HA NOI — Experts have gathered at the Goethe Institute in Ha Noi for a three-day international colloquium intended to develop an overview of Vietnamese culture from the Stone Age to the present.

The event is being held to prepare for an archaeological exhibition to be presented in Germany in 2014-15.

Experts are scheduled to present 22 lectures from a number of perspectives on a variety of archaeological and historical fields. Special attention will be given to the cultures of northern Viet Nam, such as the Dong Son Culture and its influence on the regions, as well as current research on the Thang Long and Ho citadels, which have been recognised as World Heritage sites by UNESCO.

"Because of the abundance and complexity of Vietnamese culture, it will not be possible to do this for the entire country and all the ages," said Dr Stefan Leneen in his short presentation introducing the project. "We have to focus on certain areas and certain periods."

The planned exhibition will be hosted by three German museums, the Museum of Archaeology in Hern, the Reiss-Engelhorn Museums in Mannheim, and the Museum of Archaeology and History in Chemnitz, said Leneen.

The Reiss-Engelhorn Museums in Mannheim are a complex of five museums and one of the largest in Germany, presenting not only permanent exhibitions on regional history and non-European archaeology but also many international exhibitions. The museum in Chemnitz, meanwhile, is currently being remodeled and will soon reopen as the new State Museum.

"The Viet Nam exhibition will be the first exhibition at this new museum," said Leneen. "We therefore are sure to attract many German guests as well as guests from abroad to visit this special exhibition on Viet Nam."

The first day of the colloquium yesterday was concluded by researchers Nguyen Van Cuong and Nguyen Van Son from the Thang Long-Ha Noi Heritage Conservation Centre. Sessions today and tomorrow will focus on the ruling powers in northern Viet Nam during the period of Chinese domination and works of the Cham Pa Culture.

An understanding memorandum on the Vietnamese archaeological exhibition in Germany was also signed in Ha Noi yesterday by German Charge d'Affaires Carsten Meyer Wiefhausen and Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Le Khanh Hai. — VNS