21:44′ 27/04/2008 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge, Vietnam -

VietNamNet Bridge – A Vietnamese culture week entitled “Charming Vietnam” kicked off in Genting City of entertainment of Malaysia on April 26.

The event, co-organised by the Vietnamese Embassy in Malaysia and the Genting Resort World Bhd Group, is to mark the 35th anniversary of the two countries’ diplomatic ties.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Malaysian Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Datuk HJ Mohd Shafie highlighted Vietnam’s rich culture and said that the organisation of the Vietnam culture week proved the appreciation from the Malaysian government and people to Vietnamese cultural activities.

Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Le Tien Tho said the culture exchange would help people of both countries to learn more of their traditional arts. He expressed hope that the culture week would help boost the friendship between the two nations.

Lasting till May 2, the week will introduce Vietnamese fashion, water puppetry, and fine art and handicraft products.

(Source: VNA)

Fiji Times, Fiji

WHILE many people spent Sunday with families and friends, tourists from the the cruise liner, Sapphire Princess, explored the capital yesterday.

On a one-day stopover, the liner was in perfect timing as handicraft vendors and businesses at the Suva on Sale showcased their goods at bargain prices.

The operations manager for the liner’s local agent Pacific Agencies, Rajesh Prasad, said having tourists come to Fiji would boost the economy. He said another cruise ship called on Saturday.

“There are 2605 passengers on board and before that, the liner Pacific Sun also came in. This is good for the economy in terms of tourism and business people will benefit from this.

“The ship came from the US and went to Auckland before coming to Fiji. More liners are expected to grace our shores sometime in July,” he said. One of the crew members, Michael Drevin of California said it was nice to see handicraft and art work in Fiji. He said Fiji was a nice place and was fascinated with traditional handicraft sold by vendors along the seawall.

Sydney tourists Julia Hall and Bruce Stillman said Fiji was a nice country.

They said the people were friendly and the atmosphere was interesting. Stillman, said it a memorable experience because it was his first time to Fiji.

Ms Hall said she found the Suva on Sale interesting.

“There are a lot of nice things on sale so I am looking forward to seeing the rest of the sale.

“Fiji is a beautiful place and the people are really friendly.

“The atmosphere is very nice and interesting,” said Ms Hall.

The cruise liner left for Pagopago in American Samoa.

April 24, 2008 (Pakistan)

Fibre2fashion.com, India

Handicraft exhibitions are held across globe for various reasons as varied as celebration of festival to generating awareness regarding social cause. One such expo was held in Islamabad on April 19 where one stall displayed a wide range of products made by female prisoners of Adiala Jail.

In the two day event, more than 40 women prisoner’s works were showcased, where in, a wide range of products including home furnishing, bags and artifacts were kept for sale.

The other booths that managed to pull crowd included bed linens, handicraft items, trendy garments and jewellery. The kurti’s with Taar-Kashi work were instant hit among the visitors.

The beautiful embroidery done on bed covers, pillows and tea cozies gathered great reviews from the women who quickly picked up these items.

Fibre2fashion.com, India

Chinese embroidery is known world over for its excellent craftsmanship and among the famous four, Xiang embroidery is considered to be one of best embellishment styles of the region. However, this age-old handicraft is fading away as a steep fall in the number of talented craftsmen in the province is observed.

To revive dying craft, the Hunan Arts and Crafts Vocational College, has come up with an exclusive course in Xiang embroidery. The course will enable students to polish their skills as well as learn about entire cultural background that is associated with it.

The embroidery of Xiang is renowned as it has more than seventy kinds of stitches and around one hundred embroidery colors that bring out wonderful images. Artisans also make use of calligraphy, painting and inscriptions in their designs to give it a different look.

Examples of embroidery have been found recently from Tomb of Mawangdui, in Changsha which are as old as 2,300 years.

Xiang embroidery mostly uses tigers as their subject. Birds, landscape and human figures are also taken, thanks to the vibrant colors and three dimensional effects created by the craftsmen the pictures almost comes to life.

Experts believe that this course will enable the country to meet the rising international demand. The centre aims to train nearly 100 students within two years.

The annual production of Xiang comes nearly US $70 million and almost 30,000 people are engaged in this sector. It is expected that with this initiative the province will reach a greater heights.

April 22, 2008 (Vietnam)

Fibre2fashion.com, India

The home décor market of US has lured many developing countries to take a plunge in this sector and cater the ever growing demand of the customers. This has prompted the officials of Viet Nam Trade Promotion Agency (VIETRADE) to send a delegation to survey US market.

The group will study the distribution channel for export purposes and collect information on handicraft and home decoration by collecting various samples from July 26 to August 16, so that they can mould their production pattern accordingly.

The delegates even plans to introduce Vietnamese range of home furnishing products to lucrative buyers and visit the Las Vegas Furniture Market. This market is an ideal platform for showcasing innovative furnishing items including carpets, curtains and artifacts.

Vaitnam wants to make the most from this trip as more than 1500 international companies from Asia, Canada, Mexico, Australia, Europe, and the Middle East are expected to participate in the expo. Right from budding designers to well established manufacturers, all will come under on roof to make business deals.

Experts believe that the decision of sending a group of people to US is commendable as a great experience and publicity will be gained by the country. It will help the local enterprises to understand the international market and manufacture the items according to the latest trend.

Islamic Republic News Agency, Iran

Iran-Isfahan-Handicraft

Various kinds of handicrafts worth three million dollars were exported from Isfahan province in the last Iranian year which ended on March 19.

Announcing this on Saturday, deputy head of Isfahan Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Department added the handicrafts were exported to European countries, North America, Turkey, the UAE and Southeast Asia.

Ahmad Adib listed kelim, gabbeh, marquetry, embroidered work and inlaid turquoise as among the major exported handicrafts.

He added that some dlrs 12 million worth of Isfahani handicrafts were also exported from other provinces in the same period.

Delhi Newsline, India

It is hard to miss the mirror trinkets and the colourful, brocade lamps hanging by brick-coloured cottages just opposite the Pitampura Metro station. Just follow the bling and you will reach the new Dilli Haat. Although it is strikingly similar to the one near the INA Market, the ethnic shopping complex spread over 7 acres at Pitampura offers basement parking and walkways that lead to ticketing counters. But for now, you don’t have to shell out money; entry is free till the month-end.

On a sultry Friday evening, it took us about an hour to check out the entire venue, shop by shop. And around sundown, people came streaming in, most of them on their first visit and busy comparing the ambience with that of the Original. There are over 100 handicraft shops and 20 food stalls at Pitampura, plus facilities like a conference room and an open-air theatre. The handicraft stalls more or less offer stuff that you get at the south Delhi venue, but there is more variety in ethnic wear and prices are reasonable. You can pick a block-printed kurti for Rs 250 and an embroidered scarf for Rs 150. There are other interesting stalls. At Shree Rang Art Gallery, stall no. 55, you can pick up frames with intricate designs in chalk powder (a medium-size frame will cost you Rs 1,600). Walk into Rainbow a few stalls away and you can buy pin-up boards with fancy borders. If you need a decorative piece, stop at Art and Craft, shop no. 59, with its beautiful, poly-marble sculptures (a 2-ft-tall sculpture of a galloping horse costs Rs 12,000).

The food stalls from the Northeast are up and running, dishing out steaming momos and stir-fried noodles. “Currently, 13 food stalls have been allotted to various states,” informs an official. The remaining seven have been allotted to local caterers for now. We also spotted Navdanya selling organic samosas for Rs 15 a plate. Also, there is the Coffee Board’s showroom offering a variety of coffee beans and coffeemakers. When you have shopped till you have almost dropped, sit back with a filter coffee for Rs 15 and organic pakoras for Rs 20.

Open from 11 am to 10 pmEntry free till April 30

April 17, 2008 (Sri Lanka)

Fibre2fashion.com, India

A two day Trade Fair in Trincomalee district, turned out to be a huge success, as more than 5,000 spectators visited the exhibition. The expo which concluded on April 10, was organized by Enterprise Resource Centre (ERC), a project initiated by Muslim Aid Sri Lanka in collaboration with AmeriCares.

There were a wide range of products displayed for the onlookers, right from handicrafts, bamboo artifacts and furniture to paintings and trendy garments. The fair turned out to be a great platform for the participants in order to get direct orders from domestic buyers.

Along with the exhibition, various competitions like t-shirt designing and poster making were also organized to popularize the event among the people. The items kept for display were highly appreciated by the visitors.

ERC, has been training the underprivileged craftsmen for a long time. Many of the artisans who profited from the participation, were earlier given professional assistance in entrepreneurship by the centre.

For boosting the handicraft sector in region ERC is providing financial help to artisans. It is believed that, with center’s initiative nearly 100 small scale enterprises will come in Trincomalee district.

Malaysia Star, Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR: The Tourism Minister is planning surprise weekly visits to tourism spots in the country to ensure they are providing quality service and promoting genuine Malaysian products.

Minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said said she wanted to get feedback from domestic tourists on this matter as well.

“The places should reflect Malaysia and the prices should be appropriate, so that tourists will return to Malaysia,” she said after visiting Central Market here yesterday, her first working visit since she took office as Tourism Minister.

Azalina, accompanied by ministry director-general Datuk Mirza Mohammad Taiyab, visited handicraft stalls, boutiques and food outlets. She also checked the toilets.

“The (Central Market) building holds historical value but the products being sold here are an assorted mix from all over the world, which does not show Malaysia on its own,” she said, adding that Central Market was not given enough publicity.

Azalina said one-stop tourist centres in the country should sell handicraft made in Malaysia, as well as Malaysian products like batik and songket.

Nhan Dan, Vietnam

Nhan Dan- The Vietnam Craft Village Association is organising an event to honour craft villages and boost tourism from April 17 to May 4 at Hanoi Ancient Citadel, 12 Nguyen Tri Phuong, Hanoi.

The event, named ‘Thang Long – Hanoi craft village, craft street tourism week’, is held in anticipation of the 1000th anniversary celebration of Thang Long – Hanoi and also on the occasion of recent recognition of Thang Long Ancient Citadel as a national relic site.

A space of traditional culture will be set up at the venue of the event with village gate built by Bat Trang brick, old houses, bamboo houses of the northern delta, traditional altars and rural market. Handcraft products such as kites, palm leaf conical hats, lanterns, silks and ceramics of Bat Trang will be introduced at the event. The image of 36 streets of Hanoi in the past will also be recalled with the display of handicraft and fine arts products.

The Hanoi Trade Corporation will display its handicrafts and fine art products which have been exported to many countries in the world. Hoa Lu Handicraft Company will open a showroom named ‘Hanoi street and crafts in the past’ where visitors can feel the space of trade villages and streets of Thang Long thousand years ago.

Many art and cultural activities will also take place during the week such as parades by artisans through streets around the citadel, drumming festival, performances of traditional of water puppetry, cheo (reformed opera), culinary and folk games.

Localities of Hanoi, Ha Tay, Bac Ninh, Bac Giang, Thai Binh and Lao Cai will introduce their tourism services.

On the occasion, a contest to create products bearing the imprint of Thang Long – Hanoi will also be launched for artisans.