General Director of the Vietnam News Agency Vũ Việt Trang (right) and acting chief of the Francophone International Organization for Asia-Pacific, Trần Thị Mai Yến awarded the first prize to Hồ Ngọc Vĩnh Nguyên in Hà Nội on Friday. — VNA/VNS Photo Tuấn Anh

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HÀ NỘI — Some of the best writers in the country have been honoured on Friday for their work at the Young Francophones Reporters – Việt Nam 2022 Awards.

The annual contest is organised by the French language weekly newspaper Le Courrier du Vietnam (CVN) which falls under the Vietnam News Agency umbrella.

First prize was awarded to Hồ Ngọc Vĩnh Nguyên for his article Le Village de l'espoir (The Village of Hope).

He wrote about a community in Đà Nẵng City where disadvantaged children live. Many are deaf, mute, autistic or orphans but they never give up on hope.

The reason why Nguyên chose to write this topic is that he believes many young people nowadays are trapped with too much pessimism and negativity.

“I want this story to be a force of motivation for the young people,” Nguyên said.

“When things get tough they rise above to the challenges, and hold onto hope to get through obstacles.

“CVN’s award will popularise meaningful story in the Village of Hope and encourage high school students to learn French.”

Nguyên, 22, from the central city of Đà Nẵng is a content writer at Techie Vietnam. The journalism graduate started learning French one year ago.

The second prize went to co-authors Trương Thị Hà Ninh and Nguyễn Trường Giang for The French Language Facing Challenges. They are from Hà Nội Foreign Trade University.

From Cần Thơ Province, Phạm Triệu Ngọc Tiên and Phạm Thị Thanh Trúc won third prize for their article A Medicine Student's Love With La Francophonie.

Other prizes including Talent award, People’s Choice award, Impressive Contestant, Dynamic Contestant, Romania Embassy and Moroccan Embassy Award and Encouragement Award are given to the winners.

The contest was themed La Francophonie de l’avenir : les jeunes font entendre leurs voix (The Francophonie of the future: young people make their voices) aims to promote young French learners to discuss their interests, dreams and the future of Francophone.

It is a chance for participants to express their love for the French language, highlighting the richness and diversity.

The contest is supported by the Asia Pacific Regional Office (RBAP) of the International Organization of the Francophonie (OIF), the Francophone University Agency (AUF) and the embassies of France, Morocco, Romania, Switzerland, Belgium, Canada and the Wallonie-Bruxelles Delegation in Hà Nội.

“The quality of the articles is heterogeneous,” said Fabien Méheust, Deputy Regional Project Director of the AUF in Asia-Pacific and member of the jury.

“There are very nice articles with a very good editorial quality. Young people are worried about the prospects for employment in French, which is also in line with the observation that we made in the global consultation that we carried out at the AUF in 2020.”

The contest attracted attention from young French learners from the whole country, some of whom are French nationals.

Attending the award ceremony were representatives from Vietnam News Agency, REPAP, AUF, Francophone Delegations and Institute in Việt Nam, French Cultural Centre and the contestants. — VNS