Udon Thani, Thailand — August 2026
The 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Thailand and Vietnam is being celebrated through a vibrant series of cultural and educational activities designed to strengthen friendship, understanding and people to people connections between the two countries. Organised by Udon Thani Rajabhat University, in collaboration with the Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in Khon Kaen, the Thai Vietnamese Cultural Festival brings together students, educators, Vietnamese communities and cultural partners to celebrate five decades of diplomatic relations.
The festival reflects the long and increasingly close relationship between Thailand and Vietnam. Beyond diplomatic ties, the two countries share connections through education, language, culture, history and the many personal relationships that have developed between their people. A central message of the celebration is the idea of a “Bridge of Hearts” between Thailand and Vietnam. Through language and cultural exchange, young people are being encouraged to learn more about each other’s countries and to become part of the next generation strengthening bilateral friendship.
Celebrating through language: One of the major activities is the Vietnamese Language Recitation Contest, held under the theme “50 Years of the Bridge of Hearts between Thailand and Vietnam.” The contest is open to students at secondary school and university level. It provides Thai students with an opportunity to demonstrate their Vietnamese language skills while expressing their understanding of Vietnam and the friendship between the two nations. The grand prize is 5,000 baht, together with an honorary plaque and certificate of achievement.
Learning about Vietnam: The festival also features a General Knowledge Quiz Contest focusing on Vietnamese language, society, history and culture. Designed for secondary school students, the competition offers a lively way for young participants to discover more about Vietnam while developing their knowledge through friendly competition. The winner will receive a prize of 7,000 baht, an honorary plaque and a certificate of achievement.
Art as a bridge between cultures: For younger students, the Painting Contest provides another creative way to express the spirit of Thailand Vietnam friendship. With the same theme, “50 Years of the Bridge of Hearts between Thailand and Vietnam,” the competition is open to primary and secondary school students. Through colour, imagination and artistic expression, students are invited to interpret what friendship between the two countries means to them. The highest prize is 5,000 baht, together with an honorary plaque and certificate. Vietnamese students tell their Thailand stories. A particularly meaningful feature of the festival is the Short Video Competition, created especially for Vietnamese students studying in Thailand. Under the theme “Thailand in Me” or “The Thailand I Know,” the competition invites Vietnamese students to share their personal experiences of Thailand through short videos. The initiative recognises that Vietnamese students living and studying in Thailand have a unique perspective on the relationship between the two countries. Their stories can capture everyday experiences, friendships, education, local culture and the connections they have built during their time in Thailand. The competition is open to Vietnamese students studying in Thailand who hold Vietnamese passports, as well as Vietnamese students at universities that have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Udon Thani Rajabhat University. The highest prize is 5,000 baht, together with an honorary cup and certificate of merit.
Investing in the next generation: The festival demonstrates how cultural diplomacy can begin in classrooms and universities. For Thailand and Vietnam, the 50th anniversary is not only an occasion to look back at five decades of diplomatic relations. It is also an opportunity to encourage young people to look forward and build new connections. Language competitions create confidence and communication. Art encourages creativity. Quizzes inspire students to discover history and culture. Short videos allow young Vietnamese people to tell their own stories of life in Thailand. Together, these activities create a space where education becomes a bridge between cultures. Udon Thani Rajabhat University and the Vietnam Education Center at the university play an important role in creating opportunities for Thai and Vietnamese students to meet, learn and exchange ideas. Such initiatives contribute to a deeper understanding between the two peoples and help ensure that the friendship established over the past 50 years continues to grow. As Thailand and Vietnam commemorate half a century of diplomatic relations, the festival offers a simple but powerful message: friendship is strengthened not only through official agreements, but through people, language, education, culture and shared experiences. The 50th anniversary celebration therefore looks beyond history. It celebrates the living relationship between Thailand and Vietnam and the young people who will carry this friendship into the future.
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WRITERS AND POETS BUILD NEW BRIDGES BETWEEN VIETNAM AND THAILAND
Udon Thani, Thailand — 17 August 2026
The celebration of 50 years of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Thailand continued with a meaningful literary and cultural exchange at Udon Thani Rajabhat University on the morning of 17 August, when a delegation of Vietnamese writers and poets, together with Thai writers and poets, visited the university and its Vietnam Studies Centre. The gathering brought together writers, poets, educators and students in an atmosphere of warmth and friendship. Beyond the official significance of the 50th anniversary, the visit highlighted the deeper historical and cultural connections between the peoples of Vietnam and Thailand. For the visiting writers, the Vietnam Studies Centre represents more than a place for language learning. It is a meeting point where literature, education and culture can bring people from two countries closer together.
Language begins with the heart: Dr Trịnh Quốc Thắng, who travelled with the Vietnamese writers’ delegation, expressed his warmth and appreciation for the welcome they received. He said the atmosphere at the university felt remarkably familiar and friendly, almost like being in Vietnam. For him, language should not be regarded as a barrier when people share genuine goodwill. What matters most, he emphasised, is what comes from the heart: love for Vietnam, friendship and the hope that this spirit can be shared with students. He expressed his hope that the Vietnamese Language Centre would continue to grow strongly and sustainably and that Vietnam and Thailand could create many meaningful activities together. His message reflected one of the central themes of the gathering: friendship begins with people and is strengthened through understanding.
Literature as a bridge between peoples: Trịnh Thu Phương, Counsellor at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam and a Vietnamese writer, spoke with emotion about being present both as a Vietnamese citizen and as a writer. She expressed her hope that Vietnam and Thailand could develop more cultural and literary activities and build stronger connections not only between the two countries but also between their languages and cultures. One of her personal aspirations is to translate a collection of Thai poetry into Vietnamese. She recalled learning a Thai poem during her visit and being deeply moved by its beauty. For her, poetry has a special ability to reach people directly. She also reminded the gathering that the relationship between Vietnam and Thailand did not begin only 50 years ago with the establishment of diplomatic relations. Historical connections between the two peoples stretch back more than two centuries. During difficult periods in Vietnamese history, Vietnamese people came to Thailand and received food, friendship and kindness from Thai people. These shared experiences, she suggested, form part of the emotional foundation of today’s relationship. In this context, literature has an especially important role. Through literature, people can discover that beyond a national border are human beings who also know how to feel, suffer, hope and love. This, she said, is one of the important missions of literature today: to bring people closer together. “Language is the door; culture is the bridge”
A Thai writer, Ms Talaechann who joined the gathering warmly welcomed the Vietnamese delegation and highlighted the importance of the presence of distinguished Thai literary figures, including Mr Pitak, a National Artist and S.E.A. Write Award-winning poet. She offered the support of Thai poets and writers to the Vietnam Studies Centre, saying that they would be happy to contribute to future activities and cultural exchanges. Her words captured the spirit of the meeting:“Language is the door, and culture is the bridge that connects two lands.” She described the visit to the Vietnam Studies Centre and Udon Thani Rajabhat University as meaningful and impressive. Although the Centre has been operating for only three years, she expressed confidence in its future. She envisioned it becoming a place where Thai and Vietnamese people could learn more about each other’s languages, literature and cultures. The exchange should work in both directions. While Thai students learn Vietnamese and discover Vietnamese culture, Vietnamese students and visitors can also gain a deeper understanding of Thailand. As the two countries celebrate 50 years of diplomatic relations, she said, the visit created a beautiful memory and demonstrated that the friendship between writers, poets and ordinary people can continue for generations.
Poetry travelling across borders: One of the most moving contributions came from the distinguished Vietnamese poet Trần Nhuận Minh, who spoke about his long literary relationship with international readers and Vietnamese Studies programmes. Introducing himself, the poet noted that two of his poetry collections are held at the university and the Vietnam Studies Centre, with both collections translated and published in English. He also shared that this was the second Vietnam Studies Centre in the world that he had visited. His first visit to such a centre was in Taiwan. With characteristic modesty, he explained that writers should not speak too much about their own achievements. Yet he felt that sharing some of his experiences could demonstrate the possibilities that open when Vietnamese literature crosses national borders. In 2014, one of his poetry collections was translated and published in Beijing. The collection was nearly 400 pages, a significant undertaking considering the complexity of translating Vietnamese poetry into Chinese. In 2018, another collection was translated and published in Taiwan. He recalled being the first Vietnamese individual writer invited to Taiwan and the first Vietnamese poet to have two poems included in a Vietnamese Studies programme at Tân Công University. Nearly a decade later, that programme continues. For Trần Nhuận Minh, these experiences demonstrate that Vietnamese poets and writers can find meaningful opportunities when their work is introduced internationally.
Writers as cultural ambassadors: The poet emphasised that writers and poets can, in their own way, represent the voice of the Vietnamese people. Through literature, they can share their love for people, language and national culture directly with students who are learning Vietnamese at universities around the world. He also reflected on two honours that have been particularly meaningful in his literary life. In 2017, he received a State Award from the President of Vietnam for Literature and the Arts. In 2020, he received the Mekong River Literary Award, connected with the six countries of the Mekong region. He expressed gratitude to the Thai Writers Association and to the Thai literary community for supporting literary exchange. For Trần Nhuận Minh, this visit was especially meaningful because it was his first visit to Thailand, a country where his poetry has also been translated. At 83, he reflected that returning to Thailand might be difficult, making the visit all the more precious. He expressed his deep gratitude to the Thai people and spoke of the special warmth he feels in the relationship between Thailand and Vietnam. Some forms of friendship, he suggested, cannot always be explained through words. They are simply felt in the heart. A shared literary future.
The visit to the Vietnam Studies Centre demonstrated that the 50th anniversary of Vietnam Thailand diplomatic relations is not only a celebration of the past. It is also an opportunity to create new connections for the future. The presence of Vietnamese and Thai writers and poets at Udon Thani Rajabhat University showed the important role that literature can play in cultural diplomacy. Books can cross borders. Poems can travel between languages. Writers can introduce one culture to another. Students can become readers, translators and future cultural ambassadors. Most importantly, personal encounters create understanding that official documents alone cannot provide. The gathering at the Vietnam Studies Centre therefore became more than a literary meeting. It was an expression of friendship between two peoples whose connections reach far beyond the 50 years of formal diplomatic relations. As Vietnam and Thailand look towards the next decades of cooperation, literature, education and cultural exchange can continue to serve as powerful bridges. And perhaps the simplest message from the gathering was also the most enduring: Language may open the door. Culture may build the bridge. But friendship is what brings people together.
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