Reporters work at the Đồng Mô National Reservation Centre. More than 400 news organisations have participated in the first ever national press festival that opened in Hà Nội yesterday.— VNS Trương Vị

HÀ NỘI – More than 400 news organisations have participated in the first ever national press festival that opened in Hà Nội yesterday (March13).

”The National Press Festival is an event to congratulate the success of Party’s 12^th National Congress as well as other remarkable anniversaries, including the country’s 70^th year since the National Assembly’s first general election,” said Việt Nam Journalist Association (VJA) Deputy Chairman, Hồ Quang Lợi, in his opening address.

The three-day press festival, which replaces the old Spring Press Festival that used to be held every five years, will showcase 700 New Year’s special editions and nearly 100 radio and television programmes on the Party’s 12th congress and Việt Nam’s 30-year national reform process.

Documents and objects collected for a future national press museum are also on display.
The exhibited items are classified into an “overview of Vietnamese press” and “specific subjects.”

The festival includes photo exhibitions and a range of workshops and seminars concerning the improvement of media clubs and the press’ contribution to the development of the Party.
The organising board will present awards to participating agencies based on their exhibition space, New Year’s special edition covers, articles and TV/radio programmes.

The Party Central Committee’s Education and Publicity Commission Head, Võ Văn Thưởng, said that the event would provide a chance for journalists and reporters from across the country to meet up and exchange their experience and expertise.

Việt Nam’s Government and Party highly value the community for their work in journalism, he noted.

The festival, expected to become an annual event, was organised by the Việt Nam Journalist Association in co-operation with the Party’s Central Committee for Education and Publicity together with the Ministry of Information and Communications and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. — VNS