At the end of March, the General Statistics Office of Vietnam published a report on socio-economic development in the first quarter of 2022. Vietnam showed impressive growth while global growth slowed. How did Vietnam recover so quickly when its economy, like most of the world’s economies, was battered by the COVID-19 pandemic?

This question, asked by people around the world, inspired VOV’s French section to produce a talkshow called "Decoding Vietnam's growth recovery", which won first prize in the radio category at the 8^th National External Information Service Awards.  

The program’s producers, dynamic, experienced editors with VOV5’s French section, each took charge of one part - hosting the show, talking to the guests, on-scene reporting, and connecting with guests from France. Everything was smoothly coordinated to produce an outstanding program, said editor Duc Quy.

Quy recalled, “It took a lot of time for the team to create a script and select statements by Party and State leaders and domestic and foreign guests to illuminate the topic of the show. What we wanted was to provide accurate information on the impressive performance of the Vietnamese economy so the audience could see the strong recovery of the economy after the pandemic was under control, but we had to maintain an exciting pace throughout the program. During the show, upbeat pieces of background music were played to arouse pride in the country’s achievements.”

The talkshow guests were Yann Frollo De Kerlivio, Commercial Counselor of the French Embassy in Vietnam and Director of Business France in charge of Southeast Asia and Pacific, and Dau Anh Tuan, Director of the Legal Department of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Moderated by Thi Loan, an editor and the production team leader, the guests provided useful background information and described how Vietnam overcame the difficulties caused by the pandemic.  

“We received great support from the two main guests, Mr. Yann Frollo De Kerlivio and Mr. Dau Anh Tuan, and other guests like Ms. Claire Rosseler, Executive Director of Air Liquide Vietnam, and Mr. Nguyen Hai Nam, President of the Vietnamese Entrepreneurs Association in France (ABVietFrance),” said Loan.

According to Loan, the guests not only have profound knowledge and provided detailed information and data, but also have a lot of practical experience. “That made our talk very interesting, even though it was about economics and contained lots of numbers,” Loan added.

VOV5 also won a third prize for a talkshow called “When in Rome, do as the Romans do” by three editors from the English section.

In this show, editor Phuong Khanh and three young foreigners from South Korea, the US, and Switzerland discussed a social drinking party the Vietnamese call "Nhậu".

Unlike the usual talkshow where the host and guests simply chat about a selected topics, “In Rome, do as the Romans” was a real drinking party held in a VOV5 studio.

They talked about the life of foreigners in Vietnam and shared tips to help foreigners integrate when traveling, living, or studying in Vietnam, while enjoying roasted peanuts, pork intestines, and chicken embryos cooked in the shell, dishes commonly found on the drinking table at a Vietnamese nhậu.

Phuong Khanh, the show’s host, recalled how they invited foreign guests to the studio for a “nhậu” party where they learned about and tried some Vietnamese typical dishes like pig organs, baluts, and roasted peanuts.

“These dishes may sound odd to foreigners but they’re all-time favorites of the Vietnamese people. Though we discussed the talk online and met for the first time on the day of broadcast, we felt like being friends for years during the talk where we shared a lot of stories and laughter. I think that it is Vietnam that connected us and made us feel close to each other,” said Khanh.

In every program, VOV5’s editors and reporters want to bring the most useful and interesting information about Vietnam and its people to the audience.

Professional awards competitions like this one encourage VOV5’s journalists to work harder to be bridge linking Vietnam with the world.