In France , a special programme, "A moment of the homeland," imbuedwith traditional cultural identity, has been held at UNESCO headquartersin Paris with the participation of domestic artists from the BacNinh duet singing troupe and the Mat Troi Moi group.
The event was organised by the Vietnamese Association in France (UGVF)in collaboration with the Vietnamese Embassy, the Vietnamese Students’Association (UEVF), the Vietnamese Youth Association (UJVF) and theVietnam Cultural Centre in France .
Addressingthe opening ceremony, UGVF Vice-President Nguyen Thanh Tong highlightedeffective contributions to the homeland by the Overseas Vietnamesecommunity.
The UGVF has raised 67,000 euro indonations to carry out humanitarian, social and health care activitiesin needy areas in Vietnam .
Apart from continuing theseactivities, the association will participate in the preparation of the"Year of Vietnam" in France to celebrate the 40th anniversary of thetwo countries’ diplomatic ties, an important event for the Vietnamesecommunity in France .
On this occasion, a photo and objectexhibition and an art programme took place at the Vietnam CulturalCentre of Vietnam in France , aiming at presenting the history andpreservation of Vietnamese duet singing.
While in Rome , Italy , the Vietnamese Embassy of Vietnam held a ceremony to celebrate the Lunar New Year.
Vietnamese Ambassador Dang Khanh Thoai thanked the Vietnamesecommunity in Italy for their contributions and help to Vietnam inrecent years, particularly in the development of friendship between thetwo countries.
The Vietnamese community in Japanwelcomed the Year of the Dragon at the “Garden Centre”, house of NgoHung Lam, an Overseas Vietnamese who has succeeded in business in Chibaprefecture, near Tokyo .
The Deputy Mayor ofKisarazu city, Chiba prefecture, spoke highly of the contributions byNgo Hung Lam, who is vice president of the Association of Vietnamese inJapan, to socio-economic development of this city and to friendlyrelations between Japan and Vietnam./.