Thanh Thuy, Quang Kiet Named Vietnam's Flag Bearers for 20th ASIAD

Vietnam will send a delegation of 496 members to the 20th Asian Games (ASIAD 2026), scheduled to take place in Nagoya, Japan. The delegation includes top athletes competing in key sports such as athletics, shooting, swimming, martial arts (wushu, karate, taekwondo, and jujitsu), sepak takraw, rowing, canoeing, football, volleyball, golf, fencing, and weightlifting. It will also comprise coaches, experts, doctors, and officials. Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy from athletics and Phan Cong Quang Kiet from shooting have been named as the flag bearers for the Vietnamese delegation. The team is scheduled to depart in several groups depending on their competition schedules, with the largest group expected to leave on September 16. The Vietnamese squad has set a target of winning at least four gold medals at ASIAD 20. ASIAD 2026 will be held from September 19 to October 4. The women's football tournament will start earlier, from September 14 to October 2. Across Vietnam, localities are expanding cultural spaces, promoting creativity and linking heritage with tourism, helping translate the spirit of the Politburo's Resolution No. 80-NQ/TW on cultural development into practice. The economic and cultural diplomacy and trade promotion event, themed “Viet Nam Day 2026: Discover Viet Nam – Connect Kyushu”, was held in Fukuoka city, Fukuoka Prefecture, over the weekend. These days, Hang Ma street takes on a colorful new look, with shops lining both sides of the street and displaying star-shaped and carp lanterns, paper masks, traditional toys, figurines and other festive decorations. The second Thang Long – Hanoi Festival 2026, themed “Heritage Flow,” kicked off on the night of September 11. It aims to bring traditional cultural values ​​closer to the public, expand international exchange, and contribute to the development of Hanoi's cultural industries. During the meeting, Vietnamese Ambassador to Argentina Ngo Minh Nguyet highly valued the significant contributions made by the ICAV over the past decades to strengthening people-to-people ties and cultural exchanges between Argentina and Vietnam. The Vietnamese Embassy and Vietnamese Association in Slovakia staged a friendly football tournament at Pekná Cesta Stadium to celebrate Vietnam’s National Day (September 2), with four teams representing the Vietnamese community across Slovakia. Speaking at the launch ceremony, Nguyen Thi Anh Thi, Vice Chairwoman of the municipal People’s Committee and head of the contest’s organising committee, said the competition aims to showcase diverse perspectives from the foreign community, diplomatic missions, international organisations, press agencies, professional and amateur photographers, and visitors. Although President Ho Chi Minh and Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro never met, the two historic leaders shared a revolutionary vision centered on independence, freedom, happiness and equality for humanity, said Vietnamese Ambassador to Cuba Le Quang Long. The event aims to provide an international scientific forum for further research, exchanges and discussions on authenticity in world heritage conservation, in close connection with the outstanding universal value, integrity and cultural values of heritage elements. The centerpiece exhibition features more than 100 documents, materials and photos, some made public for the first time. It highlights President Ho Chi Minh’s life, career and revolutionary activities in China and his close ties with Chinese revolutionaries, intellectuals and people, underscoring the formation, cultivation and continuation of Vietnam-China friendship across periods. Teaching traditional dance and songs to children growing up overseas has never been easy. Differences in living environments and ways of thinking, together with pronunciation influenced by the local language, mean that the children need more time to grasp rhythms and pronounce Vietnamese correctly. The increasing frequency of such visits indicates that Vietnam is receiving greater attention in the promotional and distribution strategies of Asian film projects. Over the two days, the festival featured a range of cultural, artistic and community activities, including a Japanese speech contest for Vietnamese participants, quizzes on Japanese law, culture and history, a Japanese karaoke contest, art performances and Yosakoi exchanges. This year’s festival showcased the waterways, boats and monkey bridges of the Mekong Delta, along with handicrafts made from coconut leaves, bringing the distinctive character of Vietnam’s southern region to life through decorations, interactive activities and artistic performances. On September 4-5 alone, Khanh Hoa welcomed around 95,000 visitors staying overnight, including approximately 38,000 international visitors, highlighting the event’s considerable appeal and the province’s image as a safe, attractive and welcoming destination. The combination of modern machinery and traditional craftsmanship reflects the craft village’s efforts to preserve values handed down through generations while embracing technological advances. The UN General Assembly’s adoption of a resolution on the International Decade of Culture for Sustainable Development reflects Vietnam’s increasingly proactive role at multilateral forums. UNESCO Director-General Khaled El-Enany hailed the UN General Assembly’s proclamation of the International Decade of Culture for Sustainable Development (2027–2036), thanking Vietnam for promoting the initiative, as well as all co-sponsoring countries, members of the core group and the Group of Friends for Culture at the UN for their support. For the Mong people in Ta Dung, Dak R’mang is not merely a weekly rendezvous, but a space preserving memories of their northwestern hometowns and cultural identity in their new land. Director of the institute Dr. Nguyen Thi Bich Lan said the awards arrive as science, technology, innovation and digital transformation reshape how cultural values are preserved, created and spread.