Vietnam’s country and culture promoted in ASEAN Village in Australia

Wednesday, 22/02/2017 18:01
A multicultural festival was jubilantly held in Canberra on February 17th - 19th with the participation of the Vietnamese Embassy in Australia on the campus of "ASEAN Village" to promote Vietnam’s country, people and culture to local and international friends.

Tourists visiting Vietnam's kiosk (Photo: VNA)

Unlike previous years, 2017 is a significant year for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as the 50th anniversary of establishment of the block, and it is expected that the ASEAN – Australia Summit will take place for the first time in this country.

During its presidency of the ASEAN Committee in Canberra last year, Vietnam actively proposed and discussed with representatives of the member countries to participate in the festival as a block.

"ASEAN Village" was first set up at the annual festival, appeared brilliantly, colorfully and impressively at the festival in the heart of Canberra with a main stage so visitors could sit to enjoy unique and diverse music from 10 ASEAN member countries.

Along the two sides of the stage, there were kiosks of ASEAN member countries, displaying cultural publications, traditional souvenir products, well-flavoured dishes and traditional specialties of each country.

The creation of "ASEAN Village" helped visitors, though going to only one area, to feel and imagine the countries, peoples, cultures and traditional cuisines of the whole Southeast Asian region.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Australia Luong Thanh Nghi said the establishment of the "ASEAN Village" at the festival this year is to introduce ASEAN’s diverse cultures to international friends, especially for the Australian public.

In addition, the participation in the festival as a block also shows the solidarity of the ASEAN countries, especially in the introduction about the country, culture and people of each country, as well as of the whole block.

Ambassador Nghi said that Vietnam has contributed its part to Australia’s cultural diversity, because the Vietnamese community has more than 300,000 people living, working and studying in the country.

This is the biggest festival in Canberra, so the participation in the festival also helps introduce the culture, cuisine, country and people of Vietnam more efficiently, thereby further strengthening the friendship and cooperation between the two countries, especially in people exchange.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of "ASEAN Village", President of the ASEAN Committee in Canberra in 2017, High Commission of Brunei in Canberra Zakaria Ahmad, said that ASEAN and Australia have long become partners and after 42 years, the bilateral cooperation relation has grown stronger than ever. They are also important economic partners.

Over the past decade, trade between ASEAN and Australia has doubled from AUD45 billion to nearly AUD100 billion, accounting for 15% of the total trade revenue of Australia. ASEAN has a total investment capital of AUD110 billion in Australia, and in 2015 over 1 million tourists from ASEAN countries went to the country.

According to Mr. Zakaria Ahmad, this was not the first time the ASEAN countries joined the festival, but this was the first year the countries are participating as a block, on the principle that "we are better together."

He hoped that the milestone of the 50th anniversary of ASEAN establishment and promotion of ASEAN as a destination, "ASEAN Village" at the Multicultural Festival in Canberra would be attractive to local people, as well as international visitors, to encourage them to travel more to ASEAN countries.

Visiting the “ASEAN village”, Ms. Rachel Stephen-Smith, Minister responsible for multiculturalism issues of the administration of Canberra Capital Territory, said that Canberra is a convergence of many different cultures and the city is actually built on a solid foundation of multiculturalism.

The 21st multicultural festival aimed to promote cultural exchange, experiences and new discoveries. She said that "ASEAN Village" was one of the exciting destinations of the festival and the participation of the ASEAN countries is indispensable in the multicultural festivals in Canberra over the past two decades. This was a great opportunity for people in Canberra and many other places in Australia to get an overview of the histories, cultures, peoples and foods of ASEAN countries.

The festival, one of the biggest cultural events in Australia, has been organized annually since 1996. It attracts hundreds of thousands of local and international visitors.

The festival 2017 had more than 400 kiosks of organizations and embassies and communities, stretching nearly 10km along streets in the centre of Canberra.

During the three-day festival, more than 40 tons of food had been consumed. In addition, the festival had seven stages with the participation of hundreds of groups of artists from many countries or communities./.

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