Opening Ceremony of Pippi Longstocking Exhibition

Following the direction of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MoCST), on December 14, 2020, the National Library of Viet Nam (NLV) in cooperation with Sweden Embassy to Viet Nam solemnly opened the exhibition “Pippi Longstocking” at the NLV on the occasion of the 75^th anniversary of the Swedish children literary Pippi Longstockings.

Attending the event, there were Ms. Nguyen Phuong Hoa, Director of the International Cooperation Department, MoCST; Ms. Ann Mawe, Ambassador of Sweden to Viet Nam;Ms. Kieu Thuy Nga, Director of the National Library of Viet Nam; Ms. Nguyen Thi Tao, Vice Principle of Trung Hoa Secondary School; leaders of departments under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Ministry of Information and Communications, representatives of central and Ha Noi agencies, international guests, library colleagues, news agencies, central and Ha Noi press.

“Pippi Longstocking” is the name of the main character, as well as the name of a famous children’s novel by famous Swedish female writer Astrid Lindgren. The story is about a strange girl with red hair, freckled face, brave, cheerful and kind, always protects her friends when they are in danger, much stronger and smarter than any other adult. Since its inception, Pippi has nonstopped attracting and fascinating generations of children around the world. The story about Pippi has been translated into 70 different languages, and in 1991, the Vietnamese edition was introduced in Viet Nam by the Literature Publishing House. The story book has been then reprinted many times with the enthusiastic reception of the generations of readers.

Through the exhibition, readers and the public will get to know more about Pippi because for many people, more than a fictional character, Pippi has become a symbol that pervaded and inspired generations of children and adults in terms of strength, self-control, independence and ability to go beyond the ordinary to become one of the most beloved classic characters of European and international children literature.

On behalf of the NLV, Ms. Kieu Thuy Nga thanked all the guests attending the ceremony and sincerely thanked the Swedish Embassy to Viet Nam for giving Vietnamese people the opportunity to learn more about one of the symbols of the Swedish literature - Pippi Longstocking by co-organizing this exhibition with interesting and meaningful reading activities.

Within the framework of the activities to celebrate the 75^th anniversary of the children literary Pippi Longstockings, on December 15, 2020, at the Children’s Cultural Library, Ms. Ann Mawe, Ambassador of Sweden to Viet Nam and her associates collaborated with the NLV to organize reading activities for children, in which the Ambassador directly read the story of Pippi Longstockings and asked children quiz questions about the character; Ms. Sofia Holt, a Swedish artist, taught children how to draw and practice drawing about Pippi Longstocking. These activities attracted the enthusiastic participation of more than 50 students from Trung Hoa Secondary School.

Photos of the same event: