Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc and delegates visit the show of winning works as part of the 2018 National External Information Service Awards in Hà Nội on June 7. VNA/VNS Photo Thống Nhất

 

HÀ NỘI — The Party Central Committee’s Information and Education Commission and the Central Steering Committee for External Information Service coordinated with the Vietnam News Agency and parties to organise a presentation ceremony of the National External Information Service Awards 2018. 
The event was attended by Nguyễn Xuân Phúc – Politburo member and Prime Minister; Võ Văn Thưởng – Politburo member, Secretary of the Party Central Committee, head of the Party Central Committee’s Information and Education Commission and head of the Central Steering Committee for External Information Service; and many leaders of central agencies, ministries and sectors, along with representatives of news, press and publishing agencies, and winners. The organising board selected 90 excellent works to honour at the presentation ceremony of the National External Information Service Awards 2018, comprising eight first prizes, 17 second prizes, 25 third prizes and 40 consolation prizes.
The 2018 awards attracted nearly 1,000 entries made in 13 languages in eight categories, namely (1) print newspaper in Vietnamese; (2) e-newspaper in Vietnamese; (3) print newspaper in foreign languages; (4) e-newspaper in foreign languages; (5) radio; (6) television; (7) photos and (8) books. Entrants and groups of entrants came from more than 130 central and local press agencies and 12 publishing houses nationwide. They also included foreign experts and reporters and overseas Vietnamese.
According to the organising board, the entries were of high quality with diverse topics and contents, and touched upon all aspects of the external information work, updating people in Viet Nam, foreigners and overseas Vietnamese on the country’s major political-diplomatic events, outstanding international cooperation activities in 2018, and images of the beautiful and hospitable country of Viet Nam. Many entries covered unique topics and were compiled in a creative manner that applied advanced e-newspaper technology and multimedia forms. A number of articles were published in prestigious foreign magazines, helping foreign friends and the overseas Vietnamese community better understand the Vietnamese Party and State’s viewpoints and foreign policy.

 

Aside from high-quality entries of central press agencies like the Vietnam News Agency, the Vietnam Television, the radio The Voice of Vietnam, the Nhân Dân newspaper and the Quân Đội Nhân Dân newspaper, the quality of entries of sectoral and local press and publishing agencies was also improved, reflecting external activities and special identities of localities. Particularly, the Awards also attracted nearly 30 entrants and groups of entrants who are foreigners and overseas Vietnamese such as Yuri A. Denisovich – a correspondent of the Russian news agency TASS in Việt Nam, Youngkyu Min – a reporter of the Yonhap News Agency of the Republic of Korea, Sh. Bathold and D. Sainbayar – correspondents of the Mongolian news agency in Viet Nam, Cuban journalists Mariela Valenzuela Pérez and Alberto Salazar, and Chairman of the India-Vietnam Solidarity Committee Geetesh Sharma.
Addressing the ceremony, Politburo member and Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc applauded the success of the National External Information Service Awards 2018 and congratulated the winners, while complimenting the organising board on its active and effective contributions.

He stressed that 2019 is a year of breakthroughs to fulfil the five-year plan for 2016-2020 and also for the whole Party, army and people to celebrate many major events. Meanwhile, the global and regional situation continues to change unpredictably. That has created both favourable conditions and challenges to the external information work.

External information agencies need to focus on improving their awareness of the role and importance of the external information service; reform communication content and forms; actively promote the connection between the Party, State’s diplomacy and that of the people, and between internal and external information services so as to bring into play the comprehensive strength of the country during international cooperation and integration; facilitate writers, reporters and editors of press and publishing agencies to gain experience and create many high-quality external information works; diversify communication methods and documents, in which more attention should be paid to the use of foreign languages, cooperation with big news agencies and press outlets in the world, as well as the use of modern means of media and social networks that have wide coverage, to step up communications about Viet Nam’s images along with its responsibility and efforts at regional and international forums; and introduce the country, people, cultural traditions, investment potential and tourism of Viet Nam to foreign friends and overseas Vietnamese, the Prime Minister said.

This is the fifth time the National External Information Service Awards have been held and the second time the Vietnam News Agency has acted as the standing agency of the Awards since the first edition in 2014. Other rotary standing agencies are the Vietnam Television, the radio The Voice of Vietnam and the Nhân Dân newspaper.

Vietnam News Agency has earned a total of 20 awards. The three works obtaining the first prize include "They sacrifice their lives for the reborn of the neighbouring country," which recount the stories of Vietnamese voluntary troops that help save Cambodia from the ruling of Khmer Rouge regime, a collection of French articles on the role of religion in the development path of Việt Nam, and a photo series that illustrate Việt Nam-Cuba traditional friendship. Việt Nam News earned itself second prize for a series of articles on the Industry Revolution 4.0 on the occassion of Việt Nam's hosting the World Economic Forum on ASEAN in 2018, plus a third prize on a series of articles that promote the country's tourism potentials entitled "Vintage Việt Nam."— VNA