Moving: Young performers from Long Nhi Đường, a dragon dance troupe in District 8, offer both new and traditional dances by performers aged 6 to 17 who are orphans or were once homeless. Photo courtesy of the troupe’s Facebook Viet Nam News The Múa lân (kylin dance) is often performed by the ethnic Hoa (Chinese-Vietnamese) who account for around 4 per cent of HCM City’s population. Many of them live in Chợ Lớn (Big Market) in District 5. The dance is usually performed to bring luck and happiness during Tết (Lunar New Year), Mid-Autumn Festival, and at ceremonies to open a new business or build a new house. Anh Thu reports. HCM City has dozens of professional dance troupes, including leading troupes Nhơn Nghĩa Đường and Kiến Thắng Đường of Chợ Lớn (Big Market) in District 5 with 100-200 performers each. But Long Nhi Đường, a smaller … [Read more...] about Kylin dance skills passed down generations
Learn lead generation
Youngsters will lead Viet Nam to future prosperity
CEO of Startup Viet Nam Foundation (SVF) Pham Duy Hieu speaks at a forum held on Friday in Hai Phong.— Photo enternews.vn Young Vietnamese entrepreneurs must pay attention to six crucial steps in order to successfully found a startup business, said CEO of Startup Viet Nam Foundation (SVF) Pham Duy Hieu at a forum held on Friday in Hai Phong. First, he said, you must find your inspiration. Once this has been found, it is important to learn the necessary basics of how to start a business. Next you should set up a startup group, in order to learn from and support fellow entrepreneurs who could possess invaluable skills to help you along the way. Once you’re connected you must learn the essential skills required for creating your own startup. It is important to make sure that you are always growing and learning from your mistakes, and finally, you must believe in yourself to become the champion, he said. The forum was organised to educate the many young people who have failed … [Read more...] about Youngsters will lead Viet Nam to future prosperity
With bigger paycheck in sight, millennials lead job hopping trend in Vietnam
Since starting her first job as a copywriter in communications agency Youth Media nearly three years ago, Bui Quynh Trang has switched jobs three times. She has been working as a freelance videographer for about eight months now. Her stint at her previous employer lasted only nine months. The 24-year-old was with her first job for more than a year, before she decided to quit with no alternative lined up. “I was bored with the old jobs. One gave me a low wage, and the other took too many of my hours a day, from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m.,” Trang said. As the Vietnamese economy is expanding fast, switching jobs for better conditions has become more and more common, with the trend being led by millennials. According to a survey conducted on more than 3,000 Vietnamese born between 1980-1996 by recruitment firm Navigos Group last August, over two- thirds of respondents said they were considering switching to a new job, while 70 percent said they stay with any given company for no more … [Read more...] about With bigger paycheck in sight, millennials lead job hopping trend in Vietnam
Lessons to be learned in Vietnam from Thailand’s sex industry
“Call me Ryn, I like that name!” a transgender woman told me with a hoarse voice and a shy smile, preferring the female name than her given one. Ryn works at a bar in Soi Nana, one of many glittering alleys along Sukhumvit which often sit on top of the must-visit places in Bangkok. At these red light districts, sex workers, male or female, provide all kinds of services, from a fun date to arousing massages. The alleys stand right next to a shopping center crowded with Muslims. A man having fun all night at Soi Cowboy can take a short walk to the mall and buy beautiful hijabs for his wife or lover back home. It’s hard to work out if prostitution is legal in Thailand. The country has at least three laws defining the acts of selling one’s body and enticing sexual desires for money as illegal. In 2003, the Ministry of Justice planned to legalize prostitution to collect taxes and try to control STDs, but eventually it could not rule over traditional ethical values. … [Read more...] about Lessons to be learned in Vietnam from Thailand’s sex industry
Seven generations of Ca Tru singing
The small house in a narrow alley in Thuy Khue Street, north of Hanoi, has always been resounding with sounds of drums, castanets and sing voices of Ca Tru, an ancient genre of chamber music. It has become a popular place for visitors at home and abroad. Artist Nguyen Van Mui, 80 years old, has been living there for all his life, and so did his seven generations of ancestors who have been closely associated with this genre of music. His clan has contributed a number of artists to the Court music band. His grand mother, Nguyen Thi Tuyet, was in charge of the Court’s music and dances under the Nguyen Dynasty. Ca Tru and Quan Ho (love duet) folk music have been recognised by UNESCO as the World’s Cultural Heritage. In the concert to honour Quan Ho and Ca Tru artists, the whole family of artist Nguyen Van Mui were there to perform and made good impressions on the audience. Nguyen Van Mui is considered as the best Ca Tru artist who plays the accompanying tomtom at the … [Read more...] about Seven generations of Ca Tru singing
ICRC: Vietnam has credible voice on International Humanitarian Law
“Many people in Vietnam can still tell us about the suffering during the war. And even now, Vietnam is still suffering from the consequences of the war, from unexploded ordnances and the effects of Agent Orange for example. This is the reason why Vietnam has a strong and credible voice in the international community on issues related to International Humanitarian Law,” said Beat Schweizer, International Committee on Red Cross (ICRC) Head of Regional Delegation in Bangkok, Thailand, at the workshop held in Hanoi on December 5th to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Vietnam’s ratification of the 1949 Geneva Conventions. Photo for illustration: baonghean.vn. “The ICRC appreciates the active support and the leading role that the Socialist Republic of Vietnam plays internationally in efforts to strengthen and further develop International Humanitarian Law,” Schweizer stressed.As a country that has experienced many wars, Vietnam fully … [Read more...] about ICRC: Vietnam has credible voice on International Humanitarian Law
Did Sanofi, WHO ignore warning signals on dengue vaccine?
When French drugmaker Sanofi published the results of clinical trials of children given its dengue vaccine two years ago, the overall findings were that it protected against the world's biggest and fastest growing mosquito-borne disease. But the trial also showed that in the third year after receiving the Dengvaxia inoculation, younger children were more likely to end up in hospital with a severe case of dengue than those who didn't get the vaccine. The study's authors cited two main possibilities: the children had immature immune systems that made the vaccine less protective, or the vaccine itself made them more susceptible to severe disease if they had never had dengue and later became infected. More than two years later, it turns out the latter was the primary factor - a revelation at the end of last month that has triggered alarm among hundreds of thousands of anxious parents in the Philippines, where the vaccine has been given to over 830,000 children. It has also torpedoed … [Read more...] about Did Sanofi, WHO ignore warning signals on dengue vaccine?
Traveling with care
By Thu Thuy in HCMCFor a newcomer on the Vietnamese insurance market, finding niche segments to survive tough competition is a crucial step towards development. And the U.S.-invested non-life insurer Liberty Vietnam has found good ones relating to travel and car ownership, as a developing Vietnam promises fast growth in these segments.From TravelCare…The insurer must have work hard to design special travel insurance policies targeting the ever-increasing number of locals traveling abroad. The policies are affordable to all travelers who have demand for protection during their overseas trips. Liberty TravelCare provides superior travel protection for individuals and families to travel abroad with many flexible coverage options meeting customers’ needs such as personal accidents, overseas medical expenses, overseas hospital visits, additional accommodation expenses and medical assistance around the clock in emergency cases. The insurance products also cover loss or damage to … [Read more...] about Traveling with care
Social News 12/12
New aid package targets flood-hit poor, near-poor familiesThe aid package of nearly 1 million USD committed by the Government of the Republic of Korea (RoK) in early November will be used to assist poor and near-poor Vietnamese families affected by typhoon Damrey to rebuild their houses. The UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the RoK Embassy in Vietnam and the General Department of Disaster Prevention and Control under the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development signed an agreement on the implementation of the aid package in Hanoi on December 12. With the donation, which is channeled via the UNDP, the flood-hit families will be supported in terms of knowledge and necessary resources to repair their houses, making them resistant to upcoming storms and floods. UN Resident Coordinator in Vietnam Kamal Malhotra said ensuring residents’ access to safe housing is the core of the rehabilitation work.Tran Quang Hoai, permanent member of the Central … [Read more...] about Social News 12/12
BUSINESS IN BRIEF 10/12
JETRO to host Invest Japan seminar in Ho Chi Minh CityJapan External Trade Organisation Ho Chi Minh City (JETRO) and the Ministry of Planning and Investment's Foreign Investment Agency will co-organise the Invest Japan seminar in Ho Chi Minh City on December 19.The seminar aims to introduce the strengths of the Japanese market, the advantages of establishing a branch in Japan, as well as JETRO’s free support activities for enterprises in Vietnam looking to invest or establish a business in Japan.The relationship between Japan and Vietnam has improved significantly over the past years. This January, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited Vietnam. In March, the Emperor and his Empress visited Vietnam for the first time, and in June, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc visited Japan for the second time after taking office.In terms of the economy, the number of Japanese enterprises investing in Vietnam continues to increase, while trade relations are on the rise. A growing … [Read more...] about BUSINESS IN BRIEF 10/12