President Ho Chi Minh (fourth, left) and southern officials in November 1965 
The contest was launched by the Vietnam Embassy in Thailand, the Vietnamese Consulate General in Khon Kaen, the State Committee on Overseas Vietnamese and the Vietnamese Association in the country.The contest, the first of its kind in Thailand occasioned President Ho Chi Minh’s 127th birthday, received a large number of entries, written in Vietnamese and Thai.The organising board presented two first prizes with a certificate of merit from Deputy Foreign Minister and head of the State Committee on Overseas Vietnamese Vu Hong Nam, and an invitation to attend a summer camp in Vietnam or join an Overseas Vietnamese children delegation in a Vietnam tour. The contest was part of efforts to encourage youngsters to learn and follow the moral example of President Ho Chi Minh and the late leaders’ teachings.It also contributed to preserving and promoting Vietnamese cultural identity, and encouraging the teaching and learning of Vietnamese language in Thailand.