50th anniversary of Moriond Meeting marked in Binh Dinh

Binh Dinh (VNA) – A ceremony to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the “Rencontres de Moriond” (Moriond Meeting) – one of the most widely anticipated annual physics conferences throughout the world- was held in the central coastal province of Binh Dinh on July 7.

The event, jointly organised by the Rencontres du Vietnam (Meeting Vietnam), the Ministry of Science and Technology and the provincial People’s Committee, drew the participation of more than 250 domestic and foreign scientists. It is part of the activities held under the framework of the 12th “Rencontres du Vietnam”.

In his speech at the ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam spoke highly of the Meeting Vietnam’s activities in the past years.

He affirmed that the Vietnamese Government will facilitate infrastructure development for the operation of International Centre for Interdisciplinary Science and Education (ICSIE) and the Quy Hoa Scientific and Educational Urban Area.

In 1966, over 20 physicists from France, Germany and Italy gathered at Moriond village to discuss theoretical physics, practical physics and entertainment integrated with scientific research, sports and tourism. The second “Rencontres de Moriond” attracted more scientists from Europe, Asia, America, Africa and Australia.

Professor Tran Thanh Van, who is chairman of the “Rencontres de Moriond” and “Rencontres de Blois”, set up “Rencontres de Vietnam” in 1993 to provide support in science and education for the country.

In the past two decades, the “Rencontres de Vietnam”, which is an official partner of UNESCO, has held a line-up of conferences to help young scientists establish contacts with international colleagues.

Along with organising thematic scientific schools throughout the country to improve tertiary education, it also granted 25,000 scholarships worth over 200 billion VND (8.97 million USD) to Vietnamese students and provided training in a hands-on approach teaching method for 1,500 Vietnamese teachers.-VNA