Within the framework of the 8th Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Festival (taking place from March 10-14, 2023), the Buon Don Elephant Festival in Krong Na commune, Buon Don district was impressively organized in a new form, both honoring the beauty of elephants as well as the traditional cultural values of ethnic groups in the Central Highlands, and demonstrating the strong commitment of the Dak Lak provincial government to Animals Asia in caring for, protecting and conserving elephants in a friendly and sustainable manner.
Accordingly, this year's Buon Don Elephant Festival only focuses on friendly content to honor the beauty of elephants such as elephant makeup contests, elephant beauty contests, elephant greeting contests, organizing buffet parties for elephants, letting elephants interact friendly with tourists... while competitive activities that can easily affect the health of elephants such as elephant racing, elephant crossing the river, elephant football, elephant tug of war, elephant parades on the streets... as in previous festivals are all abolished. With this new and meaningful form of organization, Vietnam.vn invites visitors to admire the images of the majestic, healthy but also lovely, friendly and close to humans Central Highlands elephants thanks to good care and protection, through the photo series "Buon Don Elephant Festival" by author Pham Dang Khiem. The photo series was submitted by the author to the Photo and Video Contest "Happy Vietnam - Happy Vietnam", organized by the Ministry of Information and Communications. 
The Buon Don Elephant Festival is one of the activities of the 2023 Buon Don District Ethnic Cultural Traditional Festival. This is also a program in the main activities of the 8th Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Festival. Accordingly, the 2023 Buon Don District Ethnic Cultural Traditional Festival takes place from March 8 to 13. In particular, the Buon Don Elephant Festival takes place on March 12 with new activities, the Buon Don Elephant Festival has attracted thousands of visitors to watch.
Among them, the Buon Don Elephant Festival has its own unique characteristics of this land. This year's Elephant Festival has many new activities, different from previous years. Elephants do not compete in running, swimming, playing soccer or tug of war with people, nor does it reenact the scene of hunting wild elephants. Instead, elephants are made up, eat a buffet with their favorite dishes and greet the audience... 
The 2023 Buon Don Elephant Festival has many new features, aiming to implement the content of the 5-year Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Dak Lak Provincial People's Committee and the Animals Asia Foundation (AAF) on converting the elephant riding tourism model to an Elephant-friendly tourism model. From there, gradually raise community awareness in elephant conservation and care. 
Buon Don is considered the capital of elephants because of its long-standing tradition of hunting and taming wild elephants. Therefore, this place is also the place where the special Elephant Racing Festival takes place to honor the intelligence, strength, and dexterity of wild elephant tamers. Besides, the festival also clearly reflects the unique cultural features of the M'nong people. 
The Elephant Festival has the participation of 7 elephants cared for and raised in Buon Don district. The 2023 Elephant Festival includes activities such as: elephant makeup contest, elephant buffet, beautiful elephant photo contest and elephants greeting and interacting with visitors. Through the organization of the Elephant Festival, the aim is to preserve and care for the existing elephant herd and develop sustainable ecotourism in the border area. In the beliefs of the Central Highlands people, elephants are considered an important member of the family, playing an important role in the cultural and spiritual life of the people here. Elephants in the Central Highlands help people pull and carry goods, wood, heavy objects, ... In 2024, the Photo and Video Contest "Happy Vietnam - Happy Vietnam" continues to be organized by the Ministry of Information and Communications in coordination with the Vietnam Association of Photographic Artists on the website https://happy.vietnam.vn is open to all Vietnamese citizens and foreigners aged 15 and over. The contest aims to honor individuals and groups with positive information products, making practical contributions to the propaganda and promotion of a beautiful image of Vietnam to the world. Thereby helping people in the country, compatriots abroad and international friends access authentic images of the country, Vietnamese people, Vietnam's achievements in ensuring human rights, towards a happy Vietnam. Each contest category (photo and video) has the following prizes and prize values: - 01 Gold Medal: 70,000,000 VND - 02 Silver Medals: 20,000,000 VND - 03 Bronze Medals: 10,000,000 VND - 10 Encouragement Prizes: 5,000,000 VND - 01 most voted work: 5,000,000 VND The winning authors will be invited by the Organizing Committee to attend the Announcement Ceremony and Award Ceremony and Certificate on live television of Vietnam Television.Vietnam.vn
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