Dear Vietnamese Bookshelf serving the community in Thailand

On the occasion of the 135th anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh's birthday (May 19, 1890 - May 19, 2025), on the afternoon of May 18, the launching ceremony of the Vietnamese Bookshelf for the community was held at Khanh An Primary Vietnamese School, located in Vietnam Town, Udon Thani province, Northeast Thailand.

The event was organized by the Consulate General of Vietnam in Khon Kaen, the VietnamEducation Publishing House and the Vietnamese Association of Udon Thani Province.

Speaking at the ceremony, Vietnamese Consul General in Khon Kaen Dinh Hoang Linh said the inauguration ceremony of the Vietnamese Bookshelf for the community is an event of practical and profound significance in preserving and spreading the Vietnamese language in the Vietnamese community in Thailand.

Emphasizing that language is the source of culture, the bridge between generations and also the strong bond between overseas Vietnamese and their homeland and country, the Consul General affirmed that maintaining and developing the Vietnamese language in the overseas Vietnamese community, especially among the young generation, is becoming more important and urgent in the context of deep international integration.

Consul General Dinh Hoang Linh said that bringing the Vietnamese Bookshelf to serve the community is the result of dedicated cooperation between the Vietnamese Consulate General in Khon Kaen and the Vietnam Education Publishing House.

The donated books not only have educational value but are also imbued with patriotism, contributing to fostering love for the Vietnamese language, love for Uncle Ho and national pride in each child.

Delegates cut the ribbon to inaugurate the Vietnamese bookshelf serving the community in Udon Thani province. (Photo: Huy Tien/VNA)

With the Vietnamese Bookshelf serving the community, Khanh An School will have more provisions, more books and newspapers to teach overseas Vietnamese students, and overseas Vietnamese will have more materials to learn Vietnamese better in the future.

Consul General Dinh Hoang Linh respectfully thanks the Vietnam Education Publishing House for its valuable companionship and support in donating books and developing the Vietnamese Bookcase to serve the community in Thailand, and acknowledges and praises the silent but extremely great contributions of the Board of Directors, teachers of Khanh An School and overseas Vietnamese in the cause of preserving the Vietnamese language for future generations.

On behalf of the Vietnam Education Publishing House, Associate Professor - Doctor Nguyen Van Tung, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Vietnam Education Publishing House, was moved to say that in the sacred atmosphere of the 135th anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh's birthday, the Vietnam Education Publishing House was extremely honored and proud to be present here to present the Vietnamese Bookcase for the community, a meaningful gift of knowledge to the Vietnamese community in Udon Thani province, a place not only associated with Uncle Ho's revolutionary activities nearly a century ago.

For the Vietnamese community in Thailand, a community rich in patriotic traditions and a history of deep attachment to their homeland, preserving, maintaining and promoting the beauty of the Vietnamese language has a profound and sacred meaning.

Affirming that President Ho Chi Minh during his revolutionary activities in Thailand always had in mind the need to maintain and develop the nation's language and writing, Associate Professor - Doctor Nguyen Van Tung said that the donation of the Vietnamese Bookcase for the Community by the Vietnam Education Publishing House today is not only a material activity, but more deeply, an act imbued with cultural, educational and national spiritual values, contributing to realizing Uncle Ho's wish. The Vietnam Education Publishing House hopes that the Vietnamese Bookcase will accompany teachers and students on the path of teaching and learning Vietnamese, contributing to preserving the identity and culture of the nation in the Vietnamese community abroad.

Associate Professor, Doctor Nguyen Van Tung - Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Vietnam Education Publishing House affirmed that the bookcase contributes to preserving the identity and culture of the Vietnamese people abroad. (Photo: Huy Tien/VNA)

Mr. Luong Xuan Hoa, Chairman of the Vietnamese Association of Udon Thani Province, on behalf of overseas Vietnamese, thanked the precious gift of knowledge from the homeland that helped equip overseas Vietnamese and students with a lot of knowledge.

He said the Association and the school will use the bookcase effectively and add some more books to serve the community.

Mr. Hoa said: “As far as we know, nearly 100 years ago, President Ho Chi Minh was the first person to open a Vietnamese language school in Udon Thani province. Vietnamese expatriates in Thailand today are still descendants of Lac Hong, Vietnamese blood still flows in their hearts.

We pledge to preserve and develop the Vietnamese language in Udon Thani province in particular and the Northeastern provinces of Thailand in general.”

Nguyen Thi Thanh Huong, principal of Khanh An Primary Vietnamese School, said that language is an extremely ancient and precious asset of the Vietnamese people, so the school always tries to preserve and value the Vietnamese language, making it more and more popular.

Besides, Vietnamese is also a means of preserving and transmitting culture, helping overseas Vietnamese preserve their own cultural identity, helping them affirm themselves and also serving as a bridge between overseas Vietnamese and the Fatherland.

Ms. Thanh Huong shared: “To fulfill Uncle Ho’s wishes, our overseas Vietnamese in Udon province will launch a movement to speak Vietnamese in the Vietnamese community. Specifically, grandparents and parents speak Vietnamese at home, as well as when communicating with their children and grandchildren, to pass on Vietnamese to future generations.”

Launching the Vietnamese Bookshelf in Udon Thani called the Vietnamese Bookshelf serving the community, Vietnam Education Publishing House has painstakingly selected more than 600 publications with rich and diverse content, suitable for many ages and levels.

A corner of the bookshelf at Khanh An Primary Vietnamese School. (Photo: Huy Tien/VNA)

From colorful picture books for children who are just getting acquainted with their mother tongue, to useful textbooks and reference books for students studying at Vietnamese language schools in Thailand.

The Vietnamese Bookshelf Initiative of the Vietnam Education Publishing House and the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese is an important project in developing a reading culture and improving the ability to use Vietnamese in the overseas Vietnamese community.

Since 2023, the Vietnamese Bookcase has been donated to the Vietnamese community abroad in a number of countries and territories such as Fukuoka (Japan), Budapest (Hungary), Taiwan (China), Paris (France), New Caledonia (France), Prague and Brno (Czech Republic), Melbourne (Australia), Vientiane (Laos) and most recently Minsk (Belarus).

The Vietnamese Bookcases awarded are a combination of many genres of books and documents to meet the diverse needs of the overseas Vietnamese community. In 2024, the Vietnamese Bookcase initiative won Second Prize at the 10th National Foreign Information Award.

Also on the occasion of the ceremony, delegates and overseas Vietnamese enjoyed performances praising Uncle Ho performed by teachers and students of Khanh An Primary Vietnamese School./.

(Vietnam News Agency/Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/than-thuong-tu-sach-tieng-viet-phuc-vu-cong-dong-tai-thai-lan-post1039271.vnp