Addressing the opening ceremony, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said the festival is one of activities to honor the uniqueness and vitality of gong culture in the Central Highlands. He underlined the need to preserve the gong cultural space as part of efforts to preserve the region’s traditional values. Mr. Phuc said: “The Party and State entrust the mission of protecting the gong cultural space to ethnic groups and other people in central highlands. Protecting the ecosystem and promoting traditional values means protecting the living environment for gong culture in the Central Highlands imbued with epics and myths. Nobody can do this better than local people.”

During the festival, a wide range of activities will be jointly held by five Central Highlands provinces, including a street festival featuring gong performances, reenactment of traditional rituals and festivals of 11 ethnic groups, wooden statue-carving and brocade weaving. The event will also feature a seminar on the preservation of gong cultural values and an exhibition on ethnic costumes.

13 years ago, the cultural space of the gongs in the Central Highlands was recognized by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.