The foundation's chaiman Đào Minh Quang performs at the scholarship ceremony in VNAM. VNS Photo Nguyễn Bình

The Đào Minh Quang Scholarship ceremony took place at the Việt Nam National Academy of Music (VNAM) on September 14 to award talented young students. Attending the ceremony were outstanding students, the VNAM management board, representatives from Vietnamese and German organisations and Dr Đào Minh Quang, chairman of Đào Minh Quang Foundation.

Việt Nam News reporter Nguyễn Bình speaks with Quang about the foundation, which has made efforts to promote culture and music cooperation between Việt Nam and Germany.

Đào Minh Quang Foundation was established in 2016 in Germany, and it has granted scholarships to Vietnamese students since then. Could you tell us about the foundation?

I established the foundation to pay tribute to my parent, family, teachers, friends, and people of Việt Nam and Germany. All of them help me gain valuable knowledge and experience and know that knowledge is power.

Therefore, I want to teach young people these values to change their lives. I believe that nothing is impossible.

The foundation aims to promote development cooperation between Việt Nam and Germany in education, vocational training, music, culture and start-up.

The foundation has granted scholarships and support to outstanding students from VNAM, International Francophone Institute, University of Social Sciences and Humanities and the University of Science.

The foundation also sponsors concerts in Germany and Việt Nam.

The foundation has held one concert entitled Trở Về Đất Mẹ (Return to The Homeland) in Việt Nam. How did the event go?

The concert was held at Hà Nội Goethe Institute to honour Vietnamese and German traditional music.

The concert was a combination of Vietnamese traditional instruments, such as đàn bầu (monochord), đàn nhị (two-string fiddle), đàn tỳ bà (four-string guitar), đàn tranh (16-string zither) and đàn tam thập lục (36-string zither), with western instruments to perform Vietnamese and German folk music and other popular music pieces.

Return to The Homeland is a piece by Vietnamese composer Nguyễn Văn Thương. This is one of the pieces I love very much because Việt Nam is always in my mind. Moreover, Việt Nam is my first homeland, though Germany, where I live now, is my second.

The concert was held to boost cultural cooperation between Việt Nam and Germany.

Việt Nam and Germany have two different cultures. What do you think about the folk music of the two countries?

They are indeed two different cultures, but music has no boundaries. Folk songs, whether from Germany, Việt Nam or other nations, have been handed down from generation to generation, incorporating each nation's soul, intellect, strength and aspiration.

The foundation encourages folk song preservation and development through young Vietnamese talents.

As well as performing German songs with Vietnamese instruments, the foundation also focuses on translating German folk songs into Vietnamese and combining western and Vietnamese traditional instruments.

Performing and popularising German folk songs and other musical works to Vietnamese audiences is important because Germany is one of the world's great cultural and musical cradles that we should learn from.

Why did you choose music to support?

I have been doing business in Việt Nam. The foundation also grants to start-ups and others which are sustainable.

Promoting music and art is one of the keys that the foundation has supported. I think that art and music also make people build empathy and trust in all human factors.

First of all, education and culture are the foundation for the sustainable development of each person.

Therefore, the foundation and I want to encourage activities in education and music because they play a decisive role in the long term for sustainable development.

I believe that the love for folk music is always hidden deep in our hearts and soul. It is whether we can awaken and develop a love for it or not. VNS