The annual BridgeFest, held Sunday at Hanoi’s Athletics Complex, was organized by international non-governmental organization, Oxfam, and the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi.
"Following the message, ‘Bridging the Gap’, BridgeFest aims to break down barriers in Vietnam, such as gender, income, physical ability, geography, culture, religion... to promote equality and connect people," said Vu Thi Quynh Hoa, head of Campaign & Advocacy for Oxfam.
This year’s edition also encouraged people, especially the youth, to pay more attention to enhancing access to education and healthcare for others.
A flash mob performance by the members of Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) enlivened festival proceedings.
Blood Moon Orchestra on stage. |
As always, the highlight of BridgeFest was a series of concerts featuring famous national and international artists. The Blood Moon Orchestra, featuring Vietnamese artist Vo Van Anh, a Grammys judge, was one of the performers. The group’s work is inspired by Vietnamese traditional music and instruments, blended with other genres including hip hop.
Hip hop group Da LAB perform their brand new song that they wrote for BridgeFest. |
Vietnamese hip hop group Dalab also performed at the event. This time, the group composed and performed a song just for BridgeFest, named "Ai Cung Nhu Ai" (Everyone is Equals)
Vietnamese Indie prince, Vu, |
Other notable artists who performed at the event included female rapper Kimmese and Vietnamese Indie prince, Vu.
The event also included a workshop named "Hearing through the eyes", in which participants could get a better understanding of the world of the disabled through learning the sign language that deaf and mute people use to communicate.
BridgeFest also featured exhibitions and activities by more than 40 organizations. Among other things, festival goers were able to learn more about the queer community in Hanoi, as also try their hands at skills like calligraphy.
A talk show featuring H’ Hen Nie, Miss Universe Vietnam 2017, the first ethnic minority citizen in Vietnam to win the title, drew a lot of attention. She portrayed a strong, confident woman ready to overcome all challenges. Nguyen Thanh Nam, former CEO of FPT Corp, shared his story of developing and opening up education opportunities for thousands of people in Vietnam. A similar message was conveyed by MC Diem Quynh, a famous talk show host in Vietnam.
Photos by Tuan Hoang