Attending the opening ceremony were Standing Vice Secretary of the HCMC Party Committee Nguyen Ho Hai, researcher Nguyen Dinh Tu, the city’s” Whole Life Ambassador", and Deputy Chief of the Southern Region Office of the Central Propaganda and Education Committee Duong Minh Tuan.

The event, which is organized by the municipal Department of Information and Communications, simultaneously takes place in HCMC’s Book Street and Thu Duc City’s Book Street and will last until June 9.

The festival presents to readers more than 40,000 books of various genres and includes a series of nearly 100 activities, such as exchanges between authors and readers, introductions of new books, a seminar on reading habits among children and people, art performances, and more.

At the opening ceremony, the HCMC Party Committee and the organization board of the 5th HCMC Children’s Book Fair handed over 15 bookshelves worth VND500 million and 1,000 books to schools in Cu Chi, Can Gio, Binh Chanh, Hoc Mon, and Nha Be suburban districts

Additionally, the organization board of the HCMC’s first Children’s Book Awards announced jury members, including Dr. Quach Thu Nguyet, writer Bich Ngan, poets Le Minh Quoc and Cao Xuan Son, and Associate Professor, Ph.D Bui Thanh Truyen.

The contest co-organized by the HCMC Department of Information and Communications, the city’s Youth Union, the Vietnam Publishers Association, the Department of Training and Education of the city, and the HCMC Writers’ Association aims to discover new children’s authors and create favorable conditions for writers to promote and develop their professional writing skills.

The event includes two categories of literature books (novels, poetry, comic books, and short Stories) and research books.