“Vietnamese spaces”

The Vietnamese community abroad is actively organizing many activities towards two main contents: Celebrating the 135th anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh's birthday and celebrating International Children's Day on June 1.

One of the purposes of the “Homeland Vietnam” painting contest is to foster a bridge of love and allow children to live in a space imbued with Vietnamese culture, even though they are far from home. The contest received support and sponsorship from organizations such as the Vietnamese Consulate General in Osaka, the Vietnamese Association in Sakai... and many individuals in the community who sent gifts and gave love and encouragement to children on the occasion of the upcoming International Children's Day (June 1).

And from here, innocent, pure, lovely paintings were born, at the same time creating surprising emotions for the parents of the "little artists". At this contest, contestant Vu Duc An (9 years old) received 3rd prize with the painting "Tank 390 crashed into the gate of the Independence Palace".

Vu Duc An, 9 years old (in Osaka, Japan) with the drawing "Tank 390 crashes into the gate of the Independence Palace". Photo: NVCC

Ms. Bui Hang Nguyet, a Vietnamese teacher at the Japan - Vietnam Support Association (NPO), mother of Vu Duc An, said: “The whole family was surprised by the idea and choice of topic of the child. But remembering when the child was still in the cradle, his grandfather - who was a soldier in the Dien Bien Phu campaign, came to Japan to visit him and sang him songs like Tien ve Sai Gon, Nam em tren mot tou tan... When An was 5 years old, his mother took him to Ho Chi Minh City to visit the Independence Palace. Thinking back, I find it even more interesting that he remembered and was very aware of his homeland and roots through that painting.”

Who loves Uncle Ho Chi Minh more than teenagers and children? Just like the lyrics, on the occasion of the 135th anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh's birthday, his thoughts on peace , independence, freedom and happiness are not only the main content of seminars and talks abroad but are also consciously included in the content of lectures for students by Vietnamese language teachers abroad.

In Italy, Ms. Le Thi Bich Huong - a Vietnamese language lecturer (Department of Southeast Asian Studies, Faculty of Asian and North African Studies, Ca'Foscari University of Venezia) is often invited to translate documents for seminars on Ho Chi Minh. She confided: "I just lectured my students at Ca'Foscari University about Uncle Ho, his life and career. About 110 students at the University of Torino also heard me introduce him."

Meanwhile, in the Czech Republic, at the end of April, Ms. Nguyen Thi Man (Karlovy Vary Vietnamese Center) spent a lot of time and effort preparing a special lesson for senior students: The historic victory of the Vietnamese people on April 30, 1975. This weekend, near Uncle Ho's birthday, Ms. Man spent time teaching about Uncle Ho and letting her children draw pictures of him.

“I chose some typical verses from the poem “The Man Who Searched for the Shape of the Country” so that the students could visualize the revolutionary path that Uncle Ho had taken, and chose the poem “Visiting Uncle Ho’s Mausoleum” so that the students could understand how deep the Vietnamese people’s feelings for him were.” Ms. Man also said that in the contest “Vietnamese Tet in Me” organized by the Union of Vietnamese Women in Europe (the award ceremony will take place in the Czech Republic on June 8, 2025), the Karlovy Vary Vietnamese Center had two students, Le Thi Huyen Trang and Le Thi Thuy Duong, who both won prizes in the painting category.

LAM VAN

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/nhung-khong-gian-dam-chat-viet-post795725.html