This year's Vietnam International Awards includes 12 categories with 60 nominations that are organizations and individuals from the U.K., Vietnam and European countries, focusing on the fields of health, education, law, business, innovation as well as community and volunteer activities.
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Deputy Ambassador of Vietnam to the U.K. To Minh Thu (in blue Ao Dai) takes a photo with the award winners |
The Community Ambassador award came to Quynh Nguyen, Executive Director of the Vietnamese Family Association (VFP), a charity organization that teaches Vietnamese, holds activities to promote the Vietnamese culture, and provides support services to Vietnamese people in the U.K.
The excellent education award went to The Project Darts, a project that trains, mentors, and supports Vietnamese students in the U.K. in their career development.
Kevin Nguyen, an 8-grader from Nantes, France, won the young achiever award. Currently in his sixth year of studying saxophone at the Nantes Conservatory of Music, Kevin has contributed to promoting Vietnamese culture through his musical talent as well as fundraising activities to support disadvantaged children.
The outstanding global charity award was presented to Rong Xanh (Blue Dragon) Children’s Foundation, an Australian charity that has been working in Vietnam since 2002 to support disabled children, street children, and victims of human trafficking.
Katrin Kandel, CEO of Facing the World (FTW), received the innovation of the year award. FTW is a charity organization founded in 2002 in the U.K., specializing in supporting surgery for Vietnamese children with congenital facial deformities, providing professional training for Vietnamese surgeons, and sponsoring medical equipment and technology for remote medical examination and treatment for Vietnamese hospitals.
Speaking to the Vietnam News Agency, Professor Michael Mainelli, recipient of the lifetime achievement special award, underlined the significance of the award in creating connections among communities. He highly valued the contributions by the Vietnamese community in the U.K. to the diversity and richness of London's life and culture.
At the award ceremony, participants had a chance to enjoy a Vietnamese traditional Ao dai performance, and an art performance to introduce the beauty of Vietnamese culture to international friends, while joining charity auction activities.
The annual award, launched in 2022, aims to promote the image, understanding, and contributions of overseas Vietnamese, and foster connections among their communities in countries as well as connectivity between the communities and outside partners.
The award was co-founded by Hoang Ha, Vice President of the Vietnam Women Union of in Europe, and Nguyen Nhu Thoai, Founding President of the Association of Vietnamese Women and Children in the U.K.
Source: VNA