Vietnam-Laos Friendship Singing Festival: Music connects the hearts of two nations

From a music competition, the Vietnam-Laos Friendship Singing Festival has become a spiritual food, a cultural bridge, a friendship bridge tightening the solidarity of the two countries.

Everywhere echoes the song of Vietnam - Laos friendship

Since 2015, the Vietnam-Laos Friendship Association of Thai Nguyen province has coordinated with Thai Nguyen University of Education to organize the Vietnam-Laos Friendship Singing Festival. Since then, the program has been held every two years to create opportunities for more than 1,000 Lao students studying in Thai Nguyen to have the opportunity to exchange culture and arts with Vietnamese students and members of the Vietnam-Laos Friendship Association of Thai Nguyen province. In Dong Nai , the Vietnam-Laos Friendship Association of Dong Nai province has organized the "Vietnam-Laos Friendship Singing Festival" four times. The activity also allows members and Lao students in Dong Nai to connect and foster the friendly relationship between the two countries. "The festival is organized to promote the Vietnam - Laos friendship to the people of the two countries, especially the young generation. At the same time, it creates opportunities to connect branches and members of the association to enhance the cultural and artistic spirit of the association members. Songs about Vietnam - Laos friendship and Lam Vong dances by the members further enhance the solidarity between Dong Nai province and Laos," said Vice President of the Vietnam - Laos Friendship Association of Dong Nai province Dinh Xuan Huyen, Head of the Festival Organizing Committee.

“Vietnam-Laos Friendship Song Festival” in Dong Nai. Photo: Doan Ket

The festivals all took place in a sincere, open atmosphere, imbued with solidarity and friendship. The unique singing, dancing and music performances, performed in Vietnamese and Lao; with colorful costumes of the Vietnamese and Lao ethnic groups, created a vivid cultural picture of solidarity and friendship, praising the homeland, the country, the Party, the beloved Leader, the great friendship, special solidarity, and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Laos . Not only stopping at competitions organized by agencies and ministries, in Vietnam, many individuals also composed on this topic based on personal feelings. After the success of the MV Vientiane Girl, singer Tuan Ngoc will continue to compose a number of songs and MVs for young people in 2023 - 2024, aiming to further strengthen the special relationship between Vietnam and Laos, through a music project called "Samakhi" (Solidarity). With the music project “Samakhi”, Tuan Ngoc said, it is expected that young singers who are loved by audiences of both countries will participate in the performance. “When I went to exchange and perform in Laos, I met young people there, many of whom knew the song Co gai Vieng Chan and everyone sent words of encouragement and hoped that I would compose more songs about the love between Vietnam and Laos. From then on, I nurtured the idea of ​​writing songs with lyrics to strengthen the relationship between the two countries. If in the song Co gai Vieng Chan people hear the lyrics “Sabaidee” which means hello, but I want to emphasize more like “Samakhi” which means solidarity, connection to spread friendship more widely”, singer Tuan Ngoc shared. Tuan Ngoc said that the music video project “Samakhi” with songs with cheerful and meaningful melodies, which can be sung anytime, combined with lyrics expressing the special relationship between Vietnam and Laos, will help young people easily access. Because in the future, the young generation will be the ones to continue to preserve the solidarity and friendship between the people of the two countries.

The 4th Vietnam - Laos Friendship Singing Festival in Thai Nguyen province, 2022. Photo: Dinh Son

Laos: wide response

In 2017, the Lao Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism organized the final round of the songwriting contest praising Laos-Vietnam solidarity. The contest received a wide response from all walks of life in Laos. Many professional and non-professional musicians participated, many authors even composed songs for the first time, some musicians even performed their own songs. The songwriting contest about Laos-Vietnam relations received a wide response from all walks of life in Laos, many non-professional musicians participated or composed songs for the first time, some musicians even performed their own songs. The 100 entries showed the diversity in songs composed by Lao musicians such as praising the tradition of mutual assistance between the people of the two countries from the past to the present; sharing sacrifices for each other in the struggle for national independence, fighting against the common enemy, always standing side by side to build the country to be more and more beautiful, prosperous, and prosperous, to the deep feelings of friendship as well as love between couples. In recent times, the Central Propaganda Department of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party has directed branches from the central to local levels, especially districts along the border with Vietnam, to carry out propaganda and ideological and culturaleducation activities to strengthen solidarity with the Vietnamese people, together building a border between the two countries that is peaceful, united, friendly, safe, and develops together, with the highlight being the widespread cultural and artistic movement. Ms. Phiulavan Luangvanna, Vice President of the Lao Writers Association, said that the organization of the national literary competition on Laos-Vietnam friendship helps build a nationwide literary movement in looking back at the tradition of special friendship and solidarity between Laos and Vietnam, a decisive factor in the victory of the Lao-Vietnamese revolution in the struggle for national liberation, as well as in the current construction and development of the two countries. This is also an activity that contributes to educating civil servants, armed forces and people nationwide, especially the young generation, to deeply understand and continue to protect and strengthen the tradition of friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between Laos and Vietnam and continue to firmly and permanently preserve this revolutionary achievement.