Poster of the contest (Source: thiennhien.org) Hanoi (VNA) – The Education for Nature – Vietnam (ENV), on the occasion of Vietnam Bear Day (November 26), launched a letter writing contest with the aim of engaging young people in bear protection efforts. The contest, which is open to all youths, aged between 11 and 17 years old, asks contestants to write letters to bears owners, persuading them to voluntarily hand over their captive bears to rescue centres. The letter must be handwritten and not exceed 500 words. Each participant can submit more than one entry to the administrator board of his school, which in turn will select a maximum of 10 outstanding letters to send to ENV. The deadline is before March 15, 2019. Winners of the competition will be announced and awarded in September the same year. ENV Deputy Director Nguyen Phuong Dung said it is time to exert more pressure on bear owners, forcing them to give up bear captivity. The contest provides a venue for the … [Read more...] about Letter contest launched to engage youths in efforts to save bears
Letter writing
48th edition of world’s letter-writing contest launched
Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Minh Hong addresses the ceremony (Photo: VNA) Nghe An (VNA) – The 48th International Letter-Writing Competition for Young People was launched at a ceremony held in Vinh city of the central province of Nghe An on October 12. The contest, organised by the Universal Postal Union (UPU), tasks students to “Write a letter about your hero”. Vietnamese students under 15 years old are eligible for the competition. Each contestant is required to submit a handwritten letter of less than 1,000 words before February 15, 2019. At the event, organisers honoured Nguyen Thi Bach Duong, a 14-year-old Vietnamese student who won third prize at the previous international competition. Duong is an eighth grader at the Nguyen Trai Junior High School in Nam Sach district, Hai Duong province. Her letter won the top prize of the national UPU contest in May this year. She received a prize worth 15 million VND (about 640 USD) … [Read more...] about 48th edition of world’s letter-writing contest launched
Vietnamese student wins third prize at int’l letter-writing contest
Nguyen Thi Bach Duong, an eighth grader at the Nguyen Trai Junior High School in Nam Sach district, Hai Duong province, wins third place at the 47th International Letter-Writing Competition For Young People, launched globally by the Universal Postal Union (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – A 14-year-old Vietnamese student has won third prize at the 47th International Letter-Writing Competition For Young People, launched globally by the Universal Postal Union (UPU). The UPU recently celebrated World Post Day (October 9) and presented the contest prizes in Bern city, Switzerland, according to the Department of International Cooperation under the Ministry of Information and Communications. This year’s event challenged contestants to “Imagine you are a letter travelling through time, what message do you wish to convey to your readers?” The first prize was presented to a 13-year-old Cypriot student, while second prize went to a 10-year-old Portuguese child. … [Read more...] about Vietnamese student wins third prize at int’l letter-writing contest
Vietnamese student wins prize at international letter-writing contest
Viet Nam News HÀ NỘI — A letter by Nguyễn Thị Bạch Dương, an eighth grade student from the northern province of Hải Dương, has won third prize at the 47th annual Universal Postal Union (UPU) International Letter-Writing Contest. Her letter won first prize out of over a million entries to this year’s contest in Việt Nam. The theme for the 2018 competition was: "Imagine you are a letter travelling through time. What message do you wish to convey to your readers?" Dương’s letter wrote in the voice of Francis Pharcellus, an editor from The Sun newspaper, as he persuades eight-year-old reader Virginia O’Hanlon that Santa Clause exists. Her letter, dated in the 19th century, was judged as naturally creative and full of humanity. The awards ceremony was held in Bern, Switzerland, where Vietnamese ambassador Phạm Hải Bằng received on Dương’s behalf. The first … [Read more...] about Vietnamese student wins prize at international letter-writing contest
Einstein’s ‘God letter’ to go on sale for $1mn
Viet Nam News NEW YORK — A handwritten letter from Albert Einstein about his thoughts on God, religion and his search for meaning is to go on sale in New York, valued at up to $1.5 million, Christie’s said Wednesday. Written a year before the legendary physicist died in 1955, his name synonymous with genius, Einstein writes in German from Princeton, New Jersey to German philosopher Eric Gutkind. "The word God is for me nothing but the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of venerable but still rather primitive legends," writes the physicist, best known for his theory of relativity. "No interpretation, no matter how subtle, can (for me) change anything about this." The one-and-a-half-page letter will go on sale on December 4, estimated by Christie’s to fetch between US$1 million and $1.5 million. The letter was previously offered at auction in 2008, bought by a private collector for $404,000, Christie’s said. "It is one of the … [Read more...] about Einstein’s ‘God letter’ to go on sale for $1mn
Trump releases ‘very nice’ letter from North Korea’s Kim
US President Donald Trump and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un, at the start of their historic summit in in Singapore on Jun 12, 2018. (AFP/SAUL LOEB) The four-paragraph letter - an upbeat missive in which Kim voices hope in a "new future" and speaks of his "invariable trust" in Trump - is dated Jul 6, the day Secretary of State Mike Pompeo landed in North Korea for what turned out to be acrimonious talks with Kim's regime. "A very nice note from Chairman Kim of North Korea," Trump tweeted alongside a copy of the letter. "Great progress being made!" Addressing Trump, Kim describes their Jun 12 summit in Singapore, and the resulting joint statement, as the "start of a meaningful journey." "I firmly believe that the strong will, sincere efforts and unique approach of myself and Your Excellency Mr. President aimed at opening up a new future between the DPRK and the U.S. will surely come to fruition," Kim writes, according to the translation tweeted by the president. "I deeply … [Read more...] about Trump releases ‘very nice’ letter from North Korea’s Kim
Santa Claus-themed letter wins national UPU contest
Nguyen Thi Bach Duong (centre), an eighth grader at the Nguyen Trai Junior High School in Hai Duong province, is presented with the first prize of the contest (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – A letter about Santa Claus written by an eighth grader in Hai Duong province has won the first prize of the 47th International Letter-Writing Competition for Young People in Vietnam. Nguyen Thi Bach Duong, an eighth grader at the Nguyen Trai Junior High School in Nam Sach district, Hai Duong province, won the top prize of the contest, which was launched globally by the Universal Postal Union (UPU). The Corporation of Vietnam Post Office (Vietnam Post) and the Thieu nien Tien phong newspaper held a ceremony in Hanoi on May 11 to present prizes to the winners. This year’s contest is themed "Imagine you are a letter travelling through time. What message do you wish to convey to your readers?" In her letter, Duong imagined herself to be a real letter which was written by an editor of The … [Read more...] about Santa Claus-themed letter wins national UPU contest
From wooden table to special letter sent to Barack Obama
On the occasion, they had had a chance to enjoy Syzygium nervosum’s leaf water and liquor made from a Northern kind of large-size –grained glutinous rice produced by the Phuc Hung Traditional Pharmaceutical Co.,Ltd being laid down from 15 to 18 years. Syzygium nervosum’s flower bud and this kind of liquor were given to each poet from the United States, Cuba and Colombia after they left Vietnam. In addition, Mr. Le Phuong Chung and his family opened a banquet for the guests to introduce beef Pho (Vietnamese Noodle Soup) Recipe. As for writer Nguyen Quang Thieu, the Pho’s cooking skills of his family is the best in Ha Noi and they just serve this special food on special occasion. An initiative had been posed in a cozy night in Mr. Le Phuong Chung’s house, located in My Duc District, Ha Noi where poets from Vietnam, Cuba, The United States of America and Colombia wrote a letter for sending to Presidents Barack Obama and Raul Castro. The … [Read more...] about From wooden table to special letter sent to Barack Obama
Letter shows ‘unsatisfied’ de Beauvoir’s passion for younger man
French feminist icon Simone de Beauvoir's "mad passion" for a lover 18 years her junior has been revealed in a letter published for the first time Sunday. It also shows that she was never sexually satisfied by her partner, the existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre. The writer, who condemned marriage as an "obscene" institution which enslaved women in her classic book, "The Second Sex", wrote to the film-maker Claude Lanzmann in 1953 saying she would throw herself into his "arms and I will stay there forever. I am your wife forever." The note is one of 112 love letters written to the only man de Beauvoir ever lived with, which has been bought by Yale University. It reveals that Sartre -- who had many other lovers and always kept a separate apartment -- was never able to satisfy her physically in the same way. "I loved him for sure," she wrote to Lanzmann, "but without it being returned -- our bodies were for nothing." Nor did she find the same bliss in bed with the American … [Read more...] about Letter shows ‘unsatisfied’ de Beauvoir’s passion for younger man
Exhibition gathers handwritten letters in the past century
VietNamNet Bridge – Handwritten letters of the Vietnamese people during the last hundred years are on display at an exhibition in Hanoi. The exhibition is hosted by A Letter Home, a homestay accommodation provider, a space of patisserie, café and books.This is very different from art exhibitions because visitors can spend an entire day reading hundreds of letters in Vietnamese, English and French, sent by intellectuals, artists, writers and people in a family. Some of them are love letters while some are official documents.“Handwritten letters could very well be the most beautiful means of communication between humans,” said Nguyen Da Thuong, 30, owner of A Letter Home.“They not only store information but also lessen conflicts between us,” Thuong said.“When you write something down and send it to another person, things slow down, and if the anger is present, it will be eased.”“Intellectuals, collectors, even families have been … [Read more...] about Exhibition gathers handwritten letters in the past century