Individuals and organizations from member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are all welcome to partake in a photo/documentary competition, organized to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Vietnam joining the bloc.

The kick-off of the “Photo and Documentary Festival and Competition on ASEAN Ethnic Groups” was announced Thursday at a press conference in Hanoi.

The event is organized by the International Cooperation Department under the Vietnamese Ministry of Information and Communications.

Individuals, groups, and organizations holding nationalities of the ASEAN member countries are all entitled to join the competition.

Entries are single photos and photo collections, documentaries, and features which reflect ethnic community groups’ various facets including culture, languages, healthcare, education, industrial production, and the environment.

Submissions are to be received from June 15 to 5:00 pm on October 31 (Vietnam time).

The organizer will take account of the postal marks of entries submitted via airmail.

The awards ceremony is scheduled to take place in December.

Detailed information is available on the Vietnamese Ministry of Information and Communications’ website, at mic.gov.vn; or ASEAN Vietnam’s portal, at aseanvietnam.vn.

Vietnam joined ASEAN in July 1995.

ASEAN was established on August 8, 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand, with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration) by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand, according to the bloc’s website.

The subsequent entry of Brunei Darussalam, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia, from 1984 to 1999, made up what is today a ten-member ASEAN.

(Tuoi Tre News)