The European Literature Days 2019 will be held for the ninth time in Hanoi, the fourth time in HCM City and the first time in Danang in May, the French Cultural Center L’Espace in Hanoi has announced.

With 10 European countries attending, this vivid literature festival will be full of activities for book lovers, including book presentations, readings, workshops, exhibitions, films, quiz games, prizes and big discounts on European books at the shops on HCMC Book Street.

The annual European Literature Days festival has been successfully organized in Hanoi since 2011 by the European Union National Institutes for Culture and the Association of European Cultural Institutes and Embassies, with support from the EU Delegation.

Returning to Hanoi, HCMC and Danang this year, the European Literature Days 2019 will introduce more books, more activities, and more opportunities for participants to take a closer look at the literature, lifestyles, and cultures of Europe.

There will be books from the British Council, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Spain, Sweden and Belgium suitable for readers of all ages.

Source : VOV

Ho Chi Minh City and the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant hold great potential to cooperate in the fields of education, culture, and arts, said Permanent Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Le Thanh Liem.

During a reception in the city on April 23 for Governor of Walloon Brabant Gilles Mahieu, Liem said the visit’s cultural, arts, and environment activities will promote ties between Ho Chi Minh City and the Wallonia-Brussels region, as well as between Ho Chi Minh City and Walloon Brabant in particular.

He thanked Belgium for providing support for Vietnam, including its supply of official development assistance for the second stage of the city’s Soai Rap river dredge project.

According to Liem, the city and Belgian localities are working together in a wide range of areas. Two-way trade surpassed 600 million USD last year, while Belgium is currently investing in 25 projects in the city.

An exhibition of Belgian comic books is being held on Nguyen Van Binh Book Street in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City until April 26.

The exhibition features 75 wood prints, with 10 of them created by renowned Belgian painter Dany and about 60 others used for the covers of books from Wallonie-Bruxelles (French Community of Belgium) which have been translated and published in Vietnam.

Some of the books were written by great authors such as Maurice Maeterlinck, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1911, detective novelist Georges Simenon, and contemporary writers, including Amélie Nothomb, Jean-Pierre Orban, and Nicolas Ancion.

Popular characters in Belgian comics such as Smurf, Tintin, Lucky Luke, and Spirou, as well as the covers of several other children’s books are also introduced at the exhibition.

The opening ceremony of the exhibition was held on Nguyen Van Binh Book Street on April 21 as part of the Vietnam’s Book Day. The event also honored the jazz culture of Wallonie-Bruxelles with a short performance.

Painter Dany is visiting  HCMC to attend the exhibition and work with lecturers and students of the HCMC University of Fine Arts in Binh Thanh District from April 22 to 24. Particularly, a professional exchange between Dany, the university’s lecturers and students, and professional illustrators is taking place this morning.

The Belgian artist has also selected 29 of his wood prints for an exhibition titled “Share the Legacy: The Art of Comics with comic book artist Dany”, which is being held at the HCMC University of Fine Arts from today until May 3.

Source : VOV

Nguyễn Xuân Đại, deputy director of the Hà Nội Department for Agriculture and Rural Development, talks to Hà Nội Mới (New Hà Nội) newspaper on the city’s achievements in international co-operation in agriculture in the last three years

Can you tell us about some of the city’s international co-operation in agriculture?

Since 2007, the Hà Nội agriculture sector has signed five memorandums of understanding with foreign counterparts, particularly in the field of import-export of agriculture products.

For example, Hà Nội signed a memorandum of understanding with the Japanese Meika Shoji Group; the Malaysian SDN BHD Fresh Farm in the import-export of Canh orange, Diễn pomello, longan and others. Now, Hà Nội has 18 co-operative projects with foreign counterparts in crop cultivation and animal husbandry.

How has Hà Nội benefited from this collaboration?

The city has completed its task of land accumulation to facilitate its agriculture development in accordance with the Hà Nội municipal city authorities’ plan. For example, the city has 15 communes specialised in raising dairy cows; 13 communes specialised in pig rearing and 29 communes in poultry raising, plus more than 4,200 farms.

Through international co-operation, many projects on advanced technology in farming activities have been transferred to Hà Nội farmers. As a result, many of Hà Nội’s agro-products have been exported. For example, in 2018, Hà Nội exported 19 tonnes of longans to the US and some European countries.

In animal husbandry, Hà Nội has carried out the Việt Nam-Belgium Dairy Cow project and received support from Belgium in dairy cow rearing. The city has also co-operated with the Netherlands in a project on pig rearing.

In other words, co-operation projects with foreign partners have helped the Hà Nội agriculture sector gain a high reputation in both the domestic and foreign markets. This is an important motivation for the city’s agriculture sector.

Can you elaborate?

Since 2014, the Hà Nội Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has supported Laos’ Vientiane and Luang Prabang Province to develop their agriculture production. Hà Nội has also completed a project to help Vientiane develop its own plan on agriculture and forestry development. In the meantime, Hà Nội has helped Luang Prabang develop its Nậm Bạc native orange with high yield and quality.

From 2011-2014, Hà Nội also sent agriculture experts to Mozambique to grow rice with high yield on 100ha and to develop three books on rice cultivation techniques.

Does Hà Nội have plans to expand its international agriculture relations?

International co-operation in agriculture is a tendency nowadays as it is an important tool in agricultural restructuring.

To accelerate its international integration, the Hà Nội agriculture sector will continue to work with farmers in restructuring their crop plants and animal husbandry to achieve the target of high economic efficiency. Also, Hà Nội authorities will work side by side with the farmers to help them apply advanced technology to gain higher yields to cater for both the domestic and foreign markets’ demand

Read more at http://vietnamnews.vn/society/518988/international-co-operation-drives-agriculture-development.html#ZuqCuIDElfIWGLDl.99