Quang Ninh (VNA) – The Party Central Committee's Commission for Publicity, in coordination with relevant agencies, held an award ceremony and exhibition for the fourth national-level “Proud of Our Borderlands” art photography contest in Quang Ninh city on October 30.
Addressing the event, Politburo member, Secretary of the Party Central Committee and head of the commission Trinh Van Quyet stressed that peaceful, stable and prosperous border areas form the first line of defence safeguarding the nation’s great cause in this era of national rise.
He affirmed that defending the Fatherland today means not only relying on the weapons carried by soldiers, but also building a strong people-based defence posture and harnessing the soft power of culture.
The submitted photographs, he said, demonstrate “milestones of faith” in the hearts of Vietnamese people, symbolising love, pride and a sense of responsibility for every sacred inch of the Fatherland.
To further promote the contest’s values, Quyet called on Party committees, authorities, ministries and sectors to bring travelling exhibitions to local communities, schools and armed forces' units; use the works as educational materials to instil national traditions in younger generations; and continue organising creation camps to bring artists to border areas.
The official also urged greater efforts to digitise the exhibition and publish multilingual electronic photo books for international promotion, while gradually elevating the contest into a national cultural brand and building a high-quality national archive of borderland-themed photographs.
Over its four editions, the contest has continued to grow in both scale and quality.
The 2026 edition attracted nearly 16,000 entries by 4,221 photographers from all 34 provinces and cities, more than five times the number recorded in its inaugural edition. Participation by a diverse range of contributors, from professional photographers to officials, soldiers, teachers and students, has brought authentic and vibrant perspectives on the country’s border regions.
At the ceremony, the organising committee presented 21 prizes in two categories – single photographs and photo series. The first prize in the single photograph category went to Trieu Van Lich from Cao Bang province for his work “Ba Quang – A Corner of Majestic Borderland”. Meanwhile, the top prize in the photo series category was awarded to Giang Son Dong from Hai Phong city for “Loving Every Inch of Our Borderland”.
The committee also presented four second prizes, five third prizes and 10 consolation prizes, honoured 118 photographers whose works were selected for the exhibition, and awarded certificates of merit from the commission to seven collectives for their outstanding contributions to the contest./.
