Art & Entertainment News 30/7 Celebrity supports anti-violence initiative Actress Ly Nha Ky donned a bright green T-shirt on July 28 and joined a bike tour in My Tho City, Tien Giang province as part of an initiative calling for an end to all forms of violence against children. The programme is part of activities launched by the Vietnam Higher Education Development Fund (HEDF) to help shine a light on the invisible horrors of violence that undermine the lives of children and call for collective action to end it. Educators learn about RoK culture Approximately 80 teachers and education managers from primary and secondary schools in central provinces attended a RoK intercultural training programme in Dong Hoi City, Quang Binh province from July 25-27. RoK envoy to Vietnam and Consul General Park Noh-wan and the Director of the Korean Cultural Exchange Foundation Jee Chang-sun also participated in the event. Participants learned about Korean economics, politics, culture and society and acquired a better understanding of the country’s traditional costume and cuisine. This is the 11th time such a programme has been organised by the Institute for Northeast Asian Studies under the sponsorship of the Korean Foundation. New TV show informs viewers about Vietnamese history HCM City Television's HTV9 channel will broadcast a new weekly show on Vietnamese history starting next week. The 45-minute Dat Viet Que Huong Toi (Viet Nam–My Country), to be screened every Tuesday, will feature short reports and documentary films recounting the country's beginning and development during various periods. The documentaries will focus on events during the resistance wars against the French and Americans. The show will also feature patriotic songs. Cultural month marks Buddhist holiday of motherly love HCM City cultural centres and art troupes are set to put on a slew of shows to celebrate the annual Buddhist holiday of Vu Lan, an event that eulogises motherly love celebrated through the seventh lunar month which began on Sunday. Culinary parties and theatre shows will open this weekend at Suoi Tien and Dam Sen tourist parks in Districts 9 and 11 and take place every night during the month. The shows will expectedly focus on people's gratitude to and appreciation of their mothers. Some cai luong (reformed theatre – a traditional genre of theatre in south) stars will perform for free on the occasion. The month-long programmes are expected to attract thousands of visitors, including Buddhists, from the city and neighbouring provinces. Vietnamese drama brings folk humour to South Korea A drama entitled Cai Lao Hoan Dong (Rejuvenation) will be performed by Vietnamese artists at the International Performing Arts Festival in Pohang City, South Korea. A 13-member troupe from Viet Nam Drama Theatre led by director Nguyen The Vinh is in South Korea attending the festival, which ends on August 5. The artists will perform the hilariously funny Cai Lao Hoan Dong, a short folk drama adapted by Nhat Linh. It tells of a poor farmer's victory over greedy and dishonest rivals thanks to superior cleverness. Stage director Tuan Hai combines folklore and humour to make the story more interesting. The play introduces the international audience to Viet Nam's traditional costumes, as well as folk dances and singing from the northern region. The drama was voted as the most favourite play at the China-ASEAN Theatre Festival in the Chinese city of Nanning last September. VTV offers one-off programmes for short attention spans About 30 one-episode television series will be aired on weekend film programmes by Viet Nam Television (VTV). The short series are drama and crime movies displaying the psychology of criminals. The films will satisfy busy people who don't have time enough to follow long-running series. The series were made for VTV by about 20 directors from the north and the south. The first screen will be Hat Mua Sa (Falling Raindrop) by Nguyen Van Duc on August 3 on VTV's Channel 1. It tells a story of human trafficking. Art programme raises US$4.8 million to support border areas, sea and islands More than VND 102 billion (US$4.8 million) was raised to support citizens and soldiers in border areas, at sea and on islands at an art programme held in Dong Thap province on July 29. Speaking at the event, Deputy PM Ninh stressed that maritime resources have made huge contributions to national socio-economic development, the maritime and coastal economies account for over 48% of the country’s GDP. He called on strong will and high determination from the people and army to protect the country’s sacred and imprescriptible sovereignty over the islands, including the Truong Sa (Spratly) and Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelagos. The event, which was held jointly by the Southwest Steering Committee, People’s Committees of Dong Thap province, Ho Chi Minh City and Mekong river delta provinces, was attended by President Truong Tan Sang and Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh. It was organised to raise public awareness on the Party’s guidelines and policies and the State’s laws on the country’s sovereignty over its border areas, sea and islands; thus encouraging participation in national construction and defence. It was also sought to mobilise support for border guards, naval soldiers, coast guards, fisheries surveillance soldiers and poor families in the areas. Bike festival draws crowds The Festival Motorbike 2014 took place over the weekend at Phu Tho Stadium in HCMC’s District 11, attracting thousands of spectators coming to admire various brands of motorbikes on display such as Ducati, KMT, Suzuki, Beneli, and Visitor. On show were both brand-new bikes and old-fashioned ones that have rarely been known to the public before. The highlight of the festival included performances by Thai stunt men from KTM racers on big-capacity racing motorbikes. Moreover, the festival also attracted visitors thanks to vivid activities on the sidelines such as DJ shows, a motorbike decorating contest named Arts of Speed, a game Bike Games Challenge, and the Big Bike Auction to raise funds for poor children in the highlands region. Visitors were also excited to test-drive 12 models of motorbikes from famous brands. Source: VNS/SGT/VOV/ND