HÀ NỘI — The Dế Mèn (Cricket) Awards for Children, which celebrate outstanding works by and for children, have officially been launched, inviting literary and artistic works, or drafts of such works, to compete.

According to the organisers, any work created, completed or published between January 1, 2025 and April 25, 2026, will be eligible for entry.

First introduced in 2020 by the Sports & Culture newspaper under the Vietnam News Agency, the Dế Mèn Awards draw inspiration from Dế Mèn Phiêu Lưu Ký (Adventures of a Cricket), the celebrated literary classic by Tô Hoài.

True to this spirit, the awards honour outstanding contributions across creative fields – from literature and the arts to entertainment; from traditional publishing formats to contemporary digital platforms.

In the broader context of Việt Nam’s nationwide implementation of Resolution No. 80‑NQ/TW of the Politburo on cultural development, the awards this year set a long‑term ambition: to help build a cultural and artistic ecosystem for Vietnamese children in the digital era.

At the outset, the awards will focus on transforming prize‑winning works with strong potential into cultural products capable of reaching wide audiences. This initiative aims to make practical contributions to Việt Nam’s growing cultural industries, with particular emphasis on children’s cinema. Such efforts align directly with Resolution 80, which identifies priority areas for development, including cinema, music, fine arts, cultural tourism, design, fashion, traditional crafts, video games, cuisine and digital content.

The Resolution also underscores the importance of 'valuing, honouring, and unleashing creativity, while fostering a favourable environment for experts, intellectuals, talented artists, and exceptionally gifted students to be nurtured, trained, inspired and able to contribute and grow'.

In line with these objectives, the Dế Mèn Awards not only discover and celebrate cultural and artistic talents, serving as both a platform and launchpad for authors and works by children and for children, but also ignite creativity among young people, promote a culture of reading, and help build a rich and healthy cultural environment for the nation’s future generations.

The awards contribute to the overarching goal of 'building comprehensively developed Vietnamese people' while ensuring 'equal access to cultural values for disadvantaged groups', with children at the heart of this mission.

The closing ceremony and awards presentation are scheduled for International Children’s Day on June 1, a fitting occasion to celebrate creativity and childhood.

One Grand Prize – the Hiệp Sĩ Dế Mèn (Cricket Knight) Award – will be bestowed upon an individual who has devoted their life and career to children. Alongside, the Khát Vọng Dế Mèn (Cricket Desire) Awards will recognise fresh creative explorations across diverse forms and generations of authors.

Over six seasons, four Cricket Knight Awards have been conferred to writers Nguyễn Nhật Ánh (2020), Trần Đức Tiến (2023), Lý Lan (2024), and songwriter Phạm Tuyên (2025), together with 27 Cricket Desire Awards. — VNS