The photo that never existed and the journey to preserve memories with technology

Amidst the wounds that have not yet healed after the historic flash flood in September 2024 in Lao Cai, a small miracle happened, not from the hands of doctors or rescue teams, but from technology and people with a heart to share.

One of the survivors of the historic flash flood in September 2024 in Lao Cai received a family photo that never existed but has been successfully restored.

That story is told emotionally in the video “Technology from the heart soothes the pain of natural disasters”, the work won third prize at the “Technology from the heart 2025” Photo and Video Award, jointly organized by Vietnam News Agency and the Military Industry-Telecoms Group ( Viettel ).

The video recounts the journey of the Skyline group - young people in the project "Storm-proof photos" when they volunteered to restore "never-existing" photos for families that were no longer intact in Lang Nu, Lao Cai province, the place that suffered the most damage after the flash flood in September 2024.

Amidst the devastation and grief, technology becomes the thread connecting the past and the present, helping those left behind preserve the memories of their loved ones.

One evening, the Skyline group received a message from Nguyen Van Hanh, a young man who lost his family in the flash flood in Lang Nu: “I want you to take a photo of both my father and mother as a souvenir.” That simple message made the whole group silent because they understood that what Hanh was looking for was not just a photo, but a part of the memory, of the lost love.

From old photos, blurry videos and relatives' stories, the technical team meticulously recreated the image of Hanh's parents, combining them into the same frame to create a photo that "never existed in real life".

Young people admire some of the typical works selected for display at Tao Dan Flower Garden (Hanoi) from October 23 to November 2 within the framework of the "Technology from the Heart 2025" Photo and Video Award.

Phung Quang Trung, representative of Skyline group, shared: “Hanh’s message that ‘I want my parents to still be like in this photo’ touched our hearts. For Hanh, it is not just a photo, but a part of memory. We understand that technology is not only to create miracles, but also to soothe pain, to connect hurting people.”

The story in the video is not only touching because of the loss and determination, but also because of the way young people use technology to share and heal. That spirit - "technology for people" - is also what the Technology from the Heart contest wants to spread: to evoke beautiful stories where technology touches life, bringing love and hope.

If in the past, technology was often mentioned with macro-scale applications - smart factories, 5G networks, digital cities - then through projects like "Storm-proof images", technology is returning closer than ever: listening, understanding and healing.

Stepping out of the framework of a competition, “Technology from the Heart” organized by Vietnam News Agency in collaboration with Viettel Group, is an affirmation that technology is not only a technical achievement, but also a tool of humanity. This is the journey that Viettel and many Vietnamese technology organizations are persistently pursuing - bringing digital transformation associated with human values, so that “no one is left behind” when the country enters the digital age.

“Technology from the heart to soothe the pain of natural disasters” is one of 63 typical works selected to be displayed at Tao Dan Flower Garden (Hanoi) from October 23 to November 2.

There, each photo, each frame is a story about faith, about humanity and about the technological journey that is day by day continuing to write the dream of Vietnam - where development is closely linked with humanity.

Mr. Tuan

Source: https://nhandan.vn/buc-anh-chua-tung-ton-tai-va-hanh-trinh-niu-giu-ky-uc-bang-cong-nghe-post918430.html