Sharing the same purpose of creating meaningful values to the community, Hyundai Shipbuilding Vietnam has decided to collaborate with Park Hang Seo International Football Academy in organising “Hello Dream Day” Charity event.

This will be a chain of events which witness the Park Hang Seo International Football Academy visiting schools, teaching football for free and giving presents to the children. These events will be sponsored by Hyundai Vietnam Shipbuilding. The collaboration between the Park Hang Seo International Football Academy and Hyundai Vietnam Shipbuilding will see these events organised on monthly basis, starting from October 2023.

The next destination of “Hello Dream Day” is Phong Quang Elementary School in Phong Quang district, Ha Giang province. This school is located within a minor community. The Park Hang Seo International Football Academy, through “Hello Dream Day” hopes to ignite the sporting passion within the students and bring them positive energy.

After years of success with Vietnam football filled with prestigious medals and awards, there’s one thing coach Park Hang Seo carries with him all along: The love of Vietnamese fans. Coach Park has been wondering how he can return such tremendous love from the fans. Therefore, based on years of experience in professional football, Park and his partners have established the Park Hang Seo International Football Academy.

Coach Park has emphasised that the purpose of the Park Hang Seo International Football Academy is not only to develop football talents for Vietnam, but also to spread the positive energy and meaningful values to the community. With his motto of not leaving anyone behind, Park and his partners always hope to bring laughter to children with difficulties through football. The sport activities are held with the aim to nurture willpower and resilience, the same value given to the professional players from Park Hang Seo.

The sport activities in Ba Trai A Elementary School will be led by Coach Jong Song Chon. Coach Jong has years of experience working in high-level football and currently he is an instructor of the Korean Football Association. He holds AFC Pro Certificate, the highest level of football coaching in Asia and in the world. With many years living and working in Vietnam, Jong considers charity events with children as a natural part of his life.

In the “Hello Dream Day” Charity event, the Park Hang Seo International Football Academy and Hyundai Vietnam Shipbuilding gave 50 presents to children in difficulties. Besides that, other partners of the Park Hang Seo International Football Academy such as DongLuc Sport Group and Hong Ha Stationary also brought meaningful presents such as shirts and learning aids.

Social network chat groups causing nuisance to both parents, students

The educational sector is promoting the use of IT in daily operation for this academic year. However, weaknesses in the code of conduct in cyberspace have created unwanted serious impacts on both students and parents. 

Being a mother of a second-grader and an eleventh-grader, Thu Tuyet from HCMC shared that she is added to four social network chat groups for parents and homeroom teachers. On average, she receives hundreds of messages from these groups, which is so annoying that she has to turn off the notification function of those groups.

She commented that the information provided in such groups is sometimes rather misleading, resulting in misunderstanding and even unsuccessful communication among parents themselves or between schools and parents.

Truong Giang – father of a seventh-grader in HCMC – shared that to avoid unnecessary discussions in such a chat group between parents and teacher, the homeroom teacher of his child this year decided not to allow group members to send message, which is extremely useful to him to avoid unwanted disturbance from uncontrolled language or loss of important notices.

My Quyen – mother of an eighth-grader in District 1 of HCMC – recalled an unhappy incident in her child’s class. At the beginning of the academic year, two students had had a disagreement caused by misunderstanding, but were then back in harmony. However, in the parent chat group, the incident was continuously discussed and made many members annoyed and tired.

Students themselves also create or join various chat groups on social network sites and apps as the number of young smart phone users from 11-18 years old has increased significantly lately. They purposedly use those groups to exchange subject-related or project-related information. Nevertheless, many members are using the groups to attack their classmates or defame their teachers.

Recently, D.D. Junior High School in Binh Thanh District of HCMC has severely punished two students who directly attacked each other and one more student for recording a clip of the incident and then posting it on a social networking platform. This is the first time that disciplinary measures have been applied against students filming videos illegally.

In addition, many Fanpages of high schools are now considered a war platform instead of a place to exchange academic information. Choosing the ‘Anonymous Participant’ mode, students can use fierce comments and non-standard language to attack others or discuss such topics as boarding meal quality, timetables, exam schedules, extra-curriculum plans, training methods of some teachers, or even worse, secretly taken pictures of some students.

Aware of the seriousness of this situation, at the end of this October, Tran Dai Nghia High School for the Gifted in HCMC held a formal discussion themed ‘Social Media Code of Conduct’ to help students identify wrongdoings when using social networking platforms.

Deputy Director of the HCMC Education and Training Department Duong Tri Dung said that to establish ‘a happy school’, all schools need to pay attention to building codes of conducts, including suitable use of available functions in social media platforms.

In the upcoming time, this department is going to cooperate with related units to help students raise their legal awareness via attractive playgrounds so that they can better observe the law and fight against school violence.

Dr. Bui Hong Quan from the Psychology Faculty of HCMC University of Education shared that the use of social networks is becoming more popular among learners. Therefore, schools should organize discussions and learning projects to train them on the skills to properly exploit this tool for improvements and avoid its negative sides.

What is more, as students also use social networks at home, the care and regulations of parents are important in helping them develop appropriate behaviors on these platforms. Overuse of social networks can lead to harmful effects on both the learning process and cognitive development of children, not to mention an increase in the risk of being scammed, taken advantage of, or bullied online.

More importantly, parents should be a good model for their children to take after when accessing social networks or entering chat groups.

Teacher Vo Kim Bao from Nguyen Du Junior High School in District 1 stressed the essential role of a homeroom teacher as well as the collaboration with family in educating students about ethics and civilized behaviors on social networking sites, in shaping their personality.

To fulfill those goals, teachers must become students’ friends so that these young people are willing to share their thinking with the older and discuss possible solutions for their current problems at school. Teachers should actively learn how to use social networks effectively to orient their learners and timely handle any unwanted issues.

Teachers themselves must be flexible and patient when addressing students’ regulation violations on social networking sites. Instead of considering certain students as a good or bad person just because of some offenses, teachers must be willing to give opportunities for those regulation breakers to correct their wrongdoings. Cooperation between school and family is a necessity to ensure effective use of social networks among students.

AI-based diagnostic tool used for women’s cervical lesions in island district

An artificial intelligence-based diagnostic tool was first used for women’s uterine cervical lesions in Ho Chi Minh City’s outlying island district today.

An AI-assisted diagnostics system - the second AI application in community health care - was deployed in Thanh An island commune of Can Gio suburban district.

Doctors and nurses from Hung Vuong Hospital today brought AI-based cervical cancer diagnosis assisting system (TeleCervicography) to Thanh An Island Commune Medical Station to screen local women’s cervical cancer.

This AI-based cervical cancer screening, called CerviCare AI, is a new technique that helps screen for cervical cancer without having to perform the familiar Pap smear technique at clinics and hospitals specializing in obstetrics and gynecology.

CerviCare AI is trained on a large dataset of more than 100,000 cervical images, including both normal and abnormal images, and according to clinical trial results of the Korean Food and Drug Administration (KFDA), CerviCare AI can accurately detect early-stage cervical cancer with an accuracy of up to 98 percent.

Hà Tĩnh Province solves material sources for North-South Expressway

The People’s Committee of Hà Tĩnh Province has approved the exploitation of 11 new mines to serve the construction of the North-South Expressway project in the 2021-2025 period, including a sand mine in Mỹ Yên Village.

The North-South Expressway is a key national project, passing through Cẩm Xuyên District of Hà Tĩnh Province with a total length of 30.5km.

In order to serve project construction, the district authority is preparing to implement the policy of exploiting sand mines in Mỹ Yên Village in Cẩm Mỹ Commune.

However, currently, many local people still oppose sand mining exploitation.

In addition to creating consensus among the people, local authorities actively coordinate with functional agencies to effectively implement measures to remove obstacles to accelerate the construction progress of the key project.

The provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment said that the North-South Expressway has three component projects passing through Hà Tĩnh Province including Bãi Vọt-Hàm Nghi, Hàm Nghi-Vũng Áng and Vũng Áng - Bùng with a total length of more than 102km.

The component projects require 1.09 million cu.m of sand and 11.4 million cu.m of soil.

In July, the provincial People's Committee approved the exploitation of 11 new material mines including eight levelled land mines and three river bottom sand mines to serve the construction of the North-South Expressway project in the east of the 2021-2025 period.

The sand mine in Mỹ Yên Village in Cẩm Mỹ Commune is a construction materials mine approved by the provincial People's Committee in Decision No 431/QĐ-UBND dated February 6, 2014 and integrated into the Hà Tĩnh Planning for the period 2021 - 2030, with a vision to 2050 according to Decision No 1363/QĐ-TTg dated November 8, 2022 by the Prime Minister.

The area of the sand mine in Mỹ Yên Village has a total area of nearly 3,479ha, of which nearly 1.7ha are production land owned by 86 households, and the remaining are land managed by the commune People's Committee, river land, fallow land, and mudflats.

The exploitation depth is equal to the current riverbed surface with a total exploitation volume of 89,196cu.m.

Lê Ngọc Hà, vice chairman of the People’s Committee of Cẩm Xuyên District, said that the Mỹ Yên Sand Mine is just exploited to serve the North-South Expressway project, not used for other purposes.

The State agencies take responsibility to confirm the assets (i.e. material mines), hire the construction units that won the bid for the North-South Expressway project to exploit and take materials (sand) to put into the project - the State's assets, by using excavators and transport vehicles to exploit, not using the sand suction method.

The State pays for exploitation and transportation to the mining unit.

“The exploitation process, means of transportation and transportation routes will be carefully monitored by surveillance equipment as well as strict management and supervision of local authorities and the community,” said Hà.

According to the leaders of Cẩm Xuyên District, unlike commercial mining activities, the policy of exploiting sand mines in Mỹ Yên Village is based on the results of thorough appraisal and evaluation by functional agencies and sequential implementation by law.

Furthermore, the purpose of exploiting sand mines in the village is only to serve the construction of the North-South Expressway project, which is a key national project, playing an important role in socio-economic development, ensuring national security, and serving people's lives.

Participating units only receive exploitation and transportation costs according to specifically calculated volumes.

At a dialogue conference between the chairman of the District People's Committee and the people of Mỹ Yên Village on sand mine exploitation to serve the North-South Expressway project, some households expressed their worries that the process of exploiting alluvial ground would cause landslides for farming land, and affect infrastructure works and people's daily water sources.

In response to people's worries and concerns, the chairman of Cẩm Xuyên District, Hà Văn Bình, affirmed that sand mine exploitation in Mỹ Yên Village is a key national task, satisfies legal basis, and has been comprehensively evaluated by all levels and sectors in both science and practice.

If the mining process shows signs of landslides or unsafety, construction will be forced to stop until there are measures approved by the competent authority, Bình said.

According to the appraisal and assessment results of relevant departments and branches, the location of the open-cast sand mine at the alluvial ground on the Ngàn Mọ River section through Mỹ Yên Village is far from the foot of National Highway 8C and will not affect the route, Bình said.

During the survey process, specialised agencies evaluated and agreed on specific measures to prevent landslides.

The exploitation’s depth is equal to the current river bottom, so it only widens the river but does not create a deep abyss and affect underground water sources for residential use.

In addition, the provincial People's Committee has just approved the clean water project phase 2 of Cẩm Mỹ Commune with a total investment capital of VNĐ11 billion (US$450,000), which is implemented this year, so it will definitely ensure sustainable clean water for people in the south of Cẩm Mỹ Commune in general, and people of Mỹ Yên Village in particular.

Compensation will be implemented on the basis of ensuring the rights and interests of the people. And the mining process will be informed to the people for supervision.

Mỹ Yên Sand Mine is a sand area with reserves and quality consistent with the technical requirements of the North-South Expressway’s construction items and ensures a transportation distance that helps minimise State investment costs for the project.

Therefore, the fact that some households deliberately delay sand mining in Mỹ Yên Sand Mine would slow down the progress of the project, causing loss of resources and adversely affecting the efficiency of the project.

The Party's Committee, People's Committee, and related agencies of Cẩm Xuyên District are persistently explaining the meaning and importance of the project and persuading people to agree to the sand exploitation in Mỹ Yên Village, Bình said.

Red River cultural space axis to be developed into a heritage road

The cultural landscape and tourism axis of the Red River will be developed into a heritage road, where festivals will be held and the quintessence of provinces and cities across the country will converge, said Professor Hoang Van Cuong at a recent roundabout conversation held in Hanoi among experts about the river planning.

Professor Cuong, Vice Rector of the National University of Economics, the leading unit of the consulting consortium drafting the Hanoi Plan for 2021-2030 with a vision to 2050, stressed that the Red River project aims to create new cultural spaces, tap the potential of current cultural spaces, and transform cultural heritage for tourism development.

“The Red River will serve as a major economic driver for the city, providing water transportation and linking neighborhoods on both sides of the river. Modern commercial and service complexes with unique and impressive architecture will be built along its banks,” Cuong added.

Architect Le Hoang Phuong, Director of the Hanoi Center for Architecture and Planning under the Ministry of Construction, shared the view that in Hanoi's master projects currently under study, the Red River will become a spatial axis for cultural creativity. Therefore, the transformation of the Red River will be a highlight that epitomizes Hanoi's development.

“The planning of the Red River, a landmark of the capital, will take five main directions. The river will become a green corridor, a cultural space and creative arts, for business, trade, modern technology and transit-oriented development (TOD),” Phuong said.

Do Dinh Hong, Director of Hanoi's Department of Culture and Sports, emphasized that a project on creative space and cultural industry center on both sides of the Red River in the period 2024-2026 will be jointly developed by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Hanoi People's Committee.

"Therefore, the development of the Red River cultural space axis is a step to concretize the above orientation, taking into account that culture will become a new development resource of the capital city," Hong said.

Consulting units have suggested building more bridges to increase connectivity between both sides of the Red River. With input from experts and scholars, the focus will be on building bridges with distinctive architecture.

"The transportation system of the newly developed areas along the Red River must be well connected to the city's main roads and residential areas," Architect Le Hoang Phuong said, expecting these riverfront areas to become centers and important exchange destinations, which will greatly contribute to attracting tourists to Hanoi.

According to Architect Dao Ngoc Nghiem, former Director of the Hanoi Department of Planning and Architecture, building bridges across the Red River creates "connecting circles" to ensure connectivity between areas on the two banks of the Red River.

"There are currently eight bridges spanning the Red River. Each one is built with the unique culture of the thousand-year-old capital in mind. In the near future, the bridges are expected to play an important role in the city's development, shaping Hanoi as a city on both sides of the Red River," Nghiem told The Hanoi Times.

After over 10 years of implementing the Capital Construction Master Plan 2030 with a Vision to 2050, approved by the Prime Minister, the city has completed all urban subdivision planning projects, including urban subdivisions along the Red River.

Aware of the potential of the Red River, on March 25, 2022, the Hanoi People's Committee issued a decision to approve the "Red River Urban Subdivision Planning" project (section from Hong Ha Bridge to Me So Bridge) with an area of nearly 11,000 hectares within the administrative boundaries of 13 districts in the city.

Xuyên Tâm Canal cleanup project to start work in 2024

After prolonged delays, the project of dredging, environmental improvement, infrastructure construction and land exploitation along a section of Xuyên Tâm Canal in Gò Vấp District is set to start work in August 2024.

The main investor of the project, Urban Infrastructure Construction Investment Projects Management Unit, signed an advanced cost contract as the districts of Gò Vấp and Bình Thạnh performed surveys and prepared a compensation plan for affected households.

The project includes a main canal route nearly 6.7 km long from Nhiêu Lộc - Thị Nghè Canal to Vàm Thuật River and three branches longer than 2.2 km.

Nguyễn Hoàng Anh Dũng, deputy director of the unit, said that the part of the canal passing through Gò Vấp District was expected to start construction in August 2024, because the workload would be less than the section passing through Bình Thạnh.

In Gò Vấp, the total area of ​​land recovered for the project is more than 19,500sq.m with about 84 households affected.

The locality has prepared resettlement apartments for relocated households at Khang Gia apartment blocks , Ward 14, Gò Vấp District. Construction of this canal section through Gò Vấp District is expected to be completed in May 2025.

The total length of Xuyên Tâm Canal is about 8.2km, of which the project's scope from Nhiêu Lộc-Thị Nghè Canal to Vàm Thuật River is 6.6km long.

Construction of the project requires the reclamation of about 159,000m of land, and the relocation of about 1,880 affected households along the canal.

The project has been delayed for more than 20 years and is also one of the city’s urgent projects of urban betterment and development in the period 2021-25.

For many years, Xuyên Tâm Canal has been polluted due to illegal discharge of untreated domestic waste and wastewater used by households living along both sides of the canal.

That has caused blockages of water flow that pollute the environment and cause flooding.

City authorities have made great efforts to increase public awareness about the need to stop littering into rivers and canals, and strictly manage illegal encroachment and littering. 

Việt Nam seeks to boost rural tourism

Vietnamese tourism has been thriving in rural areas, and efforts are being made to encourage this industry to grow sustainably. 

This emerging form of tourism has helped localities exploit their existing resources, create jobs, improve incomes for rural people, and protect their ecological landscape. 

Rural tourism has also contributed to conserving and promoting regional and ethnic cultures, which attracts investment and improves local economies.

To meet the country's full tourism potential, diverse and special tourist destinations and tourism products have been introduced, with over 400 tourist spots providing agro-tourism, rural tourism, and community-based tourism, said the Việt Nam National Authority of Tourism.

Along with programmes like building new-style rural areas and OCOP (One Commune One Product), Lào Cai, Sơn La, Quảng Nam, Huế, Tiền Giang, Bến Tre, and other provinces have become rural tourism hotspots.

For example, since being named a national intangible cultural heritage last year, the Trà Quế Vegetable Village of Cẩm Hà Commune (Hội An, Quảng Nam Province) has been a must-visit destination for tourists as they can engage in traditional agricultural activities and enjoy dishes made from locally-grown ingredients.

Aiming to improve social awareness of the importance of developing rural tourism in a sustainable direction, the Việt Nam National Authority of Tourism has recently established a webpage (https://nongthon.vietnamtourism.gov.vn) as part of the national programme of developing rural tourism in the 2021-2025 period.

The site helps rural areas capitalise on their strengths in agriculture, culture, ecology, and craft villages, as well as enhance agriculture quality, improve local livelihoods, and bolster overall rural and agricultural tourism.

It also provides information about travel tours, rural tourism products, OCOP, and regional specialties to draw more visitors, thus yielding high economic value for rural tourism.

Visitors to the page can also learn about national and global tourism models, as well as shared experiences on enhancing rural tourism, green tourism, community-based tourism, ecotourism, and applying digital transformation to the field. 

Communities help build safe houses and restore forests

The Foundation of Development and Supporting Sustainable Living Community, or Sống Foundation, has completed more than 1,200 safe houses, two happy villages; 4,000 urban trees and 220,000 forest trees (about 128ha) in Sóc Trăng, Quảng Bình, Quảng Nam and Ninh Thuận provinces with funding from community, partners and businesses. 

The foundation, formerly known as Resilient Housing Programme, has operated since 2013 providing technical assistance and funding to build safe houses for disadvantaged households in the areas affected by natural disasters and climate change to support residents to rebuild their lives after devastating catastrophes.

In 2018, Green Happiness Programme was officially introduced to increase green coverage in Việt Nam by planting new trees and restoring forests in building the connection between people and nature for a green, sustainable and happy life.

The foundation said it had changed from the Fund of Taking Action for Community to the Fund of Action Community to promote the participation of social enterprises and local action groups in strengthening capabilities of adapting to and minimising the impact of climate change.

The Resilient Housing Social Enterprise will continue to provide comprehensive solutions to build houses that are safe from natural disasters (build better before), minimising future risks at reasonable costs for low-income people.

In addition, Resilient Housing also conducts assessment, repair and reconstruction to increase the recovery ability and safety of collapsed/damaged houses after natural disasters (build back better).

These models will be improved and expanded to include households with people with disabilities, safe schools, communities and other social welfare facilities such as playgrounds and toilets, as well as providing advice and technical support for households across Việt Nam who need to build safe houses, according to the foundation.

In response to climate change, the foundation has converted its formerly Resilient Housing and Green Happiness programmes into two social enterprises operating independently from October of 2023 for mobilising community and local resources.

The two social enterprises will be continuing contribution to natural disaster risk reduction and impacts of climate change, afforestation and reforestation projects with fund raising from organisations, businesses and individuals.

The foundation has been calling for funding of 40 safe houses in flood-affected regions in central Việt Nam.

It said more than 100,000 White Avicennia trees had been planted by Green Happiness in Lạc Hòa Commune of Sóc Trăng Province between June and October. 

Quảng Ninh hosts 18th ASEAN GO-NGO forum on social welfare

The 18th ASEAN GO-NGO Forum on Social Welfare and Development took place in Hạ Long City, the northern province of Quảng Ninh on Monday.

As part of the 19th Senior Officials Meeting on Social Welfare and Development (SOMSWD) and related events hosted by the Vietnamese Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA), the event gathered representatives from Government agencies, non-government organisations of ASEAN member nations, the ASEAN Secretariat, UN agencies, and international organisations operating in social welfare and development in Việt Nam and the region. Timor Leste took part in the event as an observer.

The forum focused on main challenges faced by social welfare systems and measures implemented or planned by countries to address these challenges.

In his opening remarks, Lưu Quang Tuấn, director of the MoLISA’s International Cooperation Department, said countries should focus on more sustainable and long-term strategies for pandemic management, control and prevention because the cessation of the COVID-19 emergency status does not imply the disappearance of pandemics.

Lessons learned before and during the COVID-19 pandemic need to be integrated into policies, plans, and national social welfare systems, both in the short and long term, to ensure that no one is left behind, he said.

Countries should carefully consider emerging trends in the region, such as demographic changes, migration, the impact of climate change, and advancements in science and technology, along with persistent issues of poverty and diverse inequalities, he said, adding that these are significant challenges that demand responses from the social welfare systems and measures of ASEAN member countries.

He suggested participants engage in open discussions, and shared viewpoints for finalising recommendations of the forum, which will serve further discussions among senior officials and as a foundation for ASEAN Ministers to formulate social welfare policies that meet the demands of people, especially vulnerable groups, in the coming time.

The forum contributes to realising long-term goals and commitments of ASEAN leaders in building a resilient, inclusive, people-centred community. It reflects the collective action of governments, non-governmental entities, businesses, and citizens to ensure that economic development goes hand in hand with fairness and stability, and ultimately benefits the people.

Delegates shared information related to social welfare policies and legislation, as well as exemplary practices, and put forth relevant recommendations.

The recommendations of the forum will be submitted to the 19th SOMSWD slated for November 15-17.  

Tây Ninh develops high-tech agriculture

Tây Ninh Province is boosting the development of high-tech agriculture to increase product value and develop agricultural production sustainably.

The south-eastern province has abundant human and natural resources and favourable weather for developing agriculture.

Nguyễn Đình Xuân, director of the province Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the province had identified agriculture as one of the pillars of its economy.

The province has many favourable conditions for developing agriculture as it has 341,897ha of farmland, accounting for 84.6 per cent of its total area, according to Xuân.

The agriculture sector makes many important contributions to the province’s socio-economic development.

More farmers in the province have increased the use of machines in their production to reduce labour costs and increase efficiency.

The use of machines is focused on the province’s key agricultural products such as rice, sugarcane and cassava.

In rice cultivation, the use of machines is 100 per cent for tilling, 2.9 per cent for sowing, 65-70 per cent for tending and 95-100 per cent for harvesting.

In sugarcane cultivation, the use is 100 per cent for tilling, 50-70 per cent for tending, and 40 per cent for harvesting.

Nguyễn Hữu Nghị, who has one of the largest sugarcane farming areas in the province, said this year he spent more than VNĐ10 billion (US$420,000) to buy machines for growing the cane.

He said he used machines to grow and harvest all his 310ha of sugarcane.

Previously, he hired about 100 workers to harvest sugarcane manually and they could harvest about 150 tonnes of cane a day, he said.

He now hires 15 workers to operate harvesting machines and they can harvest about 300 tonnes a day, he said.

With the use of machines for all cultivation stages, he earns a profit of VNĐ16-20 million (US$670-820) per hectare a year, he said.

Besides using machines to reduce labour costs, the province has increased growing high-value crops to improve production efficiency.

The province has turned about 7,640ha of farmlands that grow ineffective crops into growing fruits between 2020 and the first half of this year.

In animal husbandry, more farmers have switched from small-scale breeding to industrial breeding and farms.

The province has 627 animal farms and 107 poultry farms, up 12.6 per cent from 2020.

It has more than 10 million poultry, up 6.1 per cent against 2020.

The production value of agriculture is now VNĐ109 million ($4,500) per hectare a year, up VNĐ9 million ($370) from 2020.

The province has implemented 39 agriculture extension models to provide advanced farming techniques for farmers between 2020 and the first half of this year.

It has assisted farmers and organisations to implement origin traceability for 1,728ha of farming area and granted 130,500 origin stamps for five types of fruits – mango, green skin and pink flesh grapefruit, honeydew melon, Thai custard apple and Hoàng Hậu custard apple.

It has 15 farming areas totalling 552ha that have been granted production codes for exporting to China, the US and the EU.

However, the development of high-tech agriculture faces difficulties such as the small number of high-tech farming models and the shortage of workers who can use high-tech farming methods.

Nguyễn Thị Kim Oanh, director of the province Department of Science and Technology, said the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development should co-operate with relevant departments and agencies to research and apply science and technology in agriculture production to adapt to climate change, develop high-tech farming areas, and develop smart, clean, organic and ecological agriculture, and high-tech farms and agricultural co-operatives.

Her department would support the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to develop agricultural products and the key products of craft villages which have advantages for becoming products under the country’s “One Commune-One Product” programme, and build brand names for agriculture, forestry and fishery products and craft villages’ key products, she said.

The province has invested in many irrigation systems to boost agricultural production.

It has built 48 infrastructure projects for agricultural production and clean water for rural areas worth a total of VNĐ559 billion ($23 million) between 2020 and the first half of this year.

A project providing irrigation for the west area of the Vàm Cỏ River has completed its first phase and serves to irrigate 17,000ha of farming areas.

To further develop high-tech agriculture, the province plans to develop 20 high-tech farming areas covering a total of 11,000ha in 2022-30.

They include 13 crop growing areas, five animal breeding areas, and two farming areas for both growing crops and breeding animals.

Xuân, director of the province Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the province had attracted many investors to invest in breeding animals.

Up to 148 animal breeding projects had been registered for investing in the province, and the province People’s Committee had approved 112 of the projects with a total investment capital of VNĐ9.6 trillion ($390 million), he said.

The approved projects breed chickens, pigs, cattle and goats.

Fifty-four approved projects have been implemented and operated.

Vietnamese students in Hungary urged to promote national images

Vietnamese Ambassador to Hungary Nguyen Thi Bich Thao has urged the Vietnamese Students' Association in Hungary to promote its role in engaging its members in social, community and school activities in the host country, thus building and promoting the images and enhancing the position of Vietnam.

Speaking at the 5th congress of the association for the 2023-2025 term, Thao hailed the association for its development and achievements in the past time with many of its members having excellent performance in study and community activities.

She also hoped that the association will attract more members, and better support its members in their study and community connection activities which contribute to promoting the traditional friendship relations between Vietnam and Hungary.

On this occasion, the Vietnamese Embassy in Hungary awarded certificates of merit to groups and individuals with outstanding achievements in the association's affairs and student movements.

Nearly 70 delegates representing 600 Vietnamese students in Hungary attended the association’s congress held in Budapest, which elected a 6-strong secretariat for the new term.

Optimising culinary culture helps boost Hanoi’s tourism

Possessing time-honoured and diverse culinary quintessence, Hanoi is advised to pay greater attention to enhancing the value of local culinary culture, turning it into a tourism product to attract more visitors.

Hanoi’s typical dishes include nem (spring rolls), pho (noodle), Vong village young rice, cha ca (grilled fish), bun oc (snail noodle), banh tom Ho Tay (West Lake shrimp cake), banh cuon Thanh Tri (Thanh Tri steamed rice rolls), xoi Phu Thuong (Phu Thuong steamed sticky rice), banh day Quan Ganh (Quan Ganh round glutinous rice cake).

Many dishes have been honoured by foreign tourism websites and included in the travel guide for visitors to Hanoi. Particularly, the famous travel site Tripadvisor named Hanoi as one of the top 25 culinary destinations in the world in 2022. In 2023, three restaurants in Hanoi were awarded with Michelin stars, and 45 others honoured at the Michelin Guide Ceremony event held in June in Hanoi.

According to the Hanoi tourism orientations until 2030, the city will diversify its culinary products, focusing on developing night food tours and culinary craft villages, along with a system of restaurants to serve visitors.

The city will build a Food Tour map for visitors, making it easier for them to explore the local cuisine themselves, while strengthening food safety control.

A series of activities will be held to promote Hanoi culinary culture values to domestic and foreign tourists, along with an annual event to popularise the Hanoi cuisine and an annual Hanoi culinary festival.

Currently, the Vietnam Culinary and Cultural Association (VCCA) is building a project to develop Vietnam’s culinary cuisine into a national trademark, with the collection of 1,000 typical dishes of Vietnam and the transformation of a culinary database into an online Vietnam food map and an online Vietnamese cuisine museum. Thanks to this project, Hanoi’s cuisine is expected to become more popular to domestic and foreign food lovers.

VCCA Chairman Nguyen Quoc Ky said that the proper development of the culinary culture will help boost tourism growth, luring more visitors to Vietnam and thus enhancing the competitiveness of Vietnamese tourism in the world arena.

Experts held that in order to optimise Hanoi’s potential of culinary culture, it is crucial to make systematic investment and encourage the engagement of management agencies, travel firms as well as local residents in the work.

Source: VNA/SGT/VNS/VOV/Dtinews/SGGP/VGP/Hanoitimes