Attending the ceremony were Mr. Joao Manuel Bernardo (Ambassador of the Republic of Angola to Vietnam), Mr. Herminio Lopez Diaz (Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba to Vietnam), Mr. Dorj Enkhabat (Ambassador of the People's Republic of Mongolia to Vietnam), Mr. Kim Chang Il (Ambassador of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to Vietnam), Mr. Saadi Salama (Ambassador of the State of Palestine to Vietnam), Mr. Valeriu Arteni (Ambassador of the Republic of Romania to Vietnam) and representatives of the embassies: United States, United Kingdom, Japan, Bulgaria, Laos, Mozambique...
On the side of government agencies, there were Dr. Nguyen The Ky (Deputy Head of the Central Propaganda Department), Mr. Vi Quang Dao (Deputy General Director of the Government Electronic Information Portal). On the side of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, there was Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Khanh (Principal of the University). In addition, there were representatives of international organizations, funds, news agencies, universities, research institutes in Vietnam, along with many generations of teachers, scientists, and students of the Faculty of Vietnamese Studies and Vietnamese Language (VNH&TV).
At the ceremony, Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Thien Nam (Head of the Faculty of VNH&TV) reviewed the 45-year journey of the Faculty and expressed his gratitude to the team of scientists and teachers in the early period - those who laid the foundation for the development and contributed to building the tradition and academic reputation of the Faculty.
Since 1956, Vietnamese for foreigners has been taught by teachers of the Faculty of Literature and History at Hanoi University. In 1965, the Vietnamese Language Department was officially established. On December 18, 1968, the Minister of Universities and Vocational Secondary Schools issued a decision to establish the "Faculty of Teaching Vietnamese for Foreign Students, abbreviated as the Faculty of Vietnamese" with the tasks of: teaching Vietnamese to foreign students; researching and developing methods of teaching Vietnamese to foreigners; training a number of foreigners to become advanced Vietnamese interpreters. In 1995, the Faculty changed its name to the Faculty of Vietnamese Language and Culture for Foreigners under the University of Social Sciences and Humanities. Since April 2008, the Faculty has changed its name to the Faculty of Vietnamese Studies and Vietnamese Language and is assigned the task of training Vietnamese Studies for Vietnamese and foreigners.
Over the past years, the Faculty has achieved many achievements in training, research and international relations. Regarding training, more than 8,000 foreigners have studied Vietnamese language and Vietnamese culture at the Faculty as well as with the Faculty's teachers at many universities and Vietnamese study centers around the world. Among them, many have become veteran diplomats, Vietnamese scholars, and senior interpreters. In particular, 12 foreign students have become Ambassadors of countries in Vietnam. The Faculty has successfully completed the special task assigned to it, which is to train Vietnamese language for Laotian cadres and students, cadres and students of universities in Cambodia in the 10 years after the Pol Pot genocide.
Mr. Saadi Salama (Palestinian Ambassador to Vietnam) spoke at the Ceremony on behalf of the alumni.
Regarding research, the faculty members have completed dozens of research topics at the Ministry, VNU, and school levels... The Vietnamese language textbooks for foreigners compiled by the faculty members are all useful and have made exemplary contributions to the compilation of language teaching books suitable for the needs of each period. Many research and compilation works by the faculty members have had great influence, such as more than 70 books by Associate Professor Nguyen Thach Giang, the Vietnamese-English Dictionary awarded the State Prize for Science and Technology by the late Associate Professor Bui Phung, works on grammar, tool dictionaries, and function words by Associate Professor Dr. Do Thanh, Professor Dr. Hoang Trong Phien, Professor Dr. Dinh Van Duc, and the late Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Anh Que...
The Faculty's international relations are increasingly expanding. Students, interns, and researchers from many famous universities and research institutes around the world come to the Faculty to study and conduct research, creating a unique and special multicultural environment for the Faculty.
Currently, in addition to its expertise in teaching Vietnamese studies and Vietnamese language to foreigners, the Faculty of VNH&TV has a new strategic mission: training Vietnamese studies for Vietnamese students. The Faculty has trained up to 4 courses in Vietnamese studies and from this school year onwards, Vietnamese studies has been recognized as one of the 7 basic science majors in which students enjoy many preferential conditions from the School and VNU.
In addition to the bachelor's program in Vietnamese Studies and the bachelor's program in Vietnamese Language and Culture for foreigners, in the near future, the Faculty will open a postgraduate program, a minor in teaching Vietnamese for international students. Currently, the Faculty of Vietnamese Language and Culture is the only faculty in Vietnam that officially trains both international students and Vietnamese students.
With the above outstanding contributions, the Faculty of VNH&TV was awarded the Second Class Labor Medal by the State.
Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Khanh (Rector) presented a certificate of merit from the Director of VNU and presented flowers to congratulate the Faculty of Vietnamese Studies and Vietnamese Language.
Speaking at the ceremony, Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Khanh (Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities) affirmed: “The Faculty of Vietnamese Studies and Television has successfully completed the tasks assigned by the Party, State and Government, contributing to promoting Vietnamese language and culture abroad, promoting friendly and cooperative relations between Vietnam and countries around the world”. Currently, in the context of globalization, the fields of social sciences and humanities in general and Vietnamese studies in particular are facing many opportunities and challenges for development. The Faculty of Vietnamese Studies and Television needs to quickly develop its staff, especially the highly qualified teaching staff, expand linkages with other departments in the University, and strengthen domestic and international cooperation to achieve the goal of becoming the leading training and research institution for Vietnamese studies in the country.
Representing generations of scientists and teachers of the Faculty, Prof. Dr. People's Teacher Hoang Trong Phien (former Head of the Faculty) emphasized the core value in the achievements of the Faculty as "successfully building the science of teaching Vietnamese as a foreign language", in which teachers have "taught Vietnamese as a national cultural tool originating from the characteristics and typological nature of Vietnamese". Generations of staff of the Faculty are the first and most typical representatives of the culture and good qualities of the Vietnamese people to foreign friends, helping them understand and love Vietnam more. Promoting that tradition, together with a team of young, qualified, dynamic staff with innovative thinking, the Faculty of VNH&TV is expected to continue to succeed with new tasks, becoming a leading prestigious training unit for Vietnamese studies and Vietnamese language in the country and internationally.