In celebration of the Viet Nam Book and Reading Culture Day April 21 and World Book and Copyright Day April 23, on April 19, 2023, the National Library of Viet Nam (NLV) in cooperation with ministries, branches, international organizations, libraries, schools, publishers, bookstores, businesses... organized the Book and Reading Culture Festival 2023with the theme: “Books for me, for you”.

Welcome Cultural Performance

Attending the Book and Reading Culture Festival 2023, on the side of the invited guests, there were: Ms. Trinh Thi Thuy – Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MoCST); Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh – Former Deputy Minister of National Defense; Mr. Nguyen Nguyen – Director of the Authority of Publication, Printing and Distribution; Mr. Nguyen Tuan Linh -Permanent Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of the MoCST; Ms. Kieu Thuy Nga – Director of the Library Department, MoCST; Mr. Duong Trung Quoc – General Secretary of the Viet Nam Association of Historical Sciences; Mr. Nguyen Huu Gioi – President of Vietnamese Library Association…

On the side of the Organizing Committee, there were Mr. Nguyen Xuan Dung – Acting Director of the National Libraryof Viet Nam, Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the  Book and Reading Culture Festival 2023 and OC members.

On the side of the international guests,there were representatives of the embassies: Poland, Chile, Cuba, Oriental Republic of Uruguay, Hungary, Italia, Panama, Peru, Thailand, Laos, United States of America; diplomatic agencies and international organizations such as the Wallonie-Bruxelles Delegation, The Asia Foundation (USA) in Viet Nam, the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF).

Representatives of leaders of departments and agencies under the Central Propaganda Department, Office of the National Assembly, and the National Assembly's Committee for Culture and Education alsoattended the Festival, as did leaders and former leaders of agencies of the Party, Union, Department, Office, units and associations under the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, the Ministry of Information and Communications, the Ministry of Education and Training,the Ministry of Public Securityand the Ministry of National Defense also attended the event.

There were also representatives from libraries and information centers, publishers, bookstores, educational institutions, businesses, speakers, writers, poets, researchers, critics, scientists, managers, lecturers; organizations, individuals, news agencies, newspapers, radio, and a large number of readers of all ages...

Overview of the Book and Reading Culture Festival 2023

After 17 years of implementation, the Books and Reading Culture Festival at the NLV has become an activity that spreads widely to libraries, library-information centers and other cultural institutions throughout the country. In order to honor the value of books, affirm the position, role and importance of books in social life; honor the readers and people engaged in collecting, composing, publishing, printing, librarians, bookkeepers; at the same time raising the responsibility of all levels and sectors for building and developing reading culture in Viet Nam, the NLV organized the festival this year with many diverse and rich activities, providing a useful and useful playground for readers of all ages.

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Dung – NLV Acting Director, Chairman of the Book and Reading Culture Festival 2023 Organizing Committee, gives the opening speech

Ribbon cutting to open the Book and Reading Culture Festival 2023

The Book Exhibition Aspiration to reach great heightsdisplayed and introduced 1,000 books underfour contents: (1) Outline of Vietnamese culture and the guiding viewpoints of the Party and State on building and developing Vietnamese culture (2) Vietnamese cultural journeys (3) National Book Award and positive contributions to the development of reading culture (4) Books and reading culture - Awareness, innovation and creativity. The materials on displayed at the exhibition have helped affirm the role, meaning, historical value and reality of the Outline of Vietnamese culture; the mission of books in preserving the progress, culture, civilization and historical development of human beings, and being the source for providing and disseminating knowledge. Reading is the shortest way to access and absorb the intellectual quintessence of humanity, creating a premise for the development and aspiration to reach great heights of each individual and the whole society.

Delegates, readers and the public visit the book exhibition “Aspiration to reach great heights”

The Exchange of Authors and Works program with 2 works “Người Thầy”(tentatively translated as “The Teacher”)of Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh – Former Deputy Minister of National Defense published by the People’s Army Publishing House in 2023, attracted the attention of many readers. From honest sharing of the speaker and invited guests, the portrait of an excellent intelligence officer, Major General Dang Tran Duc, also known as Ba Quoc, is depicted with quiet but glorious feats, has the glory and also hardships, but his love for the country and the people still always comes first. And the work “Cảm ơn Người, sông Mekong”(tentatively translated as“Thank You, the Mekong River”) by author and poet Le Tuan Loc, published by Writers Association Publishing House in 2022, was introduced to readers in many attractive forms. Through the interaction between the author and the readers, the Mekong River appears poetically with passionate and painful love affairs of boys and girls from different countries along the river.

Exchange of Authors and Works program

The work “Những miền lưu dấu - Cảnh Việt trong văn chương” (tentatively translated as “Regions that save imprints - Beautiful landscape of Viet Nam in literature” by a group of authors, published by Kim Dong Publishing House in 2023, collects the best excerpts from the high school curriculum textbooks about the beautiful landscapes of Viet Nam with illustrations by modern painters. The book is considered as a supporting material for teaching Literature in high schools. This year, within the framework of the Exchange of Authors and Works program, the works won the Five Continents Prize of the Francophonie and about history of Francophone literature in Belgium, Canada, Africa and Viet Nam were also introduced. This is a cooperation program between the National Library of Viet Nam, International Organization of La Francophonie and Ha Noi University was organized with the aim to introduce Francophone literature, the diversity in culture and literature of the French-speaking community to Vietnamese readers.

Creative Reading is an activity organized by the NLV for the first time, attracting the participation of 100 primary school students, covering a wide range of content helping children better understand what they have read, thereby expanding worldview, nurture a passion for reading, promote creativity, apply unique initiatives to solve problems and situations in learning and in life, multiply the empathy and kindness within each person.

Creative Reading program

Exploration of Let’s Read Digital Library program

“Exploration of Digital Library” program is organized to help children love reading, consider reading as a way to learning through play, and thereby improve their awareness and organizational thinking. The program is structured into two parts: Part 1. Bookmark Design Contest; Part 2. Exploration of Digital Library: an interesting amazing reading race contest combining retrieving books on the digital library and participating the program’s challenges. Interface of the contests is beautifully designed, questions are highly applicable have attractive the participation of hundreds primary school students. With the ability to improvise quickly combined with creatively and ingenuity, many children won the contests and received gifts from the Organizing Committee.

English Storytelling Competition is a useful playground that contribute to maintaining and promoting the reading culture in society and in schools, and at the same time encouraging students to establish and develop their ability of learning and communicating in English. The contest attracted the participation of many primary schools in Ha Noi. Each team brought to the contest their very own and unique performance. In the end, the Special Prize was awarded to Nguyen Tuan Primary School, many official prizes and additional prizes were also awarded to participating schools.

English Storytelling Competition

The images of the colors of Vietnamese ethnic groups’ cultures through the children’s drawings appear very vividly and closely through the Painting through Books Contest. Participating in this activity, children have the opportunity to show their artistic talent, arouse their passion for reading, the ability to appreciate the beauty in books, contribute to the formation of personality, morality and style, and at the same time supplement knowledge for children. This year’s contest has attracted nearly 300 students from primary and secondary schools with the results of 1 Special Prize, 2 First Prizes, 3 Third Prizes and 10 Prospect Prizes awarded to outstanding students of each school level.

Painting through Books Contest

The intellectual game Knowledge puzzle is an activity that combines movement to improve physical fitness and movement to improve thinking ability contributed to the development of presentation ability, improvisation, improving the cultural and social understanding, fostering the purity and beauty of the soul, and at the same time arousing a passion for reading. With the enthusiastic response of the students, the game took place in an extremely exciting but equally dramatic atmosphere. And finally, the First Prize was awarded to the team from the University of Social Sciences and Humanities.

Super Reading Intellectual Training is an activity for school pupils and students, jointly implemented by the NLV and the Sports and Tourism Publishing House. Participating in this activity, pupils and students have the opportunity to approach to effective reading methods, grasp the learning program properly, improve the memorizing skills through smart note-taking, create a revolution in reading methods, and broaden their knowledge to use successfully in school and life.

Intellectual game: Knowledge puzzle

Space for displaying the winning works of the Reading Culture Ambassador Contest 2022

Space for displaying the winning works of the Reading Culture Ambassador Contest 2022 is beautifully and vividly designed, contributing to spreading excellent works to a large number of readers and the community in order to arouse the love for books, creating motivation to form the reading habits and skills for students nationwide, towards the goal of developing reading culture in schools and communities.

Also within the framework of the Book and Reading Culture Festival, there were also activities such as: Displaying the winning paintings in the book painting contest in the last 5 years, receive and share books sponsored by agencies, organizations and individuals to a number of schools and libraries in remote and isolated areas throughout the country...

With the message The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go! Pick up the book and read, the whole world will open up before your eyes! The National Library of Viet Nam wishes to be a place for knowledge transmission, and at the same time a rendezvous for all those who love books.

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News: Hong Van, Phuong Nhung; Photos and Presentation: Reference Division