Communities Abroad Share Vietnamese Culture with Their International Peers

Speaker of the House of Representatives of Malta Anglu Farrugia speaks at the event. Source: Association of Vietnamese in Malta

A cultural event entitled “Rendezvous with Vietnam in Malta” was held recently in Valletta city, Malta, on the occasion of the 77th National Day of Vietnam (September 2), VNA reported.

The event, which was organised by the newly-established Association of Vietnamese in Malta, aimed to introduce and enhance understanding of the Southeast Asian country.

Addressing the ceremony, Nguyen Hoai Nam, chairman of the association, said the event is a festival for the Vietnamese community in Malta and also a chance to popularise the Vietnamese culture to the host country.

Speaker of the House of Representatives of Malta Anglu Farrugia emphasised the significance of the event in promoting the understanding of Vietnam in Malta, especially when it is held at the same time as the Sleepless Night Festival (Notte Bianca) in Valletta city.

The selected title “Rendez-vous with Vietnam in Malta” is quiet suited towards the objective that the exhibition intends to reach, that is, to promote and enhance understanding on Vietnam in Malta, he said. “I trust the exhibition will achieve its aim both because of the variety of Vietnamese life they depict and also because of the large number of people who will be viewing and admiring these beautiful images when Parliament during tonight’s Notte Bianca event.”

Visitors to the event had the opportunity to get an insight into the culture and arts of Vietnam through unique photographic works that vividly depict the landscape and life of the country and its people well as enjoy the traditional cuisines.

A representative of Vietnamese Embassy in Italy and Malta hands over a congratulatory letter from Deputy Foreign Minister Pham Quang Hieu to Nguyen Hoai Nam (right), president of the Association of Vietnamese in Malta.

The event is a festival of the Vietnamese community far from their homeland and also an opportunity for the community to promote the unique culture of Vietnam to local and international friends.

The Association of Vietnamese in Malta was established in August this year with the goal of uniting the Vietnamese community in the country and preserving and promoting Vietnam’s traditional culture.

The success of the event is expected to create a foundation for the association to organise other cultural exchange activities in the coming time.

The island-country Malta uses English as its major language and its strength is tourism, training and education.

Vietnam and Malta officially set up diplomatic ties in 1974. The number of Vietnamese in Malta is increasing, as the European country boasts potential for investment, employment and learning.

Visitors at the exhibition. Photo: VNA

Meanwhile, Vietnam’s strong developments as well as its aspiration for sustainable environment have been captured in paintings displayed in Paris’s outskirts city of Accueil.

The exhibition that opened on October 1 is the initiative of Aurore – a non-profit organisation based in France, and the Vietnamese-origin French people’s movement (MCFV), aiming to enhance cultural exchange between the two countries.

If the young French-Vietnamese painter Hiron Phoenix brings to the exhibition his lacquer work, which he is proud to have learned from his Vietnamese colleagues, the older artist Christian Lemoine introduces his signature paintings, showing a developing Vietnam “strongly and vividly”, the impression he kept after his trips to the country.

For young Nguyen Tuan Dat, the exhibition is an opportunity for the former student of this Vietnam Fine Arts School to introduce to the French public dear images of Vietnamese villages, which are gradually disappearing due to the rapid industrial and urban development.

As for painter Le Anh Quan, although he could not come to the exhibition, he still sent paintings that he created from waste materials with the message for a good world, people need to reduce waste and increase the use of environmentally friendly recycled materials.

Aurore Chairwoman Tran Thu Dung said the four-day event features nearly 30 works by eight painters of different ages, which carry the message of environmental protection.

Within the framework of the exhibition, there were a martial arts performance and other art performances, helping French friends and overseas Vietnamese understand more about Vietnam’s culture.