(VOVWORLD) - The Communist Party of Vietnam believes developing culture and people have a close relationship. Cultural development is about perfecting human personality and developing people is about promoting cultural development. Because people are the subject of creating, spreading, and enjoying culture, and are the center of the development strategy, empowering people to carry out the mission of preserving and developing culture is an important task in the cause of national development.
 At a national conference on cultural development in Bac Ninh province (Photo:VOV) |
Throughout history, Vietnamese people have created a unique and rich culture. That creation has been preserved, promoted and added to by generations after generation of Vietnamese people who have created new values, formed national identity, created strength and spiritual motivation, and consolidated national unity in order to raise Vietnam's international status.
Culture is internal strength, motivation for national construction and defense
The Communist Party of Vietnam has emphasized the role of the people in building national culture. The 1943 "Vietnamese Cultural Outline" of the Party Central Committee defines the nature of the new culture that the Vietnamese people aim to build: a culture embracing national spirit for the people and by the people and for the people's healthy and abundant life. This view has been inherited and promoted in Party documents and resolutions. It is an orientation that makes Vietnamese culture the foundation and the motivation for national sustainable development.
At the 2022 Cultural Conference on December 17 in Bac Ninh province, Nguyen Trong Nghia, Head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Communication and Education cited Party leader Nguyen Phu Trong’s article "Some theoretical and practical issues on socialism and the path to socialism in Vietnam" and the document of the 13th National Party Congress, both of which affirm that culture is the spiritual foundation of society and the endogenous strength and driving force for national development and defense. Culture must be placed on an equal footing with the economy, politics and society. Culture building and development is the cause of the entire people led by the Party, managed by the State, and mastered by the people.
Mr. Nghia said: "The 13th National Party Congress continued to uphold the important position and role of culture in promoting rapid, sustainable national development in the new period. It’s important to strongly arouse patriotism, national self-reliance, the strength of the great national unity and the aspiration to develop a prosperous and happy country. It’s also important to bring into full play the human factor and make people the center, the subject, the main resource and the goal of development."
"Vietnamese cultural values should serve as the foundation and the internal strength for sustainable development and comprehensive and coordinated cultural development while ensuring and promoting good value, beauty of the nation, absorbing the cultural quintessence of humanity, and creating a driving force for socio-economic development and international integration," added Mr. Nghia.
People’s mandate of preserving and promoting culture
After more than 35 years of renovation, along with socio-economic and political achievements, Vietnam has obtained major achievements in cultural development. People’s material and spiritual life has steadily improved. People’s role in creating, practicing, delivering and enjoying culture has been strengthened, and community participation in culture has increased. The legal system, mechanisms, and policies on cultural development have been refined.
The Party's guidelines on cultural development have been institutionalized creating a legal corridor to further develop Vietnamese culture. Vietnam has ratified and participated in multiple international conventions on human rights and cultural rights and promoted cultural exchanges and cooperation to further introduce Vietnam to the world.
Nguyen Xuan Thang, Director of Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics and Chairman of the Central Theoretical Council, said: "In institutional improvement, special attention should be paid to clearly defining the roles of actors in leadership and management in cultural development. The State builds and perfects the legal framework, creates a development environment, uses policy tools to regulate cultural development and ensures the right to create and enjoy culture for all people. Cultural development always starts with the people. The people are the center, the beneficiaries, and the participants in organizing cultural activities and they are the ones who provide services and implement the State's policies and laws on culture."
Amid Vietnam’s increasing international integration, people’s material and spiritual life and understanding have improved while mechanisms and policies have empowered the people to contribute to cultural development.
Culture is the essence and the reflection of Vietnamese people’s dignity, personality and values, which should be preserved and promoted.