So far 252 pieces of work from 63 radio and television stations and 20 Radio the Voice of Vietnam (VOV) bureaux have been submitted, of which 140 have been selected for the final round. The festival is of significance as it coincides with the 85th anniversary of Vietnam’s Revolutionary Press Day (June 21) and the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi.

The annual festival aims to honour outstanding pieces of work by editors and reporters from all over the country. It will provide an excellent opportunity for them to share their experiences and discuss modern information communications technology.

The entries will feature the country’s renewal process in the fields of socio-economics, national security, national and external relations policies and integration trends.

The contestants include reporters and editors from VOV and other provincial and local radio stations. Each station can send maximum of 5 entries which have already been broadcast on VOV or other radio stations from May 1, 2009 to April 30, 2010.

A panel of judges will present 5 gold prizes worth VND10 million each, 20 silver worth VND6 million each, 40 bronze worth VND3 million and 60 consolation prizes worth VND1 million each.

Hoang Minh Nguyet: Vice General Director of Radio the Voice of Vietnam (VOV) said that the new feature about this year’s festival is that mixed programmes can now enter the competition, instead of just radio programmes at grassroots level. Many stations produce such programmes, in addition to reports, interviews, narratives and live broadcasts.

She added that the qualifying rounds were held at three venues – the Long An Radio and Television Station, the Phu Yen Radio Station and the Vinh Phuc Radio and Television Station.

In addition to the main prizes, the judges have liaised with several other organisations, such as the Electricity of Vietnam, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the National Traffic Safety Committee and the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour, to present secondary-prizes.

Ms Nguyet said that the entries for all five genres are an exceptionally high standard, putting a great demand on the jury. Many pieces of work have been made extremely carefully, demonstrating the producers’ enthusiasm. The results will be announced on the evening of June 10.

Journalist Nguyen Toan and his colleague from the Binh Thuan Radio and Television Station listened to entries from 63 other stations and is looking forward to the results. He said that the festival is very useful for radio producers as it provides an excellent opportunity for them to meet and exchange experiences. This is very useful for net-working, he added.

“We sent four pieces of work to the competition, including a radio story, a news and current affairs programme, a mainstream report and a live broadcast programme.

All the radio producers considered the event a special gift as is coincides with Revolutionary Press Day.

On the sidelines of the festival, a number of other activities will take place on June 9, such as seminars on modern information communications technology, live reporting, narrative and drama skills.

The opening ceremony on June 8 and the closing ceremony on June 10 will be broadcast live on VOV1 and VOVTV.