Social News 22/9 Vietravel Hanoi to offer free walking tours to visitors   The Hanoi Free Walking Tour, which helps tourists to the capital city explore local life free of charge, will be launched in October. Organised by Vietravel Hanoi, the programme includes five different routes for foreigners and Vietnamese from outside Hanoi to experience local morning routine, the West Lake area, northern folk art, and weekend activities. They are set to take place on Fridays and at weekends and last between two and three hours each. Participants will be treated to a significant dish of Hanoi after ending their routes of choice. Tourists can register to take part in on www.freewalkingtour.com.vn or by the hotline 024 3933 1978. Registration must be made 48 hours before the starting hour of each route. VNA seeks to increase ethnic minority pictorial’s quality The Vietnam News Agency (VNA) organised a conference in Mekong delta Can Tho city on September 22 to seek measures to improve the quality of its Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Region Pictorial in the southern region. The Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Region Pictorial is the only bilingual press product serving ethnic minority communities across 45 provinces in the country with 75,000 copies each monthly edition. Currently, the pictorial newspaper has 12 bilingual versions in Vietnamese and 12 ethnic languages. VNA General Director Nguyen Duc Loi said that playing the role as a news bank serving the entire press system, the VNA hopes that its publications disseminate the great national unity policy and help the ethnic minorities understand the Party and State’s consistent policies on the ethnic and religion-related issues. Therefore, the agency wants to coordinate closely with localities where the Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Region Pictorial is available to improve its quality and ensure the publication can reach its readers and increase dissemination efficiency. At the conference, representatives from ministries, sectors and localities contributed ideas to improve the quality of the product, from format to content, and expand the distribution network. Son Minh Thang, deputy head of the Steering Committee for the Southwestern Region, asked the VNA to intensify disseminations on the implementation of the Party and State’s policies, especially those dedicated to the ethnic minorities, regional connectivity. Huynh Thi Somaly from the Government Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs proposed the pictorial balance appropriate contents about regions, increase the coverage of news involved in the ethnic minorities’ customs. It is also necessary to improve reporters’ awareness of customs and religions of each group, re-check information with scholars who are ethnics, and invite freelance reporters who are ethnics to write about their groups’ customs, she said. Vietnam-Azerbaijan diplomatic ties marked in Ba Ria-Vung Tau The south-eastern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau held a ceremony to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Vietnam-Azerbaijan diplomatic ties in Xuyen Moc district on September 22. The history of Vietnam-Azerbaijan relations was marked by the visit to Baku by President Ho Chi Minh in 1959 and the visit to Vietnam by First Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics Aliyev Heydar in 1983. The two nations have overcome difficulties and challenges over the past 25 years to reap significant achievements in all fields, thus raising their position in the region and around the world.  Azerbaijani people wholeheartedly supported Vietnam in the past and at present. The bilateral cooperation has become fruitful in recent time, especially in the field of human resources training. From the 1960s of the 20th century, Azerbaijani universities and colleges helped Vietnam train about 4,000 scientists, educators, engineers, technicians and managerial officials. New developments in the bilateral relations have been recorded since Azerbaijan established its embassy in Hanoi in 2013. Particularly, the State-level visit to Vietnam by President Ilham Aliyev in May 2014 and the official visit to Azerbaijan by President Truong Tan Sang in 2015 opened up a new chapter in their relations with the signing of many important documents on the bilateral cooperation. The rapports between Vietnamese and Azerbaijani States, Parties, parliaments and peoples are growing as well. Chairman of the Vietnam-Azerbaijan Friendship Association Nguyen Vu Khai said participants at the meeting discussed ways to boost the bilateral cooperation, especially in the field of oil and gas, training experts, and developing the respective distinctive products. Three Azerbaijani universities were honoured with the Vietnamese State’s Friendship Order in recognition of their active contributions to improving human resources training in Vietnam as well as strengthening solidarity and friendship between the two countries. Can Tho steps up fight against human trafficking The Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs of Mekong delta Can Tho city will join hands with relevant departments and organisations to raise public awareness of the Law against Human Trafficking by establishing human trafficking prevention clubs, holding conferences and handing out leaflets. This is among measures to be taken by Can Tho authority as part of effort to prevent human trafficking in the locality, heard a conference jointly held by the department and the Can Tho Women’s Union on September 22. According to Pham Ngoc Phuong, head of the Can Tho office of Prevention for Social Vices, the city uncovered nearly 30 cases of human trafficking, involving 40 victims in 2015-2017. She recommended that the victims should receive legislative, financial and psychological supports so that they can reintegrate into the communities and soon stabilise their lives. Vice Director of the Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Thanh Vung said that his department will work with the women’s union to support former trafficked persons or vulnerable women who are poor and jobless. Vocational training will be provided for the vulnerable group under the training project for rural labourers until 2020 while jobs will be introduced to disadvantaged women and counseling on human trafficking prevention will be offered to those who want to get married to foreigners.  The department will set up a foundation and call on donations from domestic and foreign organisations to ensure that former victims of human trafficking have chance to get loans to establish their own production models. Legislative procedure support will include legal consultancy, household registers, compensation and other related procedures. Local people should keep a close watch on the situation in their residential areas and promptly report to relevant authorities any traffickers appearing there. Winning designs of Long Thanh airport honoured The Airport Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) organised a ceremony in Ho Chi Minh City on September 22 to award winners of the terminal designing contest for Long Thanh International Airport in the southern province of Dong Nai. Sixteen domestic and foreign consultancy units participated in the contest, according to the organisers.  The first prizes, each worth 15,000 USD, were presented to three designs including one in the shape of a lotus flower (LT-03) submitted by Heerim Architects & Planners, another by Japan Airport Consultants-Adp Ingenierie Shigeru Ban Architects joint venture, which uses bamboo furniture (LT-04) and one of CPG Consultant-Azusa Sekkei-Pae joint-venture, which features coconut leaf details (LT-07). Deputy Minister of Transport Le Dinh Tho said that the selected designs will be further studied, completed and used in devising a feasibility report of the project, which will be submitted to the National Assembly for approval in late 2019. The Long Thanh international airport is set to have a total investment of 336.63 trillion VND (14.8 billion USD), with construction divided into three phases. In the first phase, a runway and one passenger terminal along with other supporting works will be built to serve 25 million passengers and 1.2 million tonnes of cargo each year. This phase is hoped to be finished by 2025. In the second phase, one more runway and another passenger terminal will be constructed to serve 50 million passengers and 1.5 million tonnes of cargo a year. After the third phase expansion, the airport will be able serve 100 million passengers and 5 million tonnes of cargo each year. Mother-to-child HIV transmission preventive measures prove effective The rate of mother-to-child HIV transmission fell to 3.6% in the first half of 2017, showing Vietnam’s preventive measures are proving effective. According to the Department of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control under the Health Ministry, in the period, only 20 out of 561 babies whose mothers were treated with antiretroviral (ARV) drugs tested positive to HIV. Studies indicate that 97 out 100 babies whose mothers use ARV drugs in early pregnancy do not contract the virus, while the number is 50-75 babies if their mothers do not receive ARV therapy or have interrupted treatment. Therefore, the department has coordinated with the Maternal and Child Health Department to intensify mother-to-child HIV transmission preventive measures, especially offering HIV tests for expectant mothers. Communication activities have also been boosted to raise public awareness of the importance of early treatment for HIV-infected mothers. 1 man taken to hospital following condo fire at Rainbow Tower Firefighters said one person was taken to the hospital after a condominium fire Thursday, September 21 at the Rainbow Tower in central Hanoi. Fire officials said they got the call to respond to a fire on the 12th floor at around 6pm. They said when they arrived a man who lived there was overcome by smoke and transported to a local hospital in serious condition. Witnesses report hearing a loud explosion prior to the fire breaking out. Officials said the fire was largely contained to the kitchen of one of the units and did not spread to others. Firefighters are still assessing damage and determining the cause but believe it may have been caused by an electrical shortage in the hot water system that ignited a gas pipeline in the kitchen.      Japan provides USD83,000 to upgrade Hanoi children’s village The Japanese government will provide a non-refundable loan for the upgrading of Birla Children's Village in Hanoi as part of an agreement signed on September 21. The agreement is part of the Japanese government’s non-refundable aid for Vietnam for the 2017 fiscal year.    Speaking at the signing ceremony, Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam Umeda Kunio said that funding was expected to help provide better care for the children in the village. A two-floor building for vocational training and a 100-metre fence will be constructed. The village is home to 110 orphans aged between 2 and 18. Children aged from 13 years and over are provided with vocational training courses. In 2014, the Japanese government also offered USD96,000 for upgrades for the village. Rice allocated for flood victims in central region Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has agreed to allocate rice for local people in the central region hit by storm Doksuri, following his fact-finding trips to Ha Tinh, Quang Binh and Nghe An provinces. Accordingly, Ha Tinh will be provided with rice to aid affected households and VND40 billion (US$1.76 million) sourced from the State budget to rebuild two television transmitter towers which collapsed during the storm. Quang Binh province will receive 3,000 tonnes of rice, while the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment was tasked to address Nghe An’s proposal for the installation of a weather monitoring radar in Ky Son district. The PM also assigned the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to provide rice and vegetable saplings to assist farmers in Ha Tinh and Quang Binh. Doksuri, the 10th storm arising in the East Sea and the strongest one hitting Vietnam in many years, left nine dead, four missing and 112 injured, according to reports from the affected localities.  The typhoon destroyed 1,185 houses, blew away roofs of 152,599 houses, and submerged 10,923 others. It also inundated 4,473ha of rice and 8,277ha of other crops, affected 16,108ha of aquatic farming, and ruined 10km of national highways and 17.9km of local roads. Vietnam speaks out on US documentary TV series 'The Vietnam War' Vietnam's foreign ministry on September 21 reaffirmed the just nature of the country's resistance war against the US, following the release of an American documentary TV series on the war. “The Vietnamese people's resistance war against America was a just resistance war that had promoted the solidarity and strength of the whole nation, and was supported by friends and people around the world,” foreign ministry spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang said in a statement posted on the government's official Facebook page. “That is why we achieved the final victory with the reunification of our nation.” Hang stressed that the recent positive developments in the Vietnam-US comprehensive partnership have resulted from great efforts by both countries and Vietnam's policy of putting the past aside, overcoming differences, promoting similarities and looking to the future. “I personally hope the American people and the filmmakers understand the legitimacy of the resistance war as well as Vietnam's goodwill,” the spokesperson said. “The Vietnam War” is an 18-hour documentary TV series by American filmmakers Ken Burns and Lynn Novick about the titular war. The 10-part series, which took over a decade to make, is being screened on U.S. public TV every weekday night, with the first episode airing last September 17. LG launches start-up competition for youth with disabilities LG Group successfully organized a ‘Global IT Challenge’ competition for global youth with disabilities on September 19-21 with the aim of helping them to integrate into the society and seek employment opportunities. The contest initiated by the Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare was co-hosted by the Korean Society for Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities and LG Group. This year’s contest was held in Vietnam as part of activities to mark the 25th anniversary of Vietnam-Republic of Korea diplomatic ties. One of major targets of the contest is to coordinate with government agencies to build IT development to support people with disabilities in different countries. One hundred youth disabilities aged 13-19 from 16 Asian countries took part in the contest. They were divided into four categories, Visual Impairment, Hearing impairment, Physical impairment and Intellectual /development disorder. Kim Young-lak, LG Electronics Vietnam, said they launched the contest with the aim of helping youth with disabilities to discover their strength and get jobs to improve their lives and integrate into the society. Stronger action needed to combat antimicrobial resistance The health sector has called for efforts to be stepped up in combating antimicrobial resistance (AMR). These comments were made at a workshop on Thursday to review the first-phase implementation of the National Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance in Việt Nam. Speaking at the event, Minister of Health Nguyễn Thị Kim Tiến said AMR has been an alarming problem in Việt Nam, especially the issue of antibiotic resistance in the food chain and ecological environment due to the increase of antibiotic use and weakness in antibiotic management in healthcare and animal husbandry. Tiến said survey results on selling antibiotics at retail drug stores in the north showed weakness in the community’s awareness of antibiotics and AMR. “Antibiotics have been sold without prescriptions at 88 per cent of urban drugstores and 91 per cent of rural drugstores. Antibiotics have contributed to 13.4 per cent of drugstores’ total sales in urban areas and 18.7 per cent of drugstores’ total sales in rural areas,” said Tiến. Tiến stressed that reducing antibiotics use and combating AMR requires the involvement of all ministries and sectors from the central to the local levels and all of society. Speaking at the event, Dr Kidong Park, the World Health Organisation (WHO) representative in Việt Nam, praised the contributions of Việt Nam in the global fight against AMR. “The current burden of AMR is just the tip of the iceberg for the future burden of AMR. If we don’t want to see the full-blown burden of AMR, we must take action now,” said Dr Park. At the event, participants focused their discussion on the results and existing shortcomings of efforts to advance the fight against AMR in Việt Nam. Representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Veterinary Department suggested the State management authorities should strengthen supervision and early warnings of diseases affecting animals and poultry. Management authorities should expand communication campaigns to strengthen the community’s awareness of antibiotics and AMR prevention, tighten inspections and strictly handle violations related to illegal trading and use of prohibited antibiotics and veterinary medicine in breeding and aquaculture.   According to WHO, the estimated death toll due to AMR is some 700,000 deaths per year globally. Failure to control AMR will lead to an increase in cases of up to 10 million per year by 2050, which is more than the estimate for cancer and ten times more than that for diabetes. Further, the economic cost of AMR in 2050 will go up to US$100 trillion. In 2013, Việt Nam passed the National Action Plan on AMR as the first country in WHO’s Western Pacific Region to do so. Last month, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, with support from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, adopted a National Action Plan to tackle the overconsumption of antimicrobials in livestock and fisheries. Lâm Đồng to spend $2.33 million to build new schools The Lâm Đồng Province People’s Committee plans to build six new schools with total capital of VNĐ53 billion (US$2.33 million) from the provincial budget. Three primary schools and one kindergarten in Bảo Lộc City, a kindergarten in Di Linh District, and a junior high school in Đơn Dương District will be built, beginning next year to 2020.  Ther are more than 700 schools in the Tây Nguyên (Central Highlands) province, according to its Department of Education and Training. After a floor collapsed at Đà Lạt’s Đống Đa Junior and Senior High School in August, the department began inspecting schools that are in poor condition and will later repair them. Seminar highlights Vietnam-India partnership prospects The traditional ties between Vietnam and India are developing across the fields, from cooperation in defence-security to trade, investment and people-to-people exchanges. Indian Ambassador to Vietnam Parvathaneni Harish made the evaluation at a seminar on prospects of bilateral ties held in Hanoi on September 21. He said the two countries elevated the bilateral relations to comprehensive strategic partnership during the official visit to Vietnam by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September 2016. India considers ASEAN the centre of its Act East policy and Vietnam is an important pillar in this policy, the diplomat said, adding that he believes in even brighter development prospects for the two nations’ partnership. President of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences Nguyen Quang Thuan said since Vietnam and India gained independence in 1945 and 1947 respectively, the bilateral ties have been continuously nurtured and developed to new heights. He noted that Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was the first foreign leader to visit Vietnam after the Southeast Asian country made the historic Dien Bien Phu victory in 1945. Trade relations were also high on the seminar’s agenda, with attention on the obstacles that hinder bilateral trade and solutions. Director of the Institute for India and Southwest Asia Studies Nguyen Xuan Trung said there are three groups of barriers in Vietnam-India trade relations, which are cultural, religious and institutional differences. He suggested the two sides expand legal foundation and increase the efficiency of trade promotion activities. Embassy works to ensure safety for Vietnamese in Mexico The Embassy of Vietnam in Mexico is making all-out effort to maintain contacts with and provide needed citizen protection measures for the Vietnamese living and working in Mexico, which has severely hit by a powerful earthquake, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang said. At the ministry’s regular press conference on September 21, Hang extended the deepest condolences and sympathy to the Government and people of Mexico and families of the victims in the quake. She said on September 20, State President Tran Dai Quang sent condolences to Mexico’s President Enrique Peña Nieto and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh also extended condolences to Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray Caso. The Embassy of Vietnam in Mexico reported that no Vietnamese got injuries in the earthquake and it has promptly provided temporary shelters for some whose accommodations were damaged by the disaster. The Embassy promptly launched a 24/24 hotline so it can offer timely assistance for those in need, the diplomat said. The 7.1 magnitude earth quake hit Mexico on September 19, claiming the lives of 217 people, according to foreign media on late September 20.- HCM City seeks Denmark’s partnership in smart urban development Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Tran Vinh Tuyen wished that his city and Denmark would join in specific projects in the fields of smart urban development, clean energy, environment pollution and urban infrastructure construction.  During a reception in Ho Chi Minh City on September 21 for Permanent Secretary of State of the Danish Ministry of Energy, Utilities and Climate Thomas Egebo, Tuyen expressed his delight at the development of ties between Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City and Denmark in trade, science-technology, clean energy and climate change response.  He has affirmed that the city wants and stands ready to join global programmes on smart urban development and green energy.  Egebo, for his part, said Danish companies want to partner with the city in building smart urban areas, sustainable development, improving local lives, waste and wastewater treatment, and clean energy.  The guest suggested the city attends an international workshop on building smart urban areas to be held by Denmark in December 2017 in Vietnam and a ministerial meeting on green energy to be held by Denmark and several North European countries in May 2018. Rice allocated for flood victims in central region Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has agreed to allocate rice for local people in the central region hit by storm Doksuri, following his fact-finding trips to Ha Tinh, Quang Binh and Nghe An provinces. Accordingly, Ha Tinh will be provided with rice to aid affected households and 40 billion VND (1.76 million USD) sourced from the State budget to rebuild two television transmitter towers which collapsed during the storm. Quang Binh province will receive 3,000 tonnes of rice, while the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment was tasked to address Nghe An’s proposal for the installation of a weather monitoring radar in Ky Son district. The PM also assigned the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to provide rice and vegetable saplings to assist farmers in Ha Tinh and Quang Binh. Doksuri, the 10th storm arising in the East Sea and the strongest one hitting Vietnam in many years, left nine dead, four missing and 112 injured, according to reports from the affected localities.  The typhoon destroyed 1,185 houses, blew away roofs of 152,599 houses, and submerged 10,923 others. It also inundated 4,473ha of rice and 8,277ha of other crops, affected 16,108ha of aquatic farming, and ruined 10km of national highways and 17.9km of local roads. Stronger action needed to combat antimicrobial resistance The health sector called for efforts to be stepped up to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR) at a workshop on September 21 to review the first-phase implementation of the National Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance in Vietnam. Speaking at the event, Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien said AMR has been an alarming problem in Vietnam, especially the issue of antibiotic resistance in the food chain and ecological environment due to the increase of antibiotic use and weakness in antibiotic management in healthcare and animal husbandry. She said survey results on selling antibiotics at retail drug stores in the north showed weakness in the community’s awareness of antibiotics and AMR. “Antibiotics have been sold without prescriptions at 88 percent of urban drugstores and 91 percent of rural drugstores. Antibiotics have contributed to 13.4 percent of drugstores’ total sales in urban areas and 18.7 percent of drugstores’ total sales in rural areas,” said Tien. Tien stressed that reducing antibiotics use and combating AMR requires the involvement of all ministries and sectors from the central to the local levels and all of society. Speaking at the event, Dr Kidong Park, the World Health Organisation (WHO) representative in Vietnam, praised the contributions of Vietnam in the global fight against AMR. “The current burden of AMR is just the tip of the iceberg for the future burden of AMR. If we don’t want to see the full-blown burden of AMR, we must take action now,” said Park. At the event, participants focused their discussion on the results and existing shortcomings of efforts to advance the fight against AMR in Vietnam. Representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Veterinary Department suggested the State management authorities should strengthen supervision and early warnings of diseases affecting animals and poultry. Management authorities should expand communication campaigns to strengthen the community’s awareness of antibiotics and AMR prevention, tighten inspections and strictly handle violations related to illegal trading and use of prohibited antibiotics and veterinary medicine in breeding and aquaculture.   According to WHO, the estimated death toll due to AMR reaches some 700,000 per year globally. Failure to control AMR will lead to an increase in cases of up to 10 million per year by 2050, which is more than the estimate for cancer and ten times more than that for diabetes. Further, the economic cost of AMR in 2050 will go up to 100 trillion USD. In 2013, Vietnam passed the National Action Plan on AMR as the first country in WHO’s Western Pacific Region to do so. Last month, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, with support from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, adopted a National Action Plan to tackle the overconsumption of antimicrobials in livestock and fisheries. Gathering celebrates China’s National Day A get-together took place in Ho Chi Minh City in the morning of September 22 to mark the 68th National Day of China (October 1, 1949 - 2017).  Speaking at the event, Duong Quan Ha, Chairman of the municipal chapter of the Vietnam - China Friendship Association, highlighted collaboration in friendship activities, charity and delegation exchanges among his agency, the Chinese Consulate-General and Chinese businesses in the city has contributed significantly to cementing the two countries’ traditional ties. Chinese Consul General Chen Dehai said in recent year, Vietnam – China relations have been fostered by their leaders and people to thrive across politics, trade and cultural exchange. He stated that the Chinese Party and Government always treasure cooperation and friendship with Vietnam and will continue cementing and developing the partnership toward stability and prosperity. Programme launched to support lung disease treatment As many as 150 outpatient centres treating chronic asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) will be built at total investment of 1 million USD by AstraZeneca multinational pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical company under the “Health lung” programme. The programme was launched by the Vietnam Medical Association, the Vietnam Respiratory Society, the Vietnam Association against Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases and AstraZeneca company in the central city of Da Nang on September 21.  It aims to enhance management of asthma and COPD, contributing to reducing cases and deaths. According to President of the Vietnam Respiratory Society Ngo Quy Chau, people diagnosed with COPD accounts for 4.2 percent of total population and most of them are at the age of 40. However, only 29.1 percent of the asthma patients, who make up 4.1 percent of total population, are taking medication while 39.7 percent have good control of the disease. Along with cigarettes and environmental pollution, pulmonary tuberculosis has increased risk of COPD, which puts a burden on society, Chau underlined. Meanwhile, Le Thi Tuyet Lan, President of the Society of Asthma & Allergy & Clinical Immunology and Vice President of the Vietnam Respiratory Society, said that the outpatient treatment network will help reduce economic and health care burdens for Vietnam. Short film contest launched A short filmmaking contest was launched in Hà Nội yesterday for all people, including expatriates, in Việt Nam. The contest with theme For A Green Future is being held to make the community aware of the importance of environment protection. Those aged 15 and above are encouraged to make a short film with a view to raising environmental awareness in the community. "Each film will be a story or an action that convey filmmakers’ messages to popularise and educate people on environmental protection behaviour," Đặng Đình Soạn, representative of the contest organisation board, said. "We hope there will be many good films that contribute to environment protection for a better life." Those keen on filmmaking can send unlimited number of entries. The films with length of 3-5 minutes should not have earlier been sent to other local and international competitions. Topics can range from household garbage treatment, environment technology initiatives, energy saving tips and ecological production, to climate change, biology diversity preservation and many others. Films can be shot under six categories -- green action, green initiative, green star and green friends, as well as environment kaleidoscope, and environment behaviour and attitude education. Green star category consists of interviews with celebrities on their actions to protect the environment, while green friends will honour a significant effort to protect the environment by an individual or organisation. The filmmaker or film crew has to ensure the copyright of the film. The film can be shot with a digital camera, mobile phone, tablet, hand camera or professional camera.  Films can be sent to http://www.vimottuonglaixanh.com or No. 1/23/168 Hào Nam Street, Đống Đa District, Hà Nội by post before December 20, 2017.  The three-member panel will comprise an environment expert, a representative of Việt Nam Television (VTV) and an artist. Cash awards of VNĐ30 million (US$1,300), VND20 million and VND10 million will be presented to the first, second and third prize winners, respectively. Ten honourable mention prizes worth VNĐ5 million will be also given to noteworthy filmmakers. The film voted by the audience will be awarded VNĐ2 million.  Some of the film competeting be shortlisted to spread the message of environment protection. Award-winning films will be broadcast on VTV’s show For A Green Future on Channel 3. Winners will be announced on December 27 on the contest’s website. VNN