VietNamNet Bridge - The Vietnamese model Chung Thuc Quyen won Best National Dress for her ao tu than (four-part dress), a traditional costume from the north of Vietnam, at a National Dress event August 28, part of the Miss Supernational 2009 pageant in Poland.

The third national festival of Then singing and Tinh zither performances opened in the northern province of Bac Kan on August 24 as part of various cultural activities celebrating major national events and the 60th anniversary of Bac Kan’s Liberation Day.

A range of new services to collect children from school are lessening the pressure on busy working parents.

The 7th “Vietnam-Japan Cultural Exchange Days” festival opened in Hoi An, in the central province of Quang Nam on August 14.

Cloud covered Lung Cu commune in Dong Van district of Ha Giang province, Vietnam’s Northernmost point. The commune has a small hamlet, Lo Lo Chai, with only 81 households and slightly more than 300 people. Seen from the Lung Cu flag pole, the hamlet is so tiny, it fits within one’s peripheral view.

UNITED NATIONS — Partnerships between faith-based organizations and UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, are critical to enhancing efforts to reduce maternal deaths and end violence against women.

Because discrimination on the basis of sex often starts at the earliest stages of life, greater equality for the girl child and the adolescent girl are necessary first steps to ensuring that women have equal rights later in life. UNFPA recogn izes that the world is different for girls than it is for boys, and programme approaches must reflect this.

Women give life, love and care to children, help to build and take care of the home, and feed and clothe their loved ones. In most of the developing world, women are additionally responsible for the agricultural production and local trade that help sustaine their local economies. Women also weave the social fabric of their communities – working together to support schools, organize community events and help to look after neighbours in need.

The Gia Lai Provincial People’s Committee held a press conference in Ho Chi Minh City on August 7 to announce the first international gong festival to be held in Vietnam.

New regulations regarding gender equality violations will come into effect on August 1, according to a new decree by the Prime Minister.