Opening of the Exhibition and Announcement of the Awards of the First Photo and Video Contest "Happy Vietnam

7,000 photos and videos participating in the "Happy Vietnam" Contest in 2023 have contributed to helping Vietnamese people as well as the world see a colorful, attractive Vietnam and love Vietnam more.

Photo and Video Contest — Former Vice President Truong My Hoa and Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung and a number of guests cut the ribbon to open the ceremony (Photo: Organizing Committee)

On the evening of December 19, at the Hanoi Opera House, the Ministry of Information and Communications held the opening ceremony of the exhibition and announced the awards of the first " Happy Vietnam " Photo and Video Contest in 2023. This is the first time that the Ministry of Information and Communications has organized the contest online, on the platform to promote the image of Vietnam - vietnam.vn, with the goal of encouraging all people across the country, overseas Vietnamese and international friends, to apply digital technology to create photos and videos about the image of the country and people of Vietnam.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung said that since its launch in June 2023, after 4 months, the contest has attracted the participation of more than 7,000 photo and video works. From there, the organizing committee has selected 28 works to award prizes and 70 photo works, 14 video works to display at the exhibition. On the vietnam.vn platform, more than 90 million people have viewed these works, of which over 40% are from abroad. Some works have been viewed by over half a million people. These are very large numbers, surprising the organizers themselves. “Each work is a unique perspective, a unique moment, an interesting story, a beauty, a reflection that life, that heaven and earth bestow upon humans, if not recorded at that exact moment, that exact place, it will be lost. "7,000 photos and videos of Vietnamese people across the country are vivid evidence of the strength, creativity and vitality of the people," Minister Nguyen Manh Hung emphasized. The Minister also emphasized that "Happy Vietnam" is not only a contest, a program but also a festival for Vietnamese people to speak up about their happy lives. The 7,000 entries have helped Vietnamese people and the world see a colorful and attractive Vietnam and thus love Vietnam more. At the ceremony, the organizing committee announced and awarded 28 winning entries. Accordingly, the two highest prizes of the contest are: First Prize in the photo category went to the work "Flying up Vietnam" by author Bui Cuong Quyet; First Prize in the video category went to the work "Da Nang - a city of biodiversity" by author Nguyen Thanh Paven.

Sharing his feelings when receiving the award, author Bui Cuong Quyet, Photo Editorial Board, Vietnam News Agency expressed his emotion and said that the photo "Flying up Vietnam" captured the moment Taekwondo athlete Chau Tuyet Van, who had just won the Gold Medal at the 31st SEA Games, was raising the national flag with her teammates. "At that time, I was assigned to work at the 31st SEA Games. I was lucky to stand in the right position to capture the image of athlete Chau Tuyet Van and her teammates rejoicing in the joy of victory. Everyone present at Tay Ho Stadium at that time was also bursting with happiness and pride. I thought this photo was very suitable for the theme of the contest, so I submitted it," the author shared.

According to the organizers, Happy Vietnam is not only a contest, not only a program but also a festival of Vietnamese people speaking up about their happy life. That happiness appears in every house, every field, every village, every street. That happiness belongs to them because they themselves have created that happiness and they themselves speak up about that happiness.

Bich Huong