The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism holds a meeting to collect opinions on solutions to culture management and development (photo: hanoimoi.com.vn)

Throughout Vietnam’s national construction, defense and development, the Communist Party of Vietnam identifies culture as the spiritual foundation of society, the endogenous strength, and the driving force for development, and literature and art is a particularly delicate field of culture. The development of literature and art must center on the people considering the people the subject and the goal to contribute to perfecting the values and personality of Vietnamese people and promoting the core values of the nation - virtue, goodness, and beauty.

The Vietnamese Party and State have always paid special attention to the cause of culture and the development of literature and art. Vietnam's literature and art have developed steadily and fulfilled the mission of serving as a solid spiritual foundation of society and fostering human development.       

Special care for literature and art

In 1943, the Communist Party of Vietnam adopted the "Culture Outline", clearly expressing the Party's viewpoint on culture and art development.

The Party guidelines and views on literature and art development during the national renewal period were reflected in many important resolutions, including the Party Politburo’s Resolution 05 on reforming and improving leadership and management of literature, art, and culture, promoting creativity, and taking literature, art and culture to a new level in 1987; Resolution 03 of the 8th Party Central Committee on building and developing an advanced Vietnamese culture embracing national identity in 1998; and the Politburo’s Resolution 23 on "Continuing to build and develop literature and art in the new period” in 2008.

In the Resolutions, the Party urges mobilizing all resources to build Vietnamese literature and art and strengthen a Vietnamese culture contingent who are close to the people and work for the cause of national development.

During the process of national industrialization and modernization and international integration, Vietnamese literature and art have developed steadily and comprehensively embracing humanity and democracy and meeting people’s needs.

Along with preserving, developing, and promoting the values of national literature and art, Vietnam has expanded international cooperation, selectively absorbing humanistic and scientific values of other countries while defeating hostile forces’ attempts at cultural invasion.

The Vietnamese Party has implemented solutions to reform and develop literature and art, creating favorable conditions for the strong and diverse development of literature, and encouraging artists to reflect the country’s reality in their works.        

Upholding the right of creativity

The Party and State attach great importance to ensuring freedom of creativity in literature and art considering it the rule of literature and art development.

Guaranteeing freedom of creativity in literature and art activities has become the basic orientation for the development of Vietnamese culture and people. The Party leadership for literature and art has been reformed toward promoting the development of culture, literature and art, and individual democracy and freedom in creativity on the basis of ensuring social responsibility and civic duty.

The Vietnamese Party and State have always encouraged and respected the freedom of creativity of artists and writers, and adopted mechanisms and policies for literature, art and artists in alignment with the country's socio-economic development.

Guaranteeing creative freedom is a consistent view of all Party documents which aim to create great values and great works and at the same time ensure that literature and art develop in accordance with the law and that creative freedom is associated with civic responsibility and human rights.

Literature and art are inherently responsible for protecting, nurturing and affirming the new, the positive and the good. Vietnam's guarantee to continue building and developing literature and art will create momentum for national advancement.