Award ceremony and art exchange to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Japan

The art exchange program to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Japan was held on September 20, 2008. The University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU, was one of the units coordinating the exchange program.

Present at this exchange were Mr. Seiki Furudate - First Secretary of the Embassy of Japan in Vietnam, Mr. Vu Khac Lien - General Secretary of the Vietnam - Japan Cultural Exchange Association, Mr. Pham Dao Lam - representative of the Organizing Committee of the contest "Learning about Japanese culture", Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Khanh - Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities.

Before the performance began, there was a closing ceremony to award the contest "Learning about Japanese culture" organized by the Embassy of Japan in collaboration with P&T Group Joint Stock Company, Japan - Vietnam Human Resources Cooperation Center, Vietnam - Japan Cultural Exchange Association. The contest officially took place from April 8, 2008 to September 21, 2008 with two rounds. The monthly round took place from May to July, contestants would answer questions posted by the Organizing Committee on mass media and send their answers to the Organizing Committee. The second round was writing on the topic of Japan. The contest attracted a large number of people who love to learn about Japanese culture, the youngest was 7 years old and the oldest was a 79-year-old man. There were nearly 43,000 entries. The Organizing Committee awarded the following prizes: 01 special prize, 01 first prize; 01 second prize; 01 third prize.

The second part of the exchange night included unique performances by Vietnamese artists showing the beauty, similarities and differences in the musical arts of the two countries. These included the drum concert “Hảo khí Thăng Long” by artists from the Vietnam Tuong Theater, the Japanese dance “Nhung cô gái thông trang” performed skillfully and cheerfully by dancers from the Vietnam Music and Dance Theater, a duet of the T'rưng and Trelac - two traditional Vietnamese musical instruments to the melody of the Japanese song “Chuồn Rồng đỏ” (Akatombo) ... Besides the performances imbued with traditional culture, there were songs with lyrical, youthful melodies, carrying the breath of modern life performed by singers Hoang Nghiep, Thuy Trang and many students majoring in Japanese Studies and Literature from the University of Social Sciences and Humanities...

Also at the exchange night, Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Khanh - Principal of the School - expressed his joy and honor when the School was one of the units participating in organizing this meaningful cultural activity. He also hoped that in the future, activities like this will continue to be organized so that the young generations of both sides will have more opportunities to exchange and learn about the culture and society of the two countries, thereby promoting friendship and cooperation between the two peoples.