HÀ NỘI — Miss Vietnam 2018 has given permission for contestant Vũ Thị Tuyết Trang to skip additional competitions to join an four-week voluntary project in Malaysia.

Trang is one of six representatives of Việt Nam to take part in the ASEAN Youth Volunteer Programme (AYVP) 2018 which will be held in Malaysia from 24 July – 20 August 2018 focusing on the thematic area of “Protecting ASEAN’s Natural Heritage”.

“Tuyết Trang has written a letter to the organiser, asking for her absence in the additional competitions of Miss Việt Nam 2018 from July 23 to August 21,” head of Miss Việt Nam 2018 organising team, Lê Xuân Sơn said.

“Considering that the programme is equally meaningful with charity projects of Miss Việt Nam (that all contestant will join), and also this international programme is an honour for every participant, the organiser agreed to let Trang to be absent from the charity work and other additional competitions,” said Sơn.

“The organiser, however, asked for Trang’s assessment from the programme at Malaysia as evaluation for this contestant during her absence from the competition,” Sơn said.

Forty contestants from the semi-final rounds in the south and the north will be chosen for the national final round, which will be held on September 16 in HCM City.

To mark 30 years of the contest, for the first time in the history of the Miss Việt Nam pageant, three winners of the pageant crown will be members of the judging board.

The contest, which started in 1988, is held every two years.

The AYVP 2018 is developed and implemented by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (the National University of Malaysia - UKM), under the Ministry of Youth and Sports Malaysia, with the support of the ASEAN Secretariat and Ministry of Tourism and Culture Malaysia.

The participants will embark on a four-week knowledge-driven, volunteerism journey with week one and four hosted at UKM while week two and three engaging with local communities in implementing Protecting ASEAN’s Natural Heritage activities in Langkawi Island. — VNS