On October 19 in Hanoi, the Party Committee of the Viet Nam Fatherland Front and Central Mass Organizations held a closing ceremony and awards presentation for the second Political Essay Contest on Protecting the Party’s Ideological Foundation in 2026. Of the contest’s 47 individual awards, entries submitted by members of the Party Committee of the Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organizations won one B prize, four C prizes and two consolation prizes. The Party Committee of the Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organizations was also among eight collectives awarded Certificates of Merit for Outstanding Collective Performance.

Four of the seven winning entries were submitted by international friends, addressing topics including Ho Chi Minh Thought, the Viet Nam Fatherland Front, international solidarity and people-to-people diplomacy.

The Organizing Committee presented Certificates of Merit for Outstanding Collective Performance to eight organizations with notable achievements, including the Party Committee of the Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organizations. (Photo: Dinh Hoa)

The B prize went to the entry “Ho Chi Minh Thought - A Spiritual Legacy of National Liberation and Enhancing Viet Nam’s Standing” by Prof. Dr. Sc. Vladimir N. Kolotov, Director of the Ho Chi Minh Institute at Saint Petersburg State University, Russian Federation. The author analyzed the role of Ho Chi Minh Thought in national liberation and national reunification, while clarifying its value in strengthening national solidarity and enhancing Viet Nam’s standing on the international stage.

Also examining Ho Chi Minh Thought, but from the perspective of the Viet Nam Fatherland Front’s activities, Pedro de Oliveira, Secretary-General of the Brazil-Viet Nam Friendship and Cooperation Association, won a C prize for his entry, “Following in Ho Chi Minh’s Footsteps: Protecting the Ideological Foundation of the Communist Party of Viet Nam through the Viet Nam Fatherland Front System.” The article discussed the Front’s role in bringing together and promoting the strength of great national unity, conducting oversight and social criticism, and promoting the people’s right to mastery.

Two authors, Käch Marius André and Felix Paul Biermann, members of the Switzerland-Viet Nam Friendship Association, won consolation prizes in the contest. (Photo: Dinh Hoa)

Two entries by authors from Switzerland and India also received consolation prizes, focusing on friendship and the role of people-to-people diplomacy. Käch Marius André and Felix Paul Biermann, members of the Switzerland-Viet Nam Friendship Association, examined solidarity and mutual support between Viet Nam and Cuba. Kusum Jain, President of the India-Viet Nam Solidarity Committee, discussed the role of people-to-people exchanges and friendship organizations in building understanding and trust between the Vietnamese and Indian peoples.

All three winning entries by Vietnamese authors received C prizes. Nguyen Nang Khieu of the Americas-Oceania Department analyzed the United States’ human rights diplomacy policy and the tasks this poses for people-to-people diplomacy.

Tran Xuan Luong, Secretary-General of the Viet Nam-Sri Lanka Friendship Association, won a C prize for his entry, “Viet Nam’s Green Bamboo Hedge in a New Era,” which discussed the strength of solidarity, the role of the people and the demands facing the country in its new stage of development.

Also receiving a C prize, a group of authors from Viet Nam Times Magazine - Le Quang Thien, Pham Thi Ly and Nguyen Thi Mai Thuy - submitted the entry “Identifying and Responding to Schemes and Actions Aimed at Dividing the Great Unity of the Overseas Vietnamese Community.” The article analyzed actions intended to divide Vietnamese communities abroad, distinguishing between those deliberately seeking to sow division and those drawn into such activities due to a lack of information. It then proposed measures to help strengthen community solidarity.

Immediately after the contest was launched, the Party Committee of the Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organizations issued Plan No. 556-KH/DULHHN dated April 1, 2026, directing implementation throughout the organization’s system while encouraging member organizations, Vietnamese communities abroad and international friends to participate. As a result, all Party cells under the Party Committee of the Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organizations took part in the contest, and the number of entries exceeded the target set.

According to the Organizing Committee, the participation of authors from Viet Nam and abroad demonstrates the contest’s broad reach, helping expand the network dedicated to protecting the Party’s ideological foundation to include Vietnamese communities overseas and international friends.

Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organizations Pays Tribute to Fallen Kazakh Military Personnel On September 28 in Hanoi, a delegation from the Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO), led by VUFO Vice President Dong Huy Cuong, visited the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Vietnam to pay tribute and sign the condolence book in memory of military personnel who died while on duty in Mangystau Province.

Expanding Viet Nam-India Partnership Network On September 29 in Hanoi, President of the Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organizations Phan Anh Son received Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of India to Vietnam Tshering Wangchuk Sherpa to discuss directions for promoting people-to-people exchanges and cooperation between the two countries in the coming period.