A forum themed “Vietnamese, Lao, Cambodian women foster friendly cooperation to achieve sustainable development goals until 2030” took place in Ho Chi Minh City on September 15. [...] Participants shared experience in improving women empowerment, particularly in economic and political fields, preventing women and child trafficking, promoting tourism and international cooperation, and educating young generations about the development of traditional friendship and collaboration among women in the three countries.

The Vietnam Circus Federation will co-ordinate with the Happy Dream Circus Company from Japan to present a daily show in Ha Noi. The event is expected to enhance cultural exchange and mutual understanding between the two peoples, contributing to tightening the co-operation between circus artists from Vietnam and Japan, said Ta Duy Anh, director of the Vietnam Circus Federation.

he Embassy of Vietnam in Indonesia introduced the country’s signature Nem (spring roll) at the ASEAN cuisine festival in Jakarta, Indonesia, on August 5. [...] The ASEAN nations have rich culture and cuisine, he said, adding that promotion of food identity of each nation is a diplomatic channel.

The Israeli Embassy in Hanoi, Vietnam, decided to take the budget allocated for a party celebrating Israel’s 69th Independence Day in May and use it to purchase 100 innovative lightweight wheelchairs from Israeli company Wheelchairs of Hope to donate to needy local children.

The South Africa based Sylt Foundation and Myanmar online journal, Be Untexed, collaborated to lead the event which included an art exhibition, workshop and poetry reading. Han Lynn, the curator of the art festival and member of Be Untexed online journal said, “‘Violent Memories’ is the long-term project of the ‘Transformation and Identity, Trauma and Reconciliation’ which includes eight different countries.”

The Foreign Ministry, in cooperation with the Riau Islands provincial administration, plans to make the archipelagic province a hub for Indonesia’s economic diplomacy. Riau Islands province comprises 2,408 islands, including Natuna Islands, a stretch of resource-rich islands jutting at the frontiers of the South China Sea and bordering Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore and Malaysia.

Vietnam and Japan signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Tuesday to boost tourism cooperation between the two countries. [...] Under the MoU, both nations will work together to promote tourism initiatives, introducing attractive destinations, encouraging visitor exchanges, and sharing experience and information in areas of mutual concern.

The 24-year-old Massey masters student, along with her sister, Tamra Ewing, now heads up a literacy charity called Motorbike Book Club - a mobile book library for village children in Vietnam. As the name suggests, the books are transported on the back of a motorbike to places where books - let alone libraries - are hard to come by. "I'm passionate about education. I see the value in it - the power of literacy to really transform and open up children's worlds."