HCM CITY — The 2017 Phan Châu Trinh Culture and Education Award was presented to Vietnamese-French Professor Cao Huy Thuần at a ceremony in HCM City last night.

Thuần, a lecturer of Law and Politics at the University of Picardie in Paris, France, has published several books on political science and international relations in both Vietnamese and French. 

“I am deeply touched to receive the Phan Châu Trinh Award. The prize is very meaningful to an overseas Vietnamese like me,” Thuần said. 

Born in the central province of Thừa Thiên Huế, Thuần graduated from the HCM City University of Law in 1960, and taught at the Huế University from 1962-1964. Later, he studied and worked in France.

Thuần regularly visits Việt Nam to take part in workshops and seminars on politics, society and Buddhism.

The Phan Châu Trinh Research Prize was shared by professors Trịnh Văn Thảo and Trần Đình Sử.

Thảo is known for his work on Vietnamese culture and history in modern times, while Sử is renowned for his work on literature.

Translator Nguyễn Hồng Nhung received the translation prize for her translations of Hungarian literature and philosophy.

The Vietnamese studies prize was given to Vietnamese studies expert Alexander Woodside of Canada for his work on Vietnamese history.

The annual Phan Châu Trinh Awards was launched in 2008 by the Phan Châu Trinh Culture Foundation to honour domestic and foreign individuals and groups for their contributions to Vietnamese culture, translation, and research and Vietnamese studies.

The awards are named after national hero, poet and cultural expert Phan Châu Trinh, a reformer who fought in the resistance movement against the French when he was very young.

Born in 1872 in the central province of Quảng Nam, Trinh devoted all of his life to the country’s modernisation.

The Phan Châu Trinh Culture Foundation is managed by the Việt Nam Union of Science and Technology Associations. — VNS