(VNF) - Always the busiest month of the year for the British Council in Vietnam, this year October culminates with the biggest music festival in Vietnam, the finale of the UK in my eyes competition, the biggest UK Education Fair and a film week to follow.

To launch a month of cultural and educational activities, Zara McFarlane and her band will play before thousands of festival-goers on October 9th in Hanoi at Monsoon Music Festival, the country’s biggest music festival. This will be followed by an additional performance, scheduled for October 11th in Ho Chi Minh city, where Zara will be joined by Thao Trang and Bich Ngoc, two stars of Vietnam Idol. Zara won the Best Jazz Act at MOBO (Music of Black Origin) 2014. Fellow winners in differing categories included Sam Smith, Jesse J and Beyonce.

A strong British Council in Vietnam brand, the UK in my eyes competition for 2015 saw the British Council partner with VnExpress for the first time. VnExpress is the biggest online news site in Vietnam and has helped to bring the competition to even more fans of the UK.

Launched in September, the competition has received hundreds of entries from those who have studied in, or visited, the UK as well as those who have never been to Great Britain. Through their eyes, the UK is a truly a beautiful and vibrant country where the juxtaposition of old and new permeates every aspect of British life – a country that thrives on the exchange of goods, ideas and people.

The competition wraps up in early October with prizes to be given during the UK Education Fair 2015 which takes place from October 24th to 27th in three cities across the nationa (Ho Chi Minh city, Hanoi and Da Nang). The UK Education Fair 2015 will give prospective students the chance to meet with representatives from 70 UK institutions and learn about 80 scholarship opportunities. During the fair there will also be a brief session outlining 20 PhD scholarship opportunities to be given to Vietnamese scholars so they can pursue studies in the UK as part of the VIED-Newton Fund collaboration.

The Newton Program Vietnam is an integral component of the Newton Fund, which forms part of the UK’s official collaborative development program. The Newton Fund will invest GBP75 million each year - having started in 2014 ­- for five years to develop science and innovation partnerships, promoting the economic development and social welfare of developing countries.

These activities will lead up to the UK Film Week that opens in the first week of November. This year’s UK film week, which will hit CGV cinemas in Hanoi, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh city from November 4th to 12th, will celebrate the music of Great Britain.

Award-winning films to be screened during the week include God Helps the Girl (2014), Nowhere Boy (2009), Pulp (2014), Northern Soul (2014), Good Vibrations (2013), Control (2007) and Bugsy Malone (1976)./.

( VNF )