Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on August 30 gave the nod to the establishment of a Vietnam Cultural Centre in France.

Popular Vietnamese pop singer Dan Truong has been hired to promote Dutch tourism in Vietnam.

The authorities in Tra Bong district, central Quang Ngai province has invested more than VND3 billion (US$190,000) in a project to preserve and develop cultural heritage sites of the Kor ethnic group.

As many as 334 young Vietnamese people will be selected to take part in the Japan-East Asia Network of Exchange for Students and Youths (JENESYS) Programme next year.

An art troupe from Ho Chi Minh City is in Vientiane to give performances as part of Ho Chi Minh City Culture Days in Laos from August 28 to September 2.

A group of food enthusiasts from the US, led by a co-founder of Peace Trees Vietnam, are nearly half way through a culinary fact finding tour of the country.

Vietnam has called on the international community to provide more aid for education programmes in the country's disadvantaged and ethnic minority-inhabited regions for the 2007-08 academic year, Deputy Minister of Education and Training Pham Vu Luan announced on August 29.

Beauty contestants on August 28 entered the final sub-contest titled “Miss Beach” in the final round of the Miss Vietnam Global 2007 Contest.

A convoy of vehicles set off in central Da Nang city on August 29 to begin a five-day journey along the East-West Economic Corridor (EWEC) as part of the EWEC Week 2007, with the participation of enterprises within and outside the corridor.

A workshop on how to teach traditional and court music at high schools has been held by the Hue Centre for Monument Conservation.

A US$2.6 million fund raised by several Republic of Korean (RoK) financial groups opened with priority given to Vietnam’s education.

The Cambodian Embassy in Tokyo, Japan held an exchange with the Vietnamese and Lao embassies on August 25.

Young designer Vo Viet Chung’s collection of traditional Vietnamese satin will be on the catwalks early next month on Fashion TV (FTV), an international TV channel.

Malaysia’s Cultural Gastronomy Festival opened in Hanoi on August 23, marking the beginning of Malaysian Week 2007.

All 35 contestants, including 10 from overseas are now in Nha Trang City, South Central Khanh Hoa province for the Miss Vietnam Global 2007 Contest, the organising board said on August 23.

The customs and culture of a period in the Republic of Korea (RoK)’s history as ancient as the Roman Empire in Europe are being brought to life at a photo exhibition in the Korean Culture Centre in Hanoi.

New Vietnamese company, IN, began promotion of their new stores with groups of live “statues” in Ly Thuong Kiet Street on Wednesday.

A collection of over 30 photos by French photographer Nicolas Cornet was exhibited in the German’s city of Freiburg on August 20.

The 98 university graduates who recorded the highest total scores during their undergraduate years at Hanoi universities were honoured at the Temple of Literature - the country’s first university- on August 21.

One of Japan’s most popular entertainers Tokiko Kato, who is also known for her work as a special envoy for the United Nations Environment Programme, will be singing in the capital city of Hanoi on August 22.

Photographer Nguyen Quang from northern Thai Binh province has won a gold medal for his work “Dung De Mat Mau Xanh” (Let’s Keep the Green) at the 32nd Artistic Photo Contest in Ho Chi Minh City.

An official ceremony will be held at Van Mieu (Temple of Literature) in Hanoi on August 21 to honour excellent graduates from universities and colleges in the 2007 academic year.

Art exchange programme has been held in Paris recently between Vietnamese artists and Vietnamese nationals living and studying in France.

Artists from the Hue Royal Art Theatre on August 16 gave a performance of Nha Nhac (Royal Court music) at the 33rd International Folk Music Festival in Belgium.

The 8th national radio broadcasting festival opened in Ha Long City of the north-eastern province of Quang Ninh on August 18 with the participation of nearly 600 officials, reporters, editors and technicians of radio stations across the country.

Japanese folk singer and Special Ambassador of the UN Environmental Programme (UNEP) Tokiko Kato will perform in Hanoi on August 21.

The 2007 Da Lat Flower Festival will take place from December 15-22 with a wider range of activities than the 2005 festival, according to the organising board.

Not far from the Voice of Vietnam office in Ba Trieu St is a string of bookshops selling both fiction and non-fiction from around the world, catering to different tastes of local and foreign residents and visitors.

The central Khanh Hoa provincial People’s Committee and the organizers of the first beauty pageant for Vietnamese worldwide met on August 16 to discuss preparations for the final round of the event.

Jean Francois Proux, director of the Montoire Festival: Vietnam has diverse folk music. Festival Montoire is a good chance for International friends and French people to gain a better understanding of Vietnamese special, unique culture.