First external information service awards presented

The first ever National External Information Service Awards 2014 (in the field of press) were presented at the Vietnam News Agency’s headquarters in Hanoi on May 27.
The first ever National External Information Service Awards 2014 (in thefield of press) were presented at the Vietnam News Agency’sheadquarters in Hanoi on May 27.

The awards wereorganised by the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Communicationand Education and the Central Steering Committee for ExternalInformation Services.

The presentation ceremony wasattended by Politburo member and standing member of the Party CentralCommittee’s Secretariat Le Hong Anh; and Politburo member Dinh TheHuynh, who is the Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Chairman ofthe Party Central Committee’s Commission for Communications andEducation, and Head of the Central Steering Committee for ExternalInformation Services. It also saw the presence of officials of somecentral committees, ministries and sectors, key press agencies ofVietnam, and award winners.

From the call fornominations on December 8, 2014 to the closing date of March 31, 2015,515 entries from many Vietnamese and foreign press and media agencieswere submitted.

They included 255 print newspaperentries, 68 online newspaper entries, 14 radio entries, 79 televisionentries and 99 press photo entries.

The entrieswere created in 10 languages: Vietnamese, English, French, Russian,Chinese, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Lao and Bulgarian. Entrants includedjournalists, experts, researchers, Vietnamese expatriates and someforeigners.

Entries for the awards variedconsiderably in categories and content that comprehensively reflectedVietnam’s political, economic, cultural and social life and reviewedimportant events in the region and the world in 2014.

They also introduced the great achievements made in the “Doi moi”(renewal) process and national development and defence; promoted imagesof Vietnamese land, culture, and people to the world; communicated theParty’s guidelines and the State’s policies and laws; and refutedfabricated information and distorted arguments on Vietnam, especiallyregarding important and sensitive issues as well as emerging issues ofpublic concern such as sea and island sovereignty, borders andterritory, ethnic and religious affairs, democracy and human rights.

After the preliminary and final judgment rounds, 59 entries wereselected for the first, second and third place awards as well asconsolation prizes in five categories: print newspaper, onlinenewspaper, radio broadcasting, television broadcasting and press photo.

In total, there were five first prize winners, 10second prize winners, 13 third prize winners, and 31 consolation prizeholders.

Speaking at the award presentationceremony, Dinh The Huynh congratulated the individual and group prizewinners and affirmed that the National External Information ServiceAwards 2014 was a success.

He stressed that atpresent, external information services are benefitting from numerous newopportunities while also facing an array of challenges.

He said agencies working on external information services need tounderstand the importance of their work, regularly renovate and improvethe efficiency of services offered and continue implementing theStrategy for the development of external information services in the2011-2020 period of the Political Bureau so as to help promote Vietnam’sprestige and win over the assistance of the international community andoverseas Vietnamese communities, thus creating favourable conditionsfor the cause of national development and defence.

Outstanding works among the winning entries will be chosen to print and publish in several languages.-VNA

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