Da Nang (VNA) - The productionof external information has helped promote the country’s image and culture tothe world, boosting the country’s sovereignty over sea and islands as well ashuman rights.

Deputy head of the external informationservice board under the Central Party Committee’s Commission for Information andEducation, Hoang Ngoc Ha, said this at a conference in the city on December 21.

Ha said the conference was a chance toreview the first phase of the Government’s action plan on external informationstrategy until the year 2020.

He said that 63 provinces and cities hadset up instruction boards on external information services and portals inVietnamese and English since 2014.

“Many cultural festivals, landscapes,destinations and traditional lifestyles of Vietnam have been vividlybroadcasted worldwide through external media system. Local media also postednumerous news, video clips, photos and information of the country’s sovereigntysea and islands,” Ha said, adding that the world had a positive view of Vietnambecause of this.

He said the service had yet received fullfinancial support in developing an information service, while informationcontent via internet, social network had not been attractive to foreignreaders.

According to the Ministry of Informationand Communications, 500 films on Vietnam were screened at Vietnam’s CultureWeek in 15 countries over the past four years.

Mai Anh Hong, from the ministry, saidVietnam News Agency (VNA), Vietnam Television (VTV) and Digital Television(VTC) had promoted their external information service in multi languages withlonger broadcast time.

He said VNA’s Vietnam Pictorial was thelargest language publication in Vietnam. It was printed in eight languages.

Hong said VNA also had 30 representativesin 28 countries around the world.

Doan Thi Minh Phuong from the Ministry ofNatural Resources and Environment said Vietnam was one of nine countries hostingWorld Ocean Day communications recently.

Vice director of Da Nang City’s Departmentof Information and Communications, Nguyen Thi Phuong, said the Asia-PacificEconomic Cooperation (APEC)’s Leaders’ Week in Da Nang was seen as milestonefor the external information service.

She said more than 9,000 news and featureson APEC were posted in 2017, including 6,000 were broadcast during Leaders’Week. Meanwhile, more than 6,000 news and stories covering the Da Nang InternationalFireworks Festival and Asia Beach Games were also run.

Deputy General Director of VNA, Le Quoc Minh,said the national news agency had 10 boards in charge of external informationservices.

“We have built up relationships andco-operation with 40 new agencies over the world, including giant Reuters, AP,Xinhua, Yonhap and new ties with Poland, Kazakhstan and Australia,” Minh said.

“VNA has eyed infotainment (information andentertainment), technology applications and new styles in renewal informationservice to meet increasing demands of foreign readers,” he said.

He said VNA’s mega stories item,2013-launched Rapnews (Rap combined with news) – which were seen asnon-tradition and non-press product – were the latest media products inattracting young readers.

He also said the agency also planned tobuild data journalism and boost Artificial Intelligence (AI) in boostinginformation service in the near future.

Nguyen Thi Phuong Lien from VietnamTelevision (VTV) Channel 4 said external information broadcast at the channelincreased from one hour to three hours per day in five languages - English,French, Japanese, Chinese and Russian. - VNA