Nguyen Mai Anh, 18-year-old student of a Prague high school, became the winner of the Miss Vietnam of the Czech Republic contest on Dec 28, Zdenka Dubova, from the Info Dracek association organising the contest in Prague, told CTK.
Nguyen Mai Anh, middle, with the two runner-ups, Nguyen Thu Trang and Dinh Thi Thanh Hoa.
Vietnamese living in the Czech Republic were electing their most beautiful girl for the first time.
The five most successful girls have advanced to the Miss Vietnam European Union 2009 contest that will take place in Germany on January 9, Dubova said.
"The victory in the contest will mean to me an opportunity to visit Vietnam," the 1st Miss Vietnam in the Czech Republic told CTK.
She said Vietnamese girls were much more selfless than Czech girls and the family is always of primary importance to them.
The girls who took part in the contest had to buy all the costumes by themselves as they had no sponsors.
"It is the first bridge towards the Vietnamese community's integration into Czech society," Dubova said.
The winner has received a financial reward and many of the girls will be able to find jobs with modelling agencies thanks to the contest, she said.
In addition, their faces will also appear on the screens of the public Vietnamese television, Dubova added..
Fourteen girls aged from 15 to 20 competed in the final round held in Prague last night performing not only in swim suits but also in traditional Vietnamese costumes.
The contest was organised under the auspices of Human Rights and Minorities Minister Michael Kocab, Prague Mayor Pavel Bem and Czech MEP Jan Zahradil.
According to the latest data of the Interior Ministry, over 60,000 Vietnamese citizens legally stayed in the Czech Republic at the end of last year.
