Vietnam, Denmark ink cultural cooperation deal

Vietnam and Denmark on November 2 signed a memorandum of understanding on cultural cooperation during the 2009-2014 period as part of activities within the official visit to Vietnam by Danish Queen Margrethe II.

The MoU will be a foundation for both countries to increase art and cultural cooperation in the period, including exchanges between concerned agencies and individuals.

Signatories to the MoU were Vietnam’s Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Hoang Tuan Anh, and his Danish counterpart, Carina Christensen.

Visiting Danish Queen Margrethe (L) and Danish Prince Consort Henrik tour the ancient quarter of Hanoi by cyclo on November 1, 2009 (AFP photo)

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Minister Hoang Tuan Anh said in recent years, Vietnam has had an opportunity to learn from and hold exchanges with Denmark in the field of culture thanks to cultural support funds and projects financed by the Danish government.

At present, Denmark is funding seven projects in Vietnam which focus on facilitating dialogues between cultural managers and policy makers, promoting literature for children and improving management in the performing arts

Minister Hoang Tuan Anh requested that Denmark increase assistance to exchange activities aimed at promoting Vietnam’s image and culture in Denmark so as to promote mutual understanding with the Danish people.

He also called for Denmark to vote for Ha Long Bay as a world nature wonder and for Thang Long imperial citadel to become a world cultural heritage site.

The Danish embassy has worked with the Vietnam Fine Arts University, the Tuoi Tre theatre and concerned agencies under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to organize various cultural activities throughout the ten-day visit of the Danish Queen.

Prominent among the activities are a street art festival, a Vietnam-Denmark rock concert and an exhibition of a Danish-funded emergency room.

As part of the activities to welcome the Queen’s visit, the Hanoi Writers’ Society, the Kim Dong publishing house and the Danish Writers’ Society on November 2 held an awards ceremony for Vietnamese children’s authors in 2008-2009.

At the ceremony, the organizing committee launched a writing competition for children in 2009-2010 period with the theme of “Dialogue with the nature” and kicked off a picture exhibition by Vietnamese and Danish painters.

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Denmark helps Vietnam develop event management skills

Hanoi (VNA) – The Danish Embassy, in conjunction with the Ho Chi Minh City Conservatory of Music are to host a Music Management training course from December 1-12 in a bid to help Vietnamese art managers to further their management skills in art development.

The course is part of the Vietnam – Denmark Development Cooperation in Culture Programme 2006 – 2010, according to a statement made by the Danish Embassy in Vietnam on November 17.

Participants in the course will receive an introduction to creative business design, planning and a host of decision-making tools necessary for event management. They will also become familiar with a range of analytical methodologies, the development of business plans, marketing and financial management, and tools for the quantitative evaluation of events.

The training course will feature course input from teachers and coordinators from the Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus, Denmark (RAMA) Denmark’s support to cultural development in Vietnam is based on strategy set out in the Danish Strategy for Development Cooperation 2006-2010 with Vietnam.

The strategy is aimed at promoting increased creativity, people’s access and participation as well as diversity in the Vietnamese society.-

Denmark funds environmental programme in Quang Nam

Quang Nam (VNA) – The Danish Government will provide 1.46 million Danish Koruna (267,000 USD) to carry our an environmental programme in the central province of Quang Nam .

Document to this effect was signed between the provincial People’s Committee and the Danish Embassy in Vietnam on Oct. 5.

The programme will help raise the local experts’ capability in making plan on sustainable development in developing local socio-economic plan.

On Oct. 4, a 15.4 million USD project to improve urban environment in the central province of Quang Ngai was launched in Tu Nghia district.

The project is part of a 96 million USD scheme to improve urban environment of the central region, which targets six coastal townships: Thanh Hoa, Ha Tinh, Dong Ha, Lang Co, Quang Nam and Quang Ngai.

It aims to raise the people’s awareness on hygiene, upgrade drainage system and control floods and manage waste water and solid waste.

The project, which is partly funded by the Asia Development Bank (ADB) and the French Development Agency (AFD), will be completed by the end of 2009.-