320 Vietnamese American youth attended the Vietnamese Language Summer 2000 Session. This year like every other year, it was sheer joy to see these students getting together and spending many summer evenings together learning the Vietnamese language and culture. The closing ceremony, organized on August 3, was also attended by our guest of honor, Ms. Kate Hanley, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors of the County of Fairfax. Mr. Thuan Truong, VPA's President, presented two plaques of appreciation to IBM, and to Mr. Doug Bui, President of East-West Mortgage, for their continuing support of the summer program.

The offering of the MCSE Certification training program is continuing and is including all ethnic groups and individuals who are seeking a non-traditional and inexpensive way to make an entry into the information technology field. To date, four successes have already been recorded regarding the exams taken by the students on various core skills of the MCSE certification process. The partnership with Linkages to Learning is continuing stronger with additional projects being planned. The 3^rd MCSE session was completed on October 1.

The organization of the Second International Conference on Prosperity for the People of Vietnam, November 16 - 17, 2000, is getting into its final phase. Speakers will come from France, Australia, etc. It is drawing a very strong interest from the intelligentsia on Vietnam. It is also the first time that SAIS/Johns Hopkins is co-organizing such an event with a small organization such as VPA. The support of key personalities, such as Prof. Robert Scalapino, Program Chairman of the Conference, makes the event possible.