Jointly organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Information and Education, the Ministry of Information and Communications, the Ministry of Education and Training, and the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, the annual event is a part of activities to welcome Viet Nam Book Day (April 21), and World Book and Copyright Day (April 23).
Diverse activities will be held on the framework of the event, including: an exhibition entitled "Book, Knowledge and Social Development" from April 20 to May 5 to introduce materials on the essence of human knowledge, cultures and civilizations around the world, and the nation’s achievements in socio-economy, science-technology, education, health care, security and defense; a book fair from April 20-23 to offer thousands of books at preferential prices.
Participants to the event also have an opportunity to exchange with authors and speakers, historian Duong Trung Quoc, Secretary General of the Vietnam Association of Historical Sciences, and Vice President of the Vietnam Publishers Association Nguyen Kiem, etc.
Additionally, several contests including an English storytelling contest and an author-and-book identifying competition will also be held on the opening day of the event. Visitors will have chance to learn more about Vietnamese history and culture through games and interactive activities. The organizing board also calls on and receives funding from agencies, organizations and individuals to support libraries in remote and difficult areas.
Addressing the opening ceremony, Director of the National Library of Vietnam Kieu Thuy Nga said the book festival aims to honor the role and importance of books in education and social life as well as promote reading culture in Viet Nam; promote awareness on the significance and importance of reading for acquisition of knowledge, skills, development of thinking, education and personality development; raise the responsibility of all levels, sector, functional agencies and social organizations for the building and development of Vietnamese reading culture.
Vietnam Book Festival 2017 also honors those who collect, compile, publish, print, distribute, preserve and disseminate books, apart from encouraging the reading movement in the community. The book festival will last until April 24.
