Pioneers of Vietnam-France relations commemorated
A workshop was held in Montpellier City, France, on March 20 to posthumously honour those who made outstanding contributions to Vietnam-France relations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Among them were French linguist Alexandre Rhodes, translator Nguyen Van Vinh, French doctor and explorer Alexandre Yersin and Indochinese general governor Paul Doumer.
French and foreign scholars delivered reports acknowledging Alexandre Rhodes’s efforts to disseminate the Roman alphabet across Vietnam, and Nguyen Van Vinh’s efforts to translate well-known French literature into Vietnamese.
They commemorated doctor Yersin for his devotion to Vietnamese medicine and the founding of the tourist resort city of Da Lat. They also honoured governor Paul Doumer who developed the French-style architecture in Vietnam, especially in Hanoi.
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The large quilt made by French volunteers will be transported to Vietnam |
The event organiser - the Association of Da Lat’s Friends in the Footprints of Dr Yersin (AD@IY) - displayed a large woollen quilt made by French volunteers over two years. The quilt will be transported to Vietnam and connected to another made by the residents of Da Lat in October 2010 to mark capital Hanoi’s 1,000th anniversary.
The final-product will then be auctioned to raise funds for Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin.
Established in 1994, AD@IY gathers Vietnamese nationals and French friends who love Vietnam. It aims to promote cooperation in culture, education and science-technology between France and Vietnam, and particularly between Da Lat and Montpellier.