The “Duy Tan Aspiration” ceremony took place on the evening of April 29th at the Trung Vuong Theatre in Danang. This event has been a unique way of inspiring students with the enthusiasm and passion to join hands and work together innovatively for the development of education in Vietnam.
Excited by the constant progress that Duy Tan is making, the Duy Tan Torch was handed by Mrs. Nguyen Thi Binh, former State Vice-President, to Distinguished Teacher Le Cong Co, DTU President and Provost, who then passed it on to young generations.
As the founder of DTU, Distinguished Teacher Le Cong Co said: “We are now living in an age of freedom and democracy. We must always remember our ancestors, who sacrificed their lives for the independence of our country. Following in the steps of our forefathers, Duy Tan University is determined to become an internationally recognized university, graduating citizens of the world. To achieve this ambition, we must follow our dreams and convey our enthusiasm and passion to the younger generations, so that they will all become balanced and well-qualified citizens. Duy Tan University continues to evolve and rightly deserves in the near future to be recognized as 'The Heroic University' in the heroic city of Danang.”
Mrs. Nguyen Thi Binh addresses the ceremony
It was a great honor of DTU to welcome Mrs. Nguyen Thi Binh, who offered great encouragement to the entire DTU faculty. She said: "Like many other colonial nations worldwide in the 20th century, Vietnam was filled with eternal hopes of freedom and independence. We longed to escape from foreign domination. At that time, our patriots launched the Duy Tan movement in order to maintain our educational standards and our culture and to urge our people to fight for their independence. But this was just the beginning, because President Ho Chi Minh had already stated that the independence that we strived for was meaningless if Vietnam still lived in poverty and misery. That is the reason why we still must work very hard in many areas, and the refinement of our education and training systems should have top priority. It is important that Duy Tan University has organized the 'Duy Tan Aspiration' event in commemoration its 20th anniversary. In order for every developing country to gain self-respect and the respect of others, we must all strive to innovate and advance to a better future.”
Distinguished Teacher Le Cong Co hands the Duy Tan Torch to young generation
The ceremony was attended by government officials from Danang, Hue and Ho Chi Minh City, and scientists from more than twenty countries worldwide. Mr. Phung Tan Viet, Vice-President of the Danang Peoples Committee, recognized DTU’s achievements.
Danang is developing rapidly day-by-day as a result of the strong support of government agencies, local, national and international business and Duy Tan University. In the course of its development, DTU is always a pioneer in innovation, from training programs to international partnerships, which has greatly improved the quality of education. DTU has become a private university with a brand name and won broad public acclaim. This has been achieved by the sustained efforts of the DTU faculty and staff, and has made an impact on educational development throughout Vietnam.
Vietnamese songs, dances and poems of the nation and the Central Region were performed. The audience listened to a poem called “My Hometown”, written by Le Phuong Thao. (The DTU President used this alias when he was active in the war). “My Hometown” describes the sadness of a soldier when he sees his native country being destroyed by war and then his joy on the day of liberation.
The ceremony raised the spirit of solidarity and friendship, which inspired the DTU faculty and staff to consider what DTU would look like another twenty years from now. With its current rate of development, DTU should become one of the leading international universities in Vietnam and contribute to "making Vietnam as powerful as other developed countries", just as Ho Chi Minh dreamt.
(Media Center)