely, chairman of Trust for University Innovation in Viet Nam and former director of the Viet Nam Programme in Harvard University, received a prize for his contribution to the country's tertiary education.

His work has focused on institutional innovation in Viet Nam's higher education and science. Under his leadership, the Fulbright Programme has become an excellence centre for public policy teaching and research in Viet Nam.

After 20 years of implementation, the Fulbright programme has trained more than 2,000 public policymakers and university's lecturers in more than 60 provinces and cities nationwide.

He also set up the Viet Nam Education Fund in 2000. Each year, nearly 40 overseas scholarships are provided to Vietnamese students in fields including science, maths and medicine.

The Phan Chau Trinh Culture Foundation with its previous name of the Phan Chau Trinh Translation Foundation was established by the Viet Nam Union of Science and Technology Associations in 2006.

The foundation's awards aim to encourage and honour domestic and foreign researchers, scientists, translators and educators. —VNS