Within the framework of the 8th Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Festival (held from March 10-14, 2023), the Buon Don Elephant Festival in Krong Na commune, Buon Don district, was impressively organized in a new format that both honored the beauty of elephants and the traditional cultural values of the ethnic groups in the Central Highlands, and demonstrated the strong commitment of the Dak Lak provincial government to Animals Asia in caring for, protecting, and conserving elephants in a friendly and sustainable manner.
Accordingly, this year's Buon Don Elephant Festival will focus only on friendly activities to celebrate the beauty of elephants, such as elephant grooming contests, elephant beauty contests, elephant greeting contests, elephant buffets, and friendly interactions between elephants and tourists. Activities that are competitive and could potentially harm the elephants' health, such as elephant racing, river crossing competitions, elephant football, tug-of-war, and street parades, as seen in previous festivals, have been cancelled. With this new and meaningful format, Vietnam.vn invites visitors to admire the images of the majestic, healthy, yet adorable, friendly, and approachable elephants of the Central Highlands, thanks to their good care and protection, through the photo series "Buon Don Elephant Festival" by author Pham Dang Khiem. This series was submitted to the "Happy Vietnam" photo and video contest organized by the Ministry of Information and Communications . 
The Buon Don Elephant Festival is one of the activities of the 2023 Traditional Culture Festival of Ethnic Groups in Buon Don District. It is also part of the main activities of the 8th Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Festival. Accordingly, the 2023 Traditional Culture Festival of Ethnic Groups in Buon Don District took place from March 8th to 13th. The Buon Don Elephant Festival, held on March 12th with its novel activities, attracted thousands of visitors.
Among them, the Buon Don Elephant Festival has its own unique characteristics of this region. This year's festival features many new activities, different from previous years. Elephants don't compete in races, swimming, football, or tug-of-war with people, nor do they reenact scenes of hunting wild elephants. Instead, the elephants are dressed up, enjoy a buffet with their favorite dishes, and greet the audience... 
The 2023 Buon Don Elephant Festival features several new aspects, aiming to implement the 5-year Memorandum of Understanding between the Dak Lak Provincial People's Committee and Animals Asia (AAF) on transforming elephant riding tourism into an elephant-friendly tourism model. This will gradually raise community awareness regarding elephant conservation and care. 
Buon Don is considered the capital of elephants due to its long-standing tradition of hunting and taming wild elephants. Therefore, it is also the location of the spectacular Elephant Racing Festival, which celebrates the ingenuity, strength, and skill of those who tame wild elephants. In addition, the festival clearly reflects the unique cultural characteristics of the M'nong people. 
The Elephant Festival featured seven elephants cared for and nurtured in Buon Don district. The 2023 Elephant Festival included activities such as an elephant grooming contest, an elephant buffet, a beautiful elephant photo contest, and elephants greeting and interacting with tourists. The purpose of organizing the Elephant Festival was to conserve and care for the existing elephant herd and develop sustainable ecotourism in the border region. In the beliefs of the Central Highlands people, elephants are considered an important member of the family and hold a significant position in the cultural and spiritual life of the people. Elephants in the Central Highlands help the people pull and carry goods, wood, and heavy items. In 2024, the "Happy Vietnam" photo and video contest will continue to be organized by the Ministry of Information and Communications in coordination with the Vietnam Association of Photographic Artists on the website. https://happy.vietnam.vn is open to all Vietnamese citizens and foreigners aged 15 and above. The competition aims to honor individuals and groups with positive informational products that make practical contributions to promoting a beautiful image of Vietnam to the world. Through this, it helps people at home, overseas Vietnamese, and international friends access authentic images of Vietnam, its people, its achievements in ensuring human rights, and working towards a happy Vietnam. Each competition category (photos and videos) has the following prizes and prize values: – 1 Gold Medal: 70,000,000 VND – 2 Silver Medals: 20,000,000 VND – 3 Bronze Medals: 10,000,000 VND – 10 Consolation Prizes: 5,000,000 VND – 1 Most Voted entry: 5,000,000 VND. Winning authors will be invited by the Organizing Committee to attend the Award Ceremony and Certificate Presentation, broadcast live on Vietnam Television.Vietnam.vn
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