Hanoi

Nguyen Thi Thuy was only eleven years old when her world fell apart. She had to witness her own father slaying her mother. Her father was put in prison and Nguyen Thi Thuy’s life seemed to be over before it had begun. Then she heard about KOTO – Know One, Teach One. The 24-month training programme teaches homeless and disadvantaged children all the skills they need for the professional catering business, but in particular, they learn to become self-confident, independent people. more ...

Vietnam is a land in transition, both socially and economically – and therefore an exciting place to live and to work. This applies in particular to the rapidly growing city of Hanoi, where modernity and tradition collide. The capital city of Vietnam is also the (temporary) home of three women with very different backgrounds: Lea Seibert and Mai Lan Thai from Germany as well as the Vietnamese Huong Ly. more ...

“In my opinion, Hanoi is far more a city of artists than a city of art,” Nora Taylor, Professor of South and Southeast Asian Art at the School of the Art Institute Chicago, told the Goethe-Institut. more ...

Journalists’ exchange – Thoughts on life and death at the huge gravesite of Emperor Minh Mang. more ...

To see something completely new, to experience a culture other than the German, to go abroad and in doing so become socially involved – that is the motivation of many volunteers in the weltwärts (world-wards) programme, the volunteer service of the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. more ...

In Vietnam, women are already old maids at 28 – the two-child policy leads to a high rate of abortions. more ...

For a newcomer in Hanoi, the traffic is the most formative experience. Anyone seeking adventure will find it in the capital city on every corner; just crossing the street is like survival skills training. more ...

There are some things one already knows before travelling to Vietnam. One of those things is: My luggage will be heavier as it should be when I will return to Europe. more ...

Our reporter in Vietnam – Food is celebrated on the streets – Souvenir from the cookshop. more ...

The play Der durch das Tal geht, which will premiere at the Hanoi Opera House on 14 January, will be the crowning finale of the Year of Germany in Vietnam and thus the celebration of the resumption of diplomatic relations by the two nations 35 years ago. more ...

Nadine Albach and her Vietnamese colleague Hung Nguyen Viet visit the Dong Xuan nightmarket in Hanoi. more ...

The premiere of the play Der durch das Tal geht will be the climax to end the Year of Germany in Vietnam. Nadine Albach met playwright Tankred Dorst and his co-writer and wife Ursula Ehler in Hanoi. more ...

At a press conference of Tienphong daily concerning the “Red Sunday” project Nadine Albach meets Miss Vietnam 2010. more ...

Germany and Vietnam – two cultures that clash and have much to offer one another. This is clearly perceptible at the ambitious theatre project “Der durch das Tal geht,” which the Goethe-Institut will premier next week to complete the Year of Germany in Vietnam and thus the celebration of the resumption of diplomatic relations 35 years ago. In the libretto, the eminent playwright Tankred Dorst deals with Parzival, Pierre Oser wrote the music and the director is Beverly Blankenship, who caused a sensation in Dortmund with her production of Don Giovanni. A look behind the scenes at turbulent rehearsals. more ...

In kilometers, the distance between Dortmund in Germany and Hanoi in Vietnam is quite long. But during this month, the two cities are connected: The close-up project of Goethe institute has organized an exchange of editorial journalists. Nadine Albach, normally working for the newspaper “Westfaelische Rundschau” in Germany, is now writing about her impressions concerning Vietnam at "Tienphong daily". A short interview. more ...