Over 30 students and instructors participated in the first VN2020 Guitar Class which started on May 24, 2008. Here are some photos taken at the second lesson on May 31, 2008.

(Please visit our forum for more info on the Guitar class)

Members of VIETNAM 2020 turned up at our quarterly family gathering organized by BizAd family at Sentosa beach on May 10, 2008

Here are a few photos taken by Viet Trung for you viewing ..

For more photos of the event, please go to our forum

By Bizad family of VIETNAM 2020

One of the key thrusts of VIETNAM 2020, besides nurturing the young overseas Vietnamese professionals and building the business connection between Singapore and Vietnam, is giving back to the society. Be it big or small, every act does count towards making life easier and better for the poor and unfortunate.

Heartbreaking pictures of the children at the center ...

... who were born with brain abnormalities or with Down syndrome ...

... gave the family the strength to raise awareness for the drive as well as successfully raised 603.2 SGD + 20USD +200,000 VND (total 7.2 million VND) at the VIETNAM 2020 TET party on January 25. The amount reflected the enthusiasm and commitment of all VIETNAM 2020 members to the good cause in spite of the short time notice.

Missioned with the task of presenting the donation to the Center, Bizad family members including anh Son’s family, Thuy Lien, Thuy Trang, anh Xuan Hoa and Hanh Phuoc, visited the Center on 2^nd February 2008 (5 days before TET) right after a very early morning flight.

Despite all tiredness and an almost sleepless night before, everyone was excited as this was the very first charity activity we have done. After talking to the Center Director, Mrs Le Thi Anh Tuyet, and taking a tour around the Center, anh Xuan Hoa, on behalf of VIETNAM 2020, presented the donation to the Director.

Just then, we could see the sparkling in her eyes as she talked about the programs for the children and how they would like to improve the facilities. A surge of warmth and pride arose in our hearts as we really felt that we were doing something right for our unfortunate children, and for our country. We spent 1.4 million dong on milk, cookies, and candies for the children and donated 6.8 million dong in cash to the center. (Copy of the Certificate is available here)

Our April 26 2008 gathering was another memorable event for VN2020 members. Organized by members of Science and Engineering family, the event was originally planned to be a regular S&E gathering - with Dr Bui Dinh Thuan as our guest speaker, however ...

... for the first time, coming to this event were several distinguished guests not only from Singapore but also from Viet Nam. Not surprisingly, the presence of Chu Vo Ta Han and Co Kim Chau was an honour for the members, we were particularly happy to welcome Chi Thuc Minh, the representative of Thanh Nien Magazine in Singapore, and our special guests from Viet Nam - a delegation from Nguyen Hoang Group, one of the leading IT groups in Vietnam (http://www.nhg.vn/) led by its dynamic Chairman & CEO Hoang Quoc Viet and anh Phuc Tien, CEO of Vietnam Centrepoint. Both anh Viet and anh Phuc Tien are also members of the Executive Committee of the Young Businessmen Association (YBA) of Vietnam

Our guest speaker, Dr. Bui Dinh Thuan, Founder and CEO of i-DNA Biotechology, is one of the successful models of scientist-turned-businessman in Singapore. Based on his own experience, Dr. Thuan gave us a fascinating talk on “overcoming barriers in starting up a company” aiming at those who would like to start up and grow a company.

Following the exciting and helpful talk by Dr. Thuan, our members also got many practical and valuable advices shared by our special guests, namely Anh Hoang Quoc Viet, Anh Phuc Tien and Chu Vo Ta Han, drawing from their many years of experience. The floor was then open for an exciting dialogue between VN2020 members and Nguyen Hoang Group, which extended well beyond the allotted time

Once again we would like to express our sincerest thanks to the host family of Science and Engineering family, Anh Quang Tuan and Chi Thanh Chau, without their support the S&E family would not have been able to organize such an event. Thanks also to the young ladies of our wonderful S&E family cooking team, and thanks to Co Kim Chau for her delicious “cha hue” and “mang xao tom thit”... Yum yum !!!

The interactive discussions continued during our dinner, which gave our members a chance to personally meet our special guests and also for Nguyen Hoang Group & YBA to know more about VIETNAM 2020. Both Nguyen Hoang Group and VIETNAM 2020 confirmed their desire to establish a close connection between the two organizations. An open invitation is extended to all members of VIETNAM 2020 to visit Nguyen Hoang Group when they are back home, and we will also keep Nguyen Hoang & YBA informed of our activities in Singapore for further cooperation in the future.

Below are some photos of the event. For more photos, please follow the link below:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26028639@N05/

Several members of VIETNAM 2020 have joined forces with the VNU Guitar Club to organize the highly successful Esta Noche event on March 22, 2008 at NUS.

Here are some of the photos of the events ...