A programme of cultural exchanges to promote Vietnam’s image will be held in France on December 14 by the Vietnamese Embassy and the Vietnam Administration of Tourism (VAT).

Artist natives of Da Lat will gather together for a first of its kind tribute to their native place at the Dong Dao club in District 3, HCM City on December 13.

Six leading designers of Vietnam’s two premier fashion companies, Viet Tien and Viet Thang, and 16 freelance designers will take part in Vietnam Fashion Week Spring-Summer 2010 in HCM City on December 11-12.

 “21 And A Wakeup” written and directed by ex-Marine Chris McIntyre, who served during the height of the Vietnam War was screened in Washington, the US on December 8.

A book exhibition is being held in the Institute for Cultural Exchange with France (IDECAF) in HCM City from December 7-12 to honour the culture of reading.

Around 20 standard hotels in Da Lat city in the central highland province of Lam Dong have registered for a promotional programme entitled “Da Lat-Lam Dong Impression 2009”.  

The 16th Vietnam Film Festival opened at the White Palace Convention Centre in Ho Chi Minh City on December 8.

The UK Film Week will start in Hanoi on December 11 with “Looking for Eric”, a comedy by director Ken Loach.

A well-known Norwegian historian, Stein Tonnesson, who has spent more than 30 years of his life studying Vietnam, has launched a book titled “Vietnam 1946: How the war began”. 

The Japanese Business Association in HCM City (JBAH), in collaboration with the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren), awarded 90 scholarships to disadvantaged university students in the city. 

The Mekong Delta city of Can Tho is building up a file on Dan ca tai tu Nam bo (Southern amateur music) to be submitted to UNESCO for recognition as an intangible cultural heritage, said a provincial official. 

A former winner of the Russian Tchaikovsky Prize, violinist Bui Cong Duy, performed with top Vietnamese and the Republic of Korea’s musicians at the Ho Chi Minh City Opera House on December 5 to raise money for storm victims. 

Vietnamese stage art troupes nationwide have closely followed the policies of the Party and State and the practices of the renovation process, reflecting honestly the fight against corruption, bureaucracy and degeneration among cadres.

The Vietnamese film “When Autumn Sunlight Comes” (Khi Nang Thu Ve), directed by Bui Trung Hai, will be screened at the Third Eye Asian Film Festival in Mumbai, India, on December 4-10.

Vietnamese male model Vinh Thuy, who took the Silver Prize at the Vietnam Supermodel 2009 contest, departed for Taiwan on December 8 to take part in Mr International 2009.

Vietnam will commemorate the 701st anniversary of the attainment of Nirvana of King-Monk Tran Nhan Tong, the founder of Vietnamese Zen Buddhism, on December 16. 

More than 60 scientists have joined their Vietnamese colleagues to tour a number of archaeological sites in the north-central province of Thanh Hoa. 

Over 40 black and white paintings by Vietnamese painter Hoang Minh Phuc are on show for the first time in Paris, France.  

Germany’s award-winning Signum string quartet will perform in Hanoi on December 8.

Ho Chi Minh City’s gastronomes were pampered last week at the Fourth Taste of the World Festival which ended on December 6 at September 23 Park.  

Otoza Group, a well-known Japanese art troupe, will perform on the wadaiko drum at HCM City’s Opera House on Friday to bring the curtain down on the Japanese Cultural Month in the city and the Mekong-Japan Exchange Year.

Kim Hoa Barutaut, a girl of Vietnamese origin, qualified for the final round of this year’s Miss France beauty pageant.

The seventh congress of the Vietnam Theatrical Artists’ Association (VTAA) will take place at the Opera House in Hanoi from December 7-9 with the participation of 502 association members and many other artists throughout the country.

The first student music festival ended in Hanoi on Dec. 5. It highlighed the best art performances selected by music lovers via SMS message and the website http://www.lienhoanamnhac.com.

Various activities in will be held in Hanoi from Dec. 11-14 to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Ha Long Bay’s recognition as the world natural heritage (Dec. 7).

Professors from Colorado State University (CSU) will have lectures at the Foreign Trade University (FTU) in Hanoi this month under a bilateral cooperation framework.

More than 40 works by Vietnam’s wood carving artist Hoang Minh Phuc, are being displayed at the Vietnam Cultural Centre in France from December 4.  

Anyone in Hanoi who has a dream to travel to the Milky Way can have it partly come true as they can see by their eyes true photos of the galaxy at a scientific exhibition opened in the capital city on December 3. 

Flower arrangements by Eikou Sumara, one of Japan ’s top artisans, will be on display alongside works of 10 local artists at the second Ikebana Festival that will open at Van Mieu Quoc Tu Giam ( Temple of Literature ) in Hanoi on December 5. 

An Austrian duo will make their debut in Hanoi on November 3.