A scene from the top prize winner “My Nghiep Cham Brocade Village (Ninh Thuan)" by Champasix. (Screenshot capture) 

 

They participated in a video making contest themed "Vietnamese women and craft villages", which was launched by the Empower Women Asia (EWA) project under the NGO Keep It Beautiful Vietnam (KIBV), to honour the women in traditional craft villages together with their efforts to preserve the national cultural values in the modern society.

 

The contest was held from May to July 2021 through the creation of photos/videos with a duration of 3-5 minutes, carrying the message of promoting and preserving traditional craft villages, while honouring the beauty of the simple, rustic labour of Vietnamese women in general and ethnic minority women in particular in such traditional craft villages.

 

Taking place mainly on the Facebook channel of the EWA, the contest has attracted many young people at home and abroad, bringing unique and new perspectives on traditional craft villages to the masses nationally and internationally.

 

After only two months, the organisers received hundreds of entries with diverse and unique content. Through their creative products, young people have reflected the true image of sincere and rustic women in traditional craft villages, evoking their love for their homeland and national pride, while showing their respect and desire to promote the core and long-standing cultural values of the nation.

 

Among 11 outstanding entries to the final round, a jury of famous journalists, editors, travel bloggers and photographers selected four best works for awards, in which the first prize came to the video "My Nghiep Cham Brocade Village (Ninh Thuan)" by Champasix; the "Crab noodle making village (Hai Phong)" by Nguyen Thanh Loan won the second prize; and two third prizes went to videos "Chang Son Fan Village (Hanoi)" by GEN and “Chuong Hat Village (Hanoi)" by Jelly Potatoes. In addition, the most favoured video award went to "Thach Xa Bamboo Dragonfly Village (Hanoi)" by Le.Morq.

 

The contest also received the companionship of famous speakers, designers, art activists and influential faces in the public to jointly spread the nation’s traditional cultural features to the community.

 

It is expected to raise the community's understanding and respect for traditional craft villages, thereby spreading the message of preserving the quintessence and traditions of the nation, as well as respecting and promoting the nation’s cultural values through the skilful hands of village women in simple, rustic daily labour.

 

Let's admire the beauty of the labour of women in traditional villages through the excellent works that won the contest’s top prizes:

 

 

 

 

Empower Women Asia (EWA) aims to foster the ethnic minority women and girls in the weaving villages of Vietnam to improve their skills, knowledge, and competitive advantages in producing sustainable textile products, creating opportunities to enhance the living standard and secure stable income. This year, EWA is coming back with the theme “Weaving dreams by the handlooms”, which carries hopes and high aspirations toward spreading the beautiful image of mothers and sisters sitting by the looms, weaving their colourful dreams.

 

Trung Hung