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3G services reel in mobile subscribers HA NOI
Mobile internet services using third generation (3G) technology is becoming increasingly popular in Viet Nam as prices fall, say industry experts.
Dinh Viet Hung, from MobiFone’s Marketing and Telecoms Charge Department, said that 90 per cent of all MobiFone 3G subscribers used high speed 3G mobile internet services at work and on the move. Meanwhile, Nguyen Anh Duc, deputy director of Viettel’s HCM City branch, said the telecommunications sector in 2010 would focus on developing faster mobile internet services to attract subscribers.
"Mobile internet services will play an increasingly important role in subscriber development and Viettel is focusing on building strong infrastructure to meet demand for broadband internet access," he said.
Hung added that changing work patterns and leisure activities had increased the need for fast mobile internet access.
In addition, the price of terminal equipment integrated with 3G internet access had become increasingly cheaper, he said. Conversely, he said to use other 3G services such as Video Call and Mobile Television, customers needed to purchase expensive terminal equipment, which was why they were not as popular yet in the country, particularly as demand for these services was chiefly from the younger generation who have less disposable income. MobiFone and VinaPhone have been providing 3G services since the end of 2009. The Electricity of Viet Nam’s Telecommunications business and Viet Nam Mobile plan to launch 3G services in April and June, respectively. According to BMI (Business Monitor International), Viet Nam’s 3G market has not yet boomed because the price of 3G services is still high. BMI forecasts that the number of 3G subscribers will reach about 4.5 million in 2013, accounting for just 2 per cent of all mobile phone users.
VNS
Agriculture exports fall in Q1 HCM CITY
Export turnover from the agro-forestry and seafood sectors in the first quarter of the year was down 3.92 per cent from the same period last year at US$3.49 billion, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD). In the first three months, export value of farm produce decreased 11.01 per cent to $1.9 billion, while seafood went up three per cent to $771 million and forestry products rose 15.3 per cent to $706 million. Exports of key produce such as rice and coffee fell in both volume and value, the ministry said. The country exported only 326,000 tonnes of coffee, earning $466 million in the first three months, a decrease of 24 per cent in value and 28 per cent in volume. Only rubber, cashew nut and pepper posted high export earnings thanks to higher prices in the world market despite a decrease in export volume. Export revenues of rubber and cashew nuts reached $251 million and $148 million respectively, an increase of 54.24 per cent and 6.39 per cent against the same period last year. Optimistic signs came from the aquaculture sector with export revenues from tra fish and frozen shrimp going up in the first quarter. This increased the likelihood that the annual export target of $4.5 billion set for the sector this year would be achieved, the ministry said. Favourable weather over the past three months had facilitated sea fishing, officials said. In addition, farmers in many localities had resumed breeding of tra fish, shrimp and other marine products, increasing seafood production. The ministry has ordered local authorities to strengthen inspections and check breed quality to prevent epidemics.
VNS
Online advertising gets a rise HA NOI
The relatively young online advertising market in Viet Nam was worth US$15.5 million last year, an increase of 71 per cent over 2008, according to a report by Cimigo, a market research company. Cimigo said the internet now played a significant role in Vietnamese lives both personally and professionally and had therefore become an increasingly important way for advertisers to reach their target customers. "More than half of the urban population in Viet Nam is online, and users spend more than two hours on the internet every day," said Lukas Mira, Cimigo’s online director. Despite the rapid rise in the number of internet users, advertisers were still sceptical about using the Web to promote their products and services, he said. Only a small proportion of a company’s advertising budget was spent on online marketing in Viet Nam, far lower than in other Southeast Asian nations, he added. "Just 50 US cents per year is spent on online advertising per internet user. China spends 15 times that amount," said Brian Pelz, co-founder of Vinagame and a member of the Internet Architecture Board (IAB) steering committee in Viet Nam. "This report ["Viet Nam Online Advertising Revenue Report 2009"] would help advertisers, websites, agencies and the online ecosystem quantify where the market is going so we can plan and invest appropriately," Pelz said. Cimigo operates throughout the Asia Pacific region.
VNS
Local authorities encourage students to come back to school Deputy Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Thi Nghia spoke with Nguoi Lao Dong (The Labourer) newspaper about methods to keep children at school in some of the nation’s poorest areas.
Why are students from poorer areas more susceptible to truancy at school?
Localities with the most dropouts tend to be in the poorest areas of the country, namely in the northern mountains, the Central Highlands and the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta. These localities have difficult terrain and oftentimes the schools are located far away from residential areas. Many students even lack proper food and clothes. According to local sources, most of the students in these areas stop going to school because they must work to help support their families. Some of these kids even drop out to get married, in line with their families’ traditions of getting married at a young age. The worst time is after Tet, as many students leave to find work elsewhere between harvests.
Do you think that the heavy workload contributes to this problem?
I think there is a problem with the abilities of some students. A few years ago, many schools wanted to show that they were getting better results than they actually were, so they fudged the records of some students. When this was found out and stopped, many of these students were never able to catch back up to their peers. In poorer areas, many schools lack decent facilities, and the teachers don’t see proper exchanges to improve their skills, which reduces teaching quality and lowers the desire to study for local students. Last year, the ministry checked the textbook programme and reduced some of the content for these students. We also asked local education departments to check the students’ capacities from the beginning of the academic year so that they could determine the best ways to support these students. We are also encouraging students to come back to school.
Do you have any detailed solutions?
We’re establishing seven teams to investigate teachers and school programmes in these areas. We’ve also asked schools with the largest numbers of dropouts to try their best to call these students back to school. Besides the efforts of the education and training sector, the attention and actions of local authorities will also be very important. At this time, measures to prevent students from quitting school must be implemented by local authorities. For example, they can encourage students and their parents spiritually and materially. They should also co-operate with each other to increase education awareness for both students and parents. Reports from some provinces have proven the effectiveness of encouragement from local authorities to students. Bac Lieu Province opened extra classes for the summer holiday for students with weak results, while teachers in Hau Giang Province went to students’ houses to encourage them to come back to school. Hau Giang Province also provided dropouts with VND200,000 if they came back to class. But still, even with these solutions in place, we need time to solve these problems.
VNS
Aussie artist explores 'land of Od' HA NOI
The Viet Nam Museum of Ethnology is showcasing the works of Australian artist Clare Martin in a new exhibition, including sculptures, photographs and writings.
With the theme of Notes on an Imaginary Culture, this is Martin’s third exhibition in Viet Nam and her second at the museum. As an artist rather than an ethnographer, Martin has tried to imagine a journey of discovery in which she would find an unknown ethnic group, conceiving of their new and strange customs and then representing them through her work. Her ideas were adapted from scientific disciplines and images, including archaeology, anatomy, botany and museum collections, and the installation focuses on the way museums transform the meaning, interpretation and aesthetics of the objects displayed. Martin said she wanted visitors to join her in imagining the culture of an unknown tribe called the Od. Her sculptures are made from aluminum cans and other recycled materials, because she "found" that her ethnic group used a lot of such things, she said. They continued to live on agriculture, with farming a large part of their lives. "Why should we admire this culture?" Martin asked. "They are living scatteredly, not close to each other, but they have a strong sense of community. These people are very inventive and show great ability to make useful things from whatever available material. They also have a very good sense of humour," she said. "Let’s hope they survive." Martin first visited Viet Nam in 1991 and took part in the Hue Sculpture Symposium in 2006 and 2008. She has also mounted an exhibition in Australia reflecting her experiences of Vietnamese culture, entitled Screening the Buddha. Developing the works in the current exhibition during an artist’s residency at the Museum of Ethnology in 2008, Martin said she was influenced by a visiting exhibition from the Musee Orsay about the French ethnographer Condominas, called We Have Eaten the Forest. Of special significance to her was the use of reproductions from Condominas’s notebooks, including small sketches and diagrams, similar to an artist’s sketchbook. She was also influenced by the book A Contribution to Understanding Katu Culture by Luu Anh Hung because it demonstrated so clearly the task of the ethnographer, she said. "I’m fascinated with the stories about the lives of the Od and want to discover more about their customs and culture," said a Vietnamese visitor to the museum. "They are as interesting and lively as if they were real." The exhibition is being sponsored by the Australian Embassy in Ha Noi and Australian Ambassador to Viet Nam Allaster Cox said no place was better suited to Martin’s exhibition on the Od than the Viet Nam Museum of Ethnology. The exhibition will continue at the museum, on Nguyen Van Huyen Street, Ha Noi, through April 16.
VNS
Festival brings villages together HA NOI
Nguyen Trang had waited eagerly for the greatest festival of her village to begin in which she had been entrusted to carry offerings for the gods, a privilege that she prepared for carefully. The traditional festival is celebrated by villagers from Moc Quan Nhan, Moc Cu Chinh, Moc Giap Nhat, Moc Phung Khoang and Moc Chinh Kinh every five years. The festival of five Moc villages is held from the 9th-12th of the second lunar month but the people prepare for it months in advance. This year the festival started last Wednesday. During the festival, village elders offer wine, flowers, fruit and incense to the gods each night. The festival begins with a procession of palanquins and offerings that pass through the villages in Ha Noi’s Thanh Xuan District. Each year, a different village plays host to the start of the procession from its communal house. This year, the procession started in the communal house of Giap Nhat and passed through the other villages before finally stopping at Cu Chinh, the next host in five years’ time. The festival is held to commemorate the gods who helped the people defeat invaders and saved them from misfortune and danger, and also to pray for a prosperous life and good health, said Ngo Van Than, the head of the management board of Quan Nhan’s communal house. The procession is the most important part of the festival in which all the villagers take part, he said. Through the ritual, the people believe that the gods will visit the villages and take care of the people. After prolonged heavy beats of a large drum and gong, people start the procession. Five young men take the lead carrying flags symbolising the five basic elements of metal, wood, water, fire and earth, according to eastern philosophy. Four others brandishing festival flags follow behind. A steady beat of the large drum and gong is maintained as they are carried along with the masses. A group of lion or dragon dancers reflecting strength and spirit go next to clear the road and cheer the people. Boys aged between 13 and 15 push trolleys containing wooden horses and elephants as vehicles for the gods. Four singers and seven musicians perform to create a jubilant atmosphere. Tens of old women wearing Buddhist dresses advance in quiet prayer. After the palanquins of the gods and their ancestral tablets, people follow respectfully with offerings on their heads. Eight red-lacquered wooden weapons are carried by strong men dressed as generals. The four other villages take part in traditional processions to the host village where they are welcomed and invited to the host’s communal house to start the rituals. When the formalities are completed, the people take part in various folk games and enjoy the festival. To finish the festival, representatives from all five villages hold a thanksgiving ceremony and one last procession to encourage the gods to visit their own communal houses. The large-scale festival is a chance for the people to play and express their respect for the gods. Trang said she felt happy and honoured to wear the colourful traditional long dress and take part in the procession. Last festival she was only 11 and too young to join in. "Only good-looking, moral children can carry palanquins and offerings for the gods," she says, "this year I was selected, that’s a great honour."
VNS
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