As part of a project to develop Vietnamese human resources, 300 pieces of equipment were provided to tourism colleges to serve four types of training, including room service, reception, restaurant operations and food processing.

Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Tran Chien Thang said that the non-refundable provision of equipment to will help tourism schools increase the quantity and quality of human resources, meeting the demands of the tourism sector’s development.

The Vietnamese human resource development project is being implemented with a total investment of EUR12 million with EUR10.8 million contributed by the EC.

The project focuses on strengthening the capacity of the tourism sector, completing a set of standardized tourism skills and training in tourism management.

The photos feature a get-together of women from such ethnic minority groups as the H’Mong, Dao and Nung living in northern Lao Cai and Ha Giang provinces.

The event will take place from September 9-19 at the French Culture Centre (IDECAF), 31 Thai Van Lung St, Dist 1, Ho Chi Minh City.

The memorandum will be a foundation for both countries to increase art and cultural cooperation in the period, including exchanges between concerned agencies and individuals.

Signatories to the memorandum were Vietnam’s Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Tuan Anh, and his Danish counterpart, Carina Christensen.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Minister Hoang Tuan Anh said in recent years, Vietnam has had an opportunity to learn from and hold exchanges with Denmark in the field of culture thanks to cultural support funds and projects financed by the Danish government.

At present, Denmark is funding seven projects in Vietnam which focus on facilitating dialogues between cultural managers and policy makers, promoting literature for children and improving management in the performing arts.

Minister Hoang Tuan Anh requested that Denmark increase assistance to exchange activities aimed at promoting Vietnam’s image and culture in Denmark so as to promote mutual understanding with the Danish people.

He also called for Denmark to vote for Halong Bay as a world nature wonder and for Thang Long Imperial Citadel to become a world cultural heritage site.

The Danish embassy has worked with the Vietnam Fine Arts University, the Tuoi Tre Theatre and concerned agencies under the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to organise various cultural activities throughout the ten-day visit of the Danish Queen.

Prominent among the activities are a street art festival, a Vietnam-Denmark rock concert and an exhibition of a Danish-funded emergency room.

As part of the activities to welcome the Queen’s visit, the Hanoi Writers’ Society, the Kim Dong publishing house and the Danish Writers’ Society on November 2 held an awards ceremony for Vietnamese children’s authors in 2008-2009.

At the ceremony, the organising committee launched a writing competition for children in 2009-2010 period with the theme of “Dialogue with the nature” and kicked off a picture exhibition by Vietnamese and Danish painters.

The journey is part of a six-year (2003-09) project between the Ministry of Culture and Information and the Belgian community of Wallonie-Bruxelles aiming to establish a cultural itinerary for Vietnam.

The project not only helps local people preserve and promote the traditional values of small craft villages, but helps tourists, both domestic and foreign, learn more about making ceramics as well as locals to market their products.

Meeting with local people and authorities, General Director of the Wallonie-Bruxelles International Cooperation Agency Philippe Scunen expressed his pride in being able to contribute to preserving the heritage and increasing the value of ceramic crafts in Vietnam, as well as to the sustainable development of the country.

Earlier the same day, the travellers visited the Phu Lang ceramic village in Bac Ninh Province.

Visitors taking the journey will also visit some of the country’s other well-known ceramic villages, namely Chu Dau and Cay villages in Hai Duong Province, Bat Trang Village, outside of Hanoi, and the ancient pottery kilns in Dong Trieu, Quang Ninh Province.

On the journey tourists will also view ceramic collections at the Vietnam History Museum , the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum in Hanoi, the Hai Duong Museum , and the Duong Xa showroom in Bac Ninh.