Vietnamese parents and children on Vietnamese Culture Day
In 2023, on the occasion of the publication of both my novels The Mountains Sing and Dust Child in Swedish, I visited this country to present at the Gothenburg book fair, and then attended the Vietnamese Cultural Day in Stockholm.
There, I met Hien Ekeroth - a woman who diligently spreads Vietnamese books and culture here.
After meeting in Stockholm, from last year until now, Hien Ekeroth continues to work hard on that path.
I have found that many times children find inspiration and develop a love for their mother tongue by finding themselves in a book written in their mother tongue and being proud that the book carries their cultural identity.
Ekeroth
4 Vietnamese works in Sweden
* Hi Hien, congratulations on the Peter Pan Silver Star Award for the translation of Wild Chang - Bear by author Trang Nguyen and artist Jeet Zdung, which you translated and published. What made you choose to translate and publish this book in Sweden?
- A week after receiving the award announcement, I am still happy and surprised. Peter Pan is an award organized by the International Board for Books for Young People in Sweden (IBBY Sweden) to honor works translated into Swedish.
In the 24-year history of the award, only one Vietnamese work has ever received the award ( Opening the Window While Closing My Eyes by Nguyen Ngoc Thuan, 2008).
This year I am happy because Vietnam has a remarkable presence: in addition to Chang Wild - Bear by author Trang Nguyen & artist Jeet Zdung receiving the silver star award, the highest award belongs to the book by author Thrity Umrigar illustrated by Vietnamese artist Khoa Le.
The idea of translating and publishing the book Wild Chang - Bear started from an article about the author Trang Nguyen.
I was curious so I bought the book to read and was fascinated by the story of Chang - a little girl with a big dream of preserving nature and wildlife.
After learning more about the author, I decided to introduce this book to Swedish readers.
* Graduated from Hanoi Pedagogical University in 2004, then got a master's degree in internationaleducation at Stockholm University, you chose to translate literature very early, you also won the Vietnam Book Award for translating the comic books Pippi Longstocking, Little Emil and Southern Grassland by author Astrid Lindgren in 2013. Why did you choose to translate children's literature and not other literary genres?
- I started translating and interpreting to learn and practice English. But in the process of translating, I met and learned a lot from extremely interesting people and emotional stories, so I continue to translate when I can.
The three books by Astrid Lindgren were directly contacted by Kim Dong because they could not find a suitable translator from Swedish in 2012. I am a fan of Astrid Lindgren's books and have just started a new life in Sweden, so I agreed to translate the books after many years of hiatus.
Although she invested in printing the products herself, Hien printed very beautiful hardcover books.
* Despite having a stable job at Karolinska Institutet (Stockholm), you founded Barnens Val Publishing House in 2021 to translate and publish Vietnamese children's literature. It is a difficult path, requiring a lot of time and effort. Do you feel that way when choosing publishing instead of just translating?
- It was difficult but fun so I still chose it, and I have come a long way. I have translated and published four Vietnamese works: Truly Tet by Bui Phuong Tam and Mai Ngo, Wild Chang - Bear by Trang Nguyen and Jeet Zdung, What is Home and What is Tet in the series Baby Asks Mom by Pham Thanh Van and Quyen Thai.
In addition, I have translated and published two more works by American authors - Be Kind and Be Strong by Pat Zietlow Miller and Jen Hill. I am currently translating Wild Chang - Elephant by Trang Nguyen and Jeet Zdung, scheduled to be published in January 2025.
Publishing a book in Sweden is very simple. The biggest difficulties are finance and promotion to make your book known to Swedish readers.
The reading culture and habit of reading with children in Sweden is admirable, but readers here are loyal to their favorite authors and familiar publishers, so it is difficult for a small and new publisher like Barnens Val to publish and introduce authors from Vietnam.
Besides, running a publishing house is no different from running a company, and I only know and like making books, so business was left in limbo.
Hien chose to print the book in Vietnamese with full accents.
Join hands for Vietnamese culture
* You also regularly organize free reading sessions for children in Vietnamese and Swedish at Stockholm public libraries. Do you really want to create a larger space to preserve and promote the Vietnamese language among the young generation of Vietnamese origin living abroad?
- To be honest, at first I convinced the libraries to organize readings in Vietnamese because I was… jealous. The public libraries here regularly organize readings for children in many different languages, but Vietnamese was not available, so I proactively contacted them.
I volunteered to read books so that Swedes would know Vietnamese, so that Vietnamese people would not feel alone, and so that Vietnamese families would take the time to take their children to the library.
Whenever I organize a reading session, I often organize drawing and craft activities to help children develop their creativity and become familiar with art.
Not only reading books, Hien also organizes craft activities for children.
The library here is very nice, convenient, with many good books and interesting activities for all ages. Unfortunately, the number of Vietnamese people borrowing books is small, so the number of Vietnamese books is also small. Luckily, the library will buy any book you request. When the book arrives at the library, they will send you a letter to let you know to come and get it.
* What about the publisher?
- For me, because Vietnamese is so important, I founded Barnens Val Publishing House to bring Vietnamese stories to Sweden.
I hope that young Vietnamese people living abroad, like my daughter, will be exposed to Vietnamese language and culture from many different directions, means and angles.
During my teaching and research projects in schools in Vietnam, Sweden and Korea, I have seen many children find inspiration and develop a love for their mother tongue by finding themselves in a book written in their mother tongue and being proud that the book carries their cultural identity.
* The Vietnamese Cultural Day in Stockholm is a quality event, with the participation of a large number of Vietnamese people and Swedish friends. What do you think needs to be done to organize such days regularly in Sweden and other countries?
- The 2023 Vietnamese Cultural Day held at the Far Eastern Antiquities Museum was truly joyful and memorable. The Far Eastern Antiquities Museum was very excited because the number of visitors to the museum that day was unprecedented.
I was very lucky to connect the three-legged cooperation between the museum, the Vietnamese Association and the Vietnamese Embassy in Sweden to organize the Vietnamese Cultural Day.
The museum provided the location, the embassy set up an exhibition space to introduce Vietnamese culture and organized a lion dance performance, the Vietnam Trade Office in Stockholm was in charge of the fair of Vietnamese business products, and the Vietnamese Association in Stockholm was both the organizing committee and took care of logistics.
This event not only helps spread love for Vietnam but also helps the Vietnamese community connect more closely together.
In 2024, a few friends and I connected with a number of associations and individuals in Sweden, Denmark and Norway to jointly organize Vietnamese Cultural Day in all three countries. This project received partial financial support from the Nordic Culture Point.
Next June, Vietnam Cultural Day will take place in Stockholm, next year in Copenhagen (Denmark) and hopefully in 2026 it will be held in Oslo (Norway).
I hope that more organizations and individuals here and in the country will join hands to spread Vietnamese culture more widely in this Northern European region. Only by working together can culture go far and spread, it is very difficult for just a few individuals to do this.
Whales splashing around
I named my publishing house Barnens Val, because in Swedish, Barnen means child, Val - a homophone, is both a choice and means whale.
My wish is that all children will have the opportunity to choose and develop their full potential to become whales swimming in the vast ocean of life.
Being born and raised between two cultures is an advantage but also a big challenge for children in the process of finding themselves and orienting their future.
Nguyen Vinh Nguyen writes about Yersin through the lens of childrenSource
Comment (0)