Vietnam’s 17th National Radio Festival will be held in Quang Ninh from April 11 to 13 under the theme “For a strong, prosperous Vietnam” by the Voice of Vietnam (VoV) and the People’s Committee of Quang Ninh province.
The event, which will bring together 73 delegations and nearly 1,000 participants has received 343 entries, including 97 entries in the Podcast category.
Podcasts are being included in the official competition system for the first time, reflecting the growing trend of digital audio content.
Participants will include units of VoV and 34 provincial and city-level newspapers and radio and TV stations.
Within the framework of the festival, an international seminar titled “Podcast – A creative avenue for radio in the digital era” will be held for the first time. It will involve more than 500 domestic delegates, 3 international speakers, and 35 international delegates from national radio stations around the world.
There will be a professional seminar “Live Broadcasting in the New Era – Skills to Conquer the Public”; a photo and video clip contest themed “Quang Ninh – Aspiration to Rise with the Nation”; and an exhibition of images and artifacts introducing the history of the development of Vietnamese radio and Quang Ninh media.
The opening ceremony will take place outdoors at October 30 Square, combined with a large-scale art programme titled “Sounds of a new era”, expected to draw around 50,000 audiences. T
The closing and award ceremony – where 197 awards will be presented, will be held at the Quang Ninh Exhibition of Planning and Expo Center.
Speaking at the press conference announcing the festival, Pham Manh Hung, Vice President of the Voice of Vietnam and Head of the Organizing Committee, said the development of digital formats such as Podcast is a trend and an essential requirement for radio to expand its reach, conquer new audiences, and assert its position in the modern media ecosystem.
“For the first time, we are organizing a podcast competition. This is a new form of journalism with sound as its core and is distributed in a digital environment. This popular format worldwide is developing very rapidly,” he said.
“VOV is working on a project aiming to become the leading podcast producer in Vietnam based on three criteria. They are the reach of its products in the digital environment; the level of its influence on public opinion; and professionalism in science, technology, and podcast production techniques.”