Vietnamese culture will be on full display in the Mountainlair on Wednesday (Oct. 12), as West Virginia University plays host to the country’s deputy diplomat, Tung Nguyen.
Nguyen is the Chief of Mission for the Vietnamese Embassy in Washington, D.C. The event begins in the Mountainlair at 6:15 p.m.
The program, “Vietnam: Then and Now”, will feature Nguyen, who will discuss the state of the country and then take questions from those in attendance. In addition, the Vietnamese rock band, “Spotlight,” will perform, and traditional singing, dancing and a photo gallery provided by the Vietnamese Embassy will be featured. Guests can also enjoy traditional Vietnamese cuisine.
The event is the first of the “Cultural Attache” program organized by the WVU Office of Multicultural Programs, Division of Social Work, Department of History, Office of International Programs and Office of International Students and Scholars.
“It is a Vietnamese cultural event. If you don’t know much about Vietnam today, then all you know about is the war,” said Nhat-Thu Nguyen, a WVU student from Vietnam. “This is a chance to come and learn about modern Vietnam.”
The tie between Vietnam and the University is a result of an ongoing cultural exchange over the past five years. The WVU Division of Social Work has helped train Vietnamese social workers. In addition, the program has brought many graduate students to study at WVU. The program is headed by Dr. Neal Newfield, associate professor in the division of social work at the WVU School of Applied Social Sciences, and his wife Susan, an associate professor in health restoration in the WVU School of Nursing.
The program has taken WVU students and faculty to Vietnam for the past six summers and will continue to do so next year.
The program will give all attendees a chance to understand the modern Vietnam and its role in the world, especially how it relates to the United States.
For more information please visit: http://studentlife.wvu.edu/office_of_multicultural_programs/upcoming_programs.
-WVU-
ab/10/10/11
CONTACT: Sabrina Cave, Mountaineer Parents Club
304-293-0890, Sabrina.Cave@mail.wvu.edu
Follow @WVUToday on Twitter.