The awards aim to affirm the role and importance of the press in raising awareness of the consequences of the AO disaster for the Vietnamese people, while showing the Party and State’s attention to resistance war activists exposed to toxic chemicals, efforts to address the aftermath of past chemical warfare, and caring for, helping and protecting AO victims.
All professional or non-professional journalists, collaborators and correspondents of domestic press agencies, overseas Vietnamese, VAVA officials at all levels, VAVA members, and members of other associations who have press works on the aforementioned content can participate in the awards.
Eligible submissions are reflective articles, interviews, chronicles, commentaries, treatises, reportages, journals and investigations published and used by domestic news agencies and newspapers from January 1, 2020 to March 30, 2021.
The entries should reflect real people and events in an objective, honest and accurate manner, with high persuasiveness, social efficiency, attractive and creative methods of expression, and positive effects, practically serving the work of caring for, helping and protecting AO victims.
The contents of participating works should reflect the catastrophic consequences of the chemical warfare waged by the US military during the war in Vietnam; issues in AO victims’ lives; and examples of overcoming difficulties and integrating into the community. In addition, they should cover the efforts made by Party committees, authorities, mass unions and philanthropists to support, care for, help and protect AO victims, as well as the implementation of the Party and State’s policies concerning AO victims. At the same time, the press works should raise awareness of the enduring struggle for justice for AO victims, especially lawsuits against chemical companies who produced and supplied herbicides to the US military during the war in Vietnam, asking they compensate the Vietnamese AO victims.
Each participant can submit a maximum of three entries. Works that have won prizes in other contests (if eligible) are still valid for this contest. Authors can participate in the awards by submitting their entries to the Vietnam AO Magazine, 35 Me Tri Lake Road, Thanh Xuan district, Hanoi, from January 1 to the end of March 30, 2021 (by post).
The award winners will be announced and honoured on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the AO disaster in Vietnam (August 10, 1961-2021).
