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| Officials launch the portal of the awards' 11th edition on June 12, 2025__Photo: VNA |
As the National External Information Service Awards mark its 11th year, one continues to set the benchmark for how the world sees the country: the Vietnam News Agency (VNA), a state wire service that remains the backbone of national external communication efforts.
This year’s 11th edition drew a range of submissions lauded for their timeliness, creativity, and impact, further cementing its reputation as a uniquely influential fixture in Vietnam’s external communications landscape.
No limits on innovation and creativity
The competition continued to keep pace with modern trends, directly supporting the Politburo’s Conclusion 57-KL/TW on continuing to improve the quality and effectiveness of external information work in the new context, and the Politburo's Resolution 59-NQ/TW on global integration in the new situation, a key driver of breakthroughs that propel the country confidently into a new era of development.
Entries arrived from Vietnamese and foreign authors across continents, in multiple languages and formats, bound by a common thread: genuine admiration for Vietnam and its people.
Organizers expressed hope that the 2025 cycle will amplify Vietnam’s story of renewal on the global stage while sparking strong public interest and broad impact both at home and abroad, especially among younger audiences and key opinion leaders, a major focus of the Steering Committee for External Information Service this year.
Spreading official information
The VNA has aggressively modernized its outreach through digital channels and multilingual content, with its submissions highlighting those upgrades and underscoring its enduring role.
Its News for Foreign Service Department, which produces policy-focused foreign-language bulletins, continues to weave together portraits of Vietnamese society, culture, history, and viewpoints on global and regional issues.
A standout entry is its five-part series “Cultural diplomacy propels Vietnam into a new era of the nation's rise”. Rather than merely showcasing cultural events, the series offers sophisticated analysis of policy evolution, national identity, and soft power strategy in an era of deepening international integration, incorporating voices from the UK, Australia, Canada, China, and the Republic of Korea. Since publication, the articles have been picked up by domestic media and circulated on social platforms by academics in Australia and the UK, further spreading Vietnam’s cultural diplomacy message to the global academic community and international audiences.
Also vying for top honors is VietnamPlus e-newspaper’s ambitious multimedia MegaStory, “Vietnam on the world map: From modest presence to rising national power”. Presented in an interactive, visually rich format, the project chronicles Vietnam’s transformation from a war-ravaged nation to a dynamic, reform-oriented middle power now confidently integrating into the world.- (VNA/VLLF)
