Journey of connecting the souls of hundreds of Vietnamese women living abroad

The contest is organized by the Vietnamese Women's Forum in Europe in collaboration with the Vietnam Writers' Association . After receiving entries from March 8 to December 31, 2024, the organizing committee received 182 works (98 essays and 84 poems) from 144 authors from 18 countries: England, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, the United States, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, Morocco, Japan, France, Romania, Czech Republic, Spain, Sweden.

Hành trình kết nối tâm hồn của hàng trăm phụ nữ Việt xa xứ- Ảnh 1. — Author Nguyen Thi Hong An from France was awarded first prize with her work "The Wheel"

The jury of the contest included poet and writer Nguyen Quang Thieu, President of the Vietnam Writers Association; poet Tran Dang Khoa, Vice President of the Vietnam Writers Association; writer and screenwriter Pham Ngoc Tien. A total of 18 works were awarded in both poetry and prose categories, of which the first prize worth 2,000 USD was awarded to the work "Vong Quay" by author Nguyen Thi Hong An from France.

Author Huynh Ngoc Nga - the oldest person in the contest (76 years old) from Italy won second prize with the work "Father's Chessboard".

Hành trình kết nối tâm hồn của hàng trăm phụ nữ Việt xa xứ- Ảnh 2. — Ms. Huynh Ngoc Nga was awarded second prize with her work "Father's Chessboard"

This is the first time a poetry writing contest has been held on the topic of Vietnamese women living abroad. The Vietnamese Women's Forum in Europe organized this special contest with the desire to honor women and at the same time help domestic readers understand more about Vietnamese women living abroad.

Voice of Vietnamese women far from home

At the award ceremony, poet Tran Dang Khoa, Vice President of the Vietnam Writers Association, a member of the jury, said that there were many good and profound articles about the status of women abroad. Women, non-professional writers and poets, but with simple words and poems, completely without any staging or imagination, but quietly and silently put words into their works. The more genuine the entries are, the more touching they become.

Dr. Phan Bich Thien, President of the Vietnamese Women's Forum in Europe, said the contest was successful beyond expectations and had a strong spread. 182 entries were sent by women from 18 countries, not only in Europe but also from the US, Japan, Malaysia, and Morocco.

"More than a literary contest, this is truly a journey of connecting souls - where the hearts of hundreds of women are raised through poetry, through simple yet passionate prose," said Ms. Thien.

Hành trình kết nối tâm hồn của hàng trăm phụ nữ Việt xa xứ- Ảnh 3. — The award ceremony took place at the Senate Chamber, Hungarian Parliament House in Budapest.

"The judges highly appreciated the entries, because they may not be professionally polished in terms of literary and artistic qualities, but they are very touching in terms of authenticity, because they are the stories of each woman's experiences. There are many aspects of living in a foreign land, which women silently go through without us knowing. This contest opens up a new perspective for readers, a new way of looking at, understanding, and sympathizing with the lives of women living in a foreign land," Dr. Thien shared.

According to Ms. Thien, with this contest, the Vietnamese Women's Forum in Europe wants to encourage Vietnamese people abroad to use Vietnamese and write, because writing in Vietnamese is also preserving the mother tongue; cultivating Vietnamese is also preserving the national culture.

The essay and poetry writing contest about Vietnamese women living far away from home became more meaningful when on the evening of June 15, the anthology Hoa Viet noi xuan snow (Writers Association Publishing House) including 50 excellent works of the contest was released.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/hanh-trinh-ket-noi-tam-hon-cua-hang-tram-phu-nu-viet-xa-xu-185250616005223238.htm