13th Southeast Asian School Games: Connecting and Shining Together

On May 22, the announcement ceremony of the 13th Southeast Asian School Sports Festival took place in Hanoi. The festival will officially take place from May 29 to June 9, in Da Nang city.

Introducing the official uniform of the 13th Southeast Asian School Games.

Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Thi Kim Chi - Head of the Organizing Committee of the Congress affirmed that the Congress is the largest school sports event in the region, receiving great attention from the Governments and people of ASEAN countries. Organizing the Congress is both the right, obligation and responsibility of member countries; it is an opportunity to comprehensively assess the current status of physical education and school sports activities of countries in the region.

The 13th Southeast Asian School Sports Festival held in Vietnam is not only of great significance for the development of education and sports but also has political , diplomatic, cultural and tourism significance, contributing to strengthening solidarity, friendship and understanding between the Vietnamese people and ASEAN countries. At the same time, the Congress contributes to promoting and introducing cultural values, the image of a safe, friendly, hospitable, integrated and developed Vietnam to countries in the region and internationally.

Along with the competition activities, the Congress aims to enhance exchanges and integration among countries in the region through diverse experiential activities and seminars to discuss and research to promote school sports movements and develop physical fitness for Southeast Asian students.

In addition, being held in the summer - the most beautiful time of the year in Da Nang (a famous tourist city in Vietnam), the sporting event promises to attract a large number of domestic and international tourists and local people to watch and cheer; thereby, contributing to promoting the image of the country, people, cultural identity and tourism of Vietnam to international friends.

According to information from the Organizing Committee, the Games will have the participation of over 1,300 athletes and coaches from sports delegations of 10 countries: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and host Vietnam. Athletes will compete in 6 sports: Swimming, athletics, badminton, basketball, pencak silat, vovinam with a total of 107 events.

With the message "Connect to shine bright", the 13th Southeast Asian Student Sports Festival is not only a place to honor sports talents but also promotes the connection of students from countries in the region, uniting for a young generation of Southeast Asian integration and development.

The mascot of the Congress is the red-shanked douc langur, a rare animal in the Vietnam Red Book, classified as “endangered” by the World Conservation Organization as well as Vietnam. Through the image of this mascot, the Congress also conveys the message of environmental protection to each student in particular and the community in general.

On this occasion, the sports delegations will also witness the 12th Da Nang International Fireworks Festival. The festival is expected to open on the evening of June 8 with the participation of 8 fireworks teams including 7 international teams (France, Italy, USA, Germany, Finland, Poland, China) and the host team Da Nang - Vietnam.

Previously, on December 28, 2022, the Prime Minister signed Decision 1640/QD-TTg on hosting the 13th ASEAN Schools Games (ASG) in Vietnam. The Ministry of Education and Training and the People's Committee of Da Nang City will coordinate with relevant ministries, departments, branches and units to preside over and organize the Games.

First held in 2009, the Southeast Asian School Games is the largest sports festival for secondary school students in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). It promotes solidarity among ASEAN countries through school sports activities, creating opportunities for athletes to compete and exchange experiences to improve the quality of physical education and sportsmanship.

According to (Vietnam News Agency)

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