A representative from VietnamPlus receives the prize at the award ceremony (Photo: VietnamPlus) Hanoi (VNA) – The electronic newspaper VietnamPlus of the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) won the first prize at the 2018 National External Information Service Awards with a mega story on Vietnamese voluntary soldiers in Cambodia.
The award presentation ceremony of the 2018 National External Information Service Awards was held on June 7 at the VNA’s headquarters at No.5 Ly Thuong Kiet Street, Hanoi.
The event was attended by Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Politburo member and Prime Minister; Politburo member; Vo Van Thuong, 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 prize winners.
Vietnam’s responsibility at international forums
The 2018 National External Information Service Awards was organised by the Party Central Committee’s Information and Education Commission and the Central Steering Committee for External Information Service in coordination with the Vietnam News Agency, with the aim of continuing to honour outstanding authors, press works and books in the field of external information service. The VNA is the first press agency selected to be the standing agency of the awards for two years (2014 and 2018).
According to Bui Truong Giang, deputy head of the Party Central Committee’s Information and Education Commission and Standing Vice Chairman of the Central Steering Committee for External Information Service, the organising board received nearly 1,000 entries in 13 languages (Vietnamese, English, French, Russian, Chinese, Spanish, Korean, Japanese, Thai, Indonesian, Khmer, Lao and Mongolian).
The organising board said the entries had good quality and covered a wide range of themes, timely delivering to domestic and international audience latest information on Vietnam’s major political and external events, major international cooperation activities in 2018, and the image of a beautiful country with hospitable people.
The entries contributed greatly to the success of communication campaigns serving major diplomatic events in 2018 such as the 26th Annual Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF-26), the sixth Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS-6) Summit, the 10th Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Summit on Development Triangle Area (CLV-10), and the World Economic Forum on ASEAN 2018.
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.
It is noteworthy that the 2018 awards attracted the participation of many contestants/groups of contestants who are foreigners or Vietnamese living abroad.
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.
Affirming VNA’s position, contribution
The VNA is among the leading press agencies in the awards in terms of quantity and quality of entries, with about 200 entries and 20 prizes each year.
At the 2018 awards, the VNA won three first prizes, five second prizes, four third prizes and seven consolation prizes. Many entries won appreciation of the judging panel, such as the work “Ho hy sinh cho nuoc ban hoi sinh” (They devoted their lives for the friend country to revive) by VietnamPlus e-newspaper, “Suc manh doan ket va tinh huu nghi Viet Nam-Cuba” (The Vietnam-Cuba solidarity and friendship) by Le Tri Dung of the Press Photography Department.
Addressing the ceremony, Politburo member and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc 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 fulfill 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 the international cooperation and integration, the Prime Minister said.
Photo: The Vietnam News Agency wins three first prizes at the 2018 National External Information Service Awards (Photo: VietnamPlus) Phuc also asked press and publishing agencies to 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.
“Press and publishing agencies should step up communications about Vietnam’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 Vietnam to foreign friends and overseas Vietnamese,” the PM stressed.
VietnamPlus continues to win first prize
At the 2018 awards, VietnamPlus won a first prize for the work “Ho hy sinh cho nuoc ban hoi sinh” (They devoted their lives for the friend country to revive). Several other articles published on the e-newspaper also won prizes, which included two second prizes for “Hoat dong nhan chuyen tham Nga cua Tong bi thu Nguyen Phu Trong” (Activities during the Russia visit by Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong) published in Russian, and “Tre em Vietnam, khuon mat hanh phuc” (Vietnamese children, happy faces) published in Spanish; a third prize for “Nhung su gia dac biet vun dap tinh huu nghi Viet Nam-Nhat Ban” (Special messengers who foster Vietnam-Japan friendship); and three consolation prizes for an article in Chinese and two articles in English.
This is the fifth consecutive time the e-newspaper has won high prizes at the National External Information Service Awards since the contest was first launched in 2014.
The first prize winning work of VietnamPlus at the 2018 awards was in the category of e-newspaper in Vietnamese. It was made in the form of a mega story.
In 1975, immediately after the anti-US resistance war for national liberation ended, many Vietnamese soldiers again received the command to set off again for battle when the southwestern borderline was attacked.
When the Khmer nation was facing the genocidal disaster and needed help, Vietnamese voluntary soldiers fought shoulder-by-shoulder with the Kampuchean United Front for National Salvation to topple the genocidal regime of Pol Pot-Ieng Sary, one of the most brutal regimes in humankind’s history. The victory 40 years ago not only revived the Land of Pagodas and Stupas, but also served as a symbol of international solidarity. January 7, 1979 is consider the day of revival of the Khmer nation.
On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the southwestern border defence war and the victory over the genocidal Pol Pot regime, VietnamPlus reporters sought to meet and talk with witnesses who themselves lived in those unforgettable days.
Among the witnesses there were villagers who survived in the barbarous massacre at Ba Chuc (An Giang province), veterans who fought on the southwestern border battlefield, and Cambodians who survived the brutality of concentration camps under the Pol Pot regime.
VietnamPlus reporters also made inclusive interviews with General Pham Van Tra, who was a former member of the Politburo and former Defence Minister. The General personally participated in the southwestern border defence war and the fight against the genocidal Pol Pot regime since the first days.
The press work also used many documents and assessments of foreign scholars on the Vietnam People’s Army’s fight against one of the most brutal regimes in humankind’s history in the 1970s.
The content was expressed in a new form combining various multimedia forms such as infographics, video and videographics.
The mega story has created a detailed and clear picture of the justice of the war and the altruistic solidarity of the soldiers who are dubbed “Buddha’s soldiers”. It gave an overview of the main developments in the southwestern border defence war and the fight against the Pol Pot regime, highlighting the sacrifices made by Vietnamese voluntary soldiers in the fight.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has reiterated many times that the sacrifices made by Vietnamese voluntary soldiers have helped save Cambodia from genocide. Without Vietnam the Cambodian people would have been wiped out, he said.-VNA
