From the place considered the heart of Europe, the General Association of Vietnamese in Belgium (UGVB) has been operating and developing for more than 11 years with the goal of building an increasingly strong Vietnamese community.
From connecting overseas Vietnamese
Mr. Nguyen Thanh Long, Vice President of UGVB, said that located in the heart of Europe, UGVB has many advantages in cultural exchange, sharing experiences in implementation, organization, and promoting the Vietnamese spirit. In that space, Vietnamese culture and especially the Vietnamese language are at the center, where trade promotion activities, science, technology and innovation exchanges, the Vietnam - European Union (EU) political agenda, and people-to-people diplomacy are intertwined.
"We always prioritize this task to create activities rich in Vietnamese identity and love for the country such as organizing Lunar New Year, Mid-Autumn Festival, family festival, making banh chung, performing ao dai, lion dance, and of course bringing Vietnamese language to children in the community, to libraries, to international cultural spaces...", Mr. Long shared with Thanh Nien . This is one of the bridges connecting the people-to-people diplomacy of Vietnam - Belgium and Vietnam - EU increasingly deeply.
Mr. Pham Huy Hoang speaks at the Innovation Festival 2024 in Belgium
Among the outstanding activities of the association over the past 11 years, Mr. Long said that organizing the Lunar New Year is the most meaningful for overseas Vietnamese in Belgium and neighboring countries. With strong support from the community, local authorities, the Vietnamese Embassy in Belgium and the Committee for Overseas Vietnamese, the association has invited many artists to perform for overseas Vietnamese. This is also an opportunity for the community to come together and enjoy traditional dishes of the nation.
To valuable resources for the country
Not only keeping the fire burning, Vietnamese people abroad are also making efforts to contribute to the country. One of the activities that can be mentioned is the Vietnam Innovation Network in Europe (VINEU). Responding to Thanh Nien , VINEU Chairman Pham Huy Hoang said that VINEU has received a lot of support and attention from the National Innovation Center (NIC), the Ministry of Planning and Investment, domestic agencies and Vietnamese representative agencies abroad.
"The biggest achievement so far is that we have a legitimate organization, legally registered in Europe, gathering a team of intellectual experts who are always ready to contribute to the country when needed and have the opportunity," said Mr. Hoang. Some of the outstanding activities that VINEU has implemented in the recent past include sending experts to participate in seminars and consulting domestic agencies on issues related to innovation. Many specialized seminars have also been organized by VINEU to introduce new technologies with high applicability in Vietnam. In June 2024, the Vietnam Innovation Day in Europe was also successfully organized by VINEU with the participation of many domestic and foreign companies and enterprises. To support Vietnamese start-ups to develop and expand their markets in Europe, VINEU has also coordinated with its partner in Belgium (hub.brussels) to send a delegation of representatives of 10 start-ups selected by NIC to Brussels to study and meet with businesses and organizations in Belgium and Europe.
Family Day and Mid-Autumn Festival 2024 organized by UGVB
Regarding the future plan, VINEU said it will focus on building and expanding the network. VINEU will establish expert groups, participate in practical projects in Vietnam to create opportunities for members to contribute as well as build VINEU to develop in a sustainable direction in terms of finance and organization.
Spreading Vietnamese ID of the contemporary generation
Quynh Iris Nguyen - de Prelle, is an independent artist, poet of Vietnamese origin, with 5 collections of Vietnamese poetry and 1 fictional novel, her works appearing in university libraries in the US, Europe and Australia such as Harvard, the French National Library... She is also the founder of IVB - the Vietnam and Pacific Intercultural Center in Brussels.
"IVB is my dream of a center or a big house about Vietnam in Belgium for people to meet and share stories of their own generation, stories about Vietnamese culture and cultural ID, which I often call Vietnamese Identity. IVB is also an active voice of the Vietnamese community in Brussels and Belgium in general in the cultural diversity of the heart of Europe", Ms. Quynh Iris Nguyen shared with Thanh Nien . In addition to IVB, she also co-founded the Vietnamese Bookcase in Brussels with Ms. Kieu Bich Huong, who is also the co-founder of VBAB - the Vietnamese Business Association in Belgium, which was launched in November 2024. Vietnamese Ambassador to Belgium, Head of the Vietnamese Delegation to the EU Nguyen Van Thao expressed his strong support for VBAB's activities.
Since its establishment in April 2024, IVB has participated in the traditional costume event at the BELvue Royal Museum. For the first time, Vietnam appeared with more than 14 other communities in Brussels with many costumes such as Quan Ho, Ao Ba Ba, Ao Dai, costumes of the northern mountainous regions such as H'mong, Tay, Nung... Next, the Vietnamese booth made a strong impression at the Hakuna Matata Festival, bringing a Vietnam with a Vietnamese countryside market and traditional meals to introduce to the Belgian people and international friends. Vietnamese books are displayed here as a unique language, not confused with other languages. In addition, IVB also cooperated with UGVB to launch the Vietnamese Ao Dai Heritage Club with many costumes donated by artisans and friends from Vietnam to IVB to preserve and introduce in Europe.
"Every time we appear, IVB always wants to send messages to our friends such as the recognition of Vietnamese ID through every detail, every outfit and dish or the working style of our generation today, a generation with quality and professional standards, a serious working style and a new, dynamic and positive image of Vietnam," she emphasized.
To help the young generation of Vietnamese origin remember their homeland
In a different way, Ms. Ngo Do Thu Huong, whose English name is Helen (living in Belgium), chose to create and develop a podcast channel called Kenh Viet Happiness Station since May 2021. Ms. Helen said that Kenh Viet was born to share the experiences of Vietnamese people living abroad, spreading positivity, life force and beauty of the soul. Currently, the channel has 30 voices from three regions, living in 14 countries, gradually becoming an anticipated playground, mentioned every time there are competitions or opportunities for Vietnamese children, Vietnamese children living abroad to practice Vietnamese, increase the ability to connect with family and community, and turn to their homeland.
Traditional Vietnamese costumes at the event at the BELvue Royal Museum
In 2023, Kenh Viet received the title of "Vietnamese language ambassador abroad" in a contest organized by the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) in coordination with a number of units under the Ministry of Education and Training, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Vietnam Television, and the Association for Liaison with Overseas Vietnamese.
"We started dreaming of how to maintain Vietnamese culture and language abroad. I went to Europe when I was 17 years old, and I lived in Europe longer than in Vietnam. I am also the mother of a son of mixed blood, so I clearly feel that maintaining my mother tongue in a foreign country is not easy. In addition to love, there must be methods and a community environment... To create conditions for everyone, especially the young generation of Vietnamese origin abroad, to speak and write Vietnamese, we regularly organize competitions on the topics of cuisine, travel, cultural experiences, connecting love with family and homeland...", Ms. Helen shared.
Her project has organized many events for the community such as online competitions. In addition, Kenh Viet also organizes or co-organizes offline events such as: "Spring Vietnamese Language Camp" pilot in Belgium; implementing a reading culture project by building two "Vietnamese Bookcases in Vietnamese Restaurants" where the overseas community can access and borrow more than 500 books (Vietnamese) for many ages and topics, completely free of charge. Remembering a time when she "touched emotions", Ms. Helen said that in the "Traveling with children 2022" contest, many entries told about the touching journey of returning home to meet grandparents and relatives after several years of separation due to the pandemic by young people of Vietnamese origin from many continents participating. The first prize work went to 7-year-old Tijn Konings, born in the Netherlands. Not only is he fluent in Vietnamese, but he also impresses with his deep thinking and expression of emotions mixed with humor.
Inspiration from Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's precious gift
In December 2022, during his visit and work in Europe, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh presented a very special gift to the Vietnamese community in Belgium. The book series "Hello Vietnamese" is a very precious and meaningful gift, contributing to spreading the practice of speaking and learning the mother tongue in a foreign environment. This gift is the inspiration for the project "Vietnamese Books in Belgian Libraries". Thanks to the determination and valuable advice of dedicated members on preserving the Vietnamese language abroad, UGVB decided to bring the book "Hello Vietnamese" and at the same time allocate more budget to buy and call for donations of Vietnamese books to bring to libraries in cities where many Vietnamese people live.
The project "Vietnamese Books in Belgian Libraries" has brought books to libraries in Brussels such as Muntpunt, Ixelles district library, De Krook library of Gent city. Other cities such as Liege, Antwerpen, Namur, Aalst... are also the next targets of the project.
Ms. Nguyen Chung Thuy (Vice President and Head of UGVB Social and Cultural Committee)
Want to play for the Vietnam team when I have the chance
Answering Thanh Nien 's questions about the case Pham Anh Khoi (18 years old) is a talented young Vietnamese football player currently playing in Belgium. Mr. Pham Huy Hoang said: "He really wants to play for the Vietnam national team when there is an opportunity and suitable conditions. Recently, the Federation also contacted the club to ask for permission for him to return to play for the national U.19 team, but due to the competition schedule and pre-season preparation with the U.23 team, the club has not agreed to let him return. Later, when the Vietnam national team's tournaments take place at a favorable time and the Federation still wants him to participate, his family and the club will definitely create conditions for him to return to play."
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/giu-va-tiep-lua-viet-tu-trai-tim-chau-au-185250106164206245.htm
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