In the cultural field, effectively implementing the directions set forth by Resolution No. 59 is an urgent requirement, contributing to building an advanced Vietnamese culture imbued with national identity, while establishing the position and brand of Vietnamese culture on the world map.
More than half a century ago, at the Paris Conference in 1973 to end the Vietnam War, the ao dai of the head of the delegation of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of South Vietnam, Nguyen Thi Binh, went down in history as a symbol of the nation's mettle, intelligence and cultural identity. It is a clear demonstration of cultural soft power. In the context of the country's rise, cultural identity needs to be constantly creative, integrating contemporary and international factors to be able to conquer the world.
Affirm inner strength
Ms. Phan Bich Thien, President of the Vietnamese Women's Forum in Europe, said that at every event of the Vietnamese community in Hungary where she lives, the local community is easily confused with events of some other Asian countries if they do not wear the national ao dai. But when people wear ao dai, people immediately recognize them. Many people happily call out: "Vietnam, Vietnam"! She herself has lived in Europe for more than 40 years, but at any event, she is always proud of the ao dai. Her two daughters were born, grew up, and enjoyed the learning conditions and living environment in Europe and also love to wear ao dai. Now, not only women, but many men are confident in wearing ao dai on special occasions.
The Vietnamese Ao Dai Heritage Club in Europe was established in September 2024, as an affirmation of Vietnamese cultural values. Globalization, especially the era of information explosion, makes many people easily get caught up in international cultural trends. In that context, from each individual to each country, we always have to answer the question: Where are we in this "flat world"? The answer lies in cultural identity. Many people study abroad at a very young age, their cultural "capital" is still limited, so they are confused when international friends ask about their country.
Stemming from personal needs combined with national pride, many young people return, find, and then spread the values of national culture. The group of authors of the book "Weaving the Dynasty" (Vietnam Center - VNC) - a bilingual book about Vietnamese traditional costumes - is a typical example. Le Ngoc Linh, a member of the group, confided: When in the country, you yourself are not aware of the values of Vietnamese culture. When going abroad, the desire to return to your roots is formed and becomes the driving force to spread Vietnamese culture proudly to international friends.
Nothing else but “cultural identity” is the most valuable thing in international integration. But Vietnamese culture is not just “ao dai, conical hat”. Thousands of years of history have left us a priceless treasure of cultural values. That is 40,000 relics of all kinds, 8,000 festivals and thousands of intangible cultural heritages, of many types: folk knowledge, performing arts… Vietnamese culture is unified in diversity with the cultural colors of 54 ethnic groups; with many cultural forms of highlands, plains, rivers, or seas…
Deeply aware of these values, after a period of opening up and integration, our Party issued Resolution 5 of the 8th Central Committee "On building and developing an advanced Vietnamese culture imbued with national identity" laying the foundation for the viewpoint on culture when our country integrates internationally. The spirit of Resolution 5 of the 8th Central Committee was inherited and promoted in the Party's viewpoint on culture later, notably the viewpoint: Culture is the spiritual foundation of society, both the goal and the driving force for socio -economic development; cultural development and human development are both the goal and the driving force of the cause of innovation.
With new perspectives suitable for practice, the work of preserving and maintaining the beauty of national culture has been strongly implemented with specific solutions. Thanks to that, Vietnamese culture is increasingly affirmed on the world map. Talking about Vietnam today, we cannot help but mention the World Cultural Heritage of Thang Long Imperial Citadel (Hanoi), with thousands of years of sediments of dynasties, with mysterious treasures still lying underground. UNESCO experts consider this one of the models of heritage conservation. Talking about Vietnam today, we are talking about the sacred and quiet beauty of the ancient capital of Hue (Hue city), with moss-covered citadels, red-tiled and purple-topped towers preserving the hundred-year-old memories of the last monarchy and the beauty of royal culture.
That is also Hoi An Ancient Town (Quang Nam), where the deep imprint of international exchange dates back hundreds of years. That is also the heritage created by human hands in harmony with the natural heritage in Trang An World Cultural and Natural Heritage (Ninh Binh). Along with the tangible cultural heritages, the intangible cultural heritages of Vietnam recognized by UNESCO are also making the Vietnamese cultural brand famous around the world, with the cultural space of the Central Highlands gongs, Hue royal court music, Bac Ninh folk songs, the practice of worshipping the Mother Goddess of the Three Palaces, Thai xoe... and a series of other cultural heritages. That once again affirms: The more we preserve and maintain cultural heritage, the more we affirm our inner strength. In particular, these heritages do not sleep but are exploited to develop the socio-economy, develop the cultural industry, at the same time affirming and spreading the cultural values of the country to the world, attracting international friends to Vietnam.
Create to spread and conquer
The country is entering an era of growth, with new requirements and new challenges. Resolution No. 59-NQ/TW dated January 24, 2025 of the Politburo on international integration has pointed out specific requirements and tasks for international integration in the culture-tourism sector, which relevant sectors and localities need to proactively and actively implement. In addition to enhancing cultural soft power, we also need to develop the cultural industry with many internationally competitive products. For a time, we preserved cultural values in a "frozen" manner.
This viewpoint has positive aspects, but also limitations. Professor Nguyen Chi Ben, former Director of the Vietnam National Institute of Culture and Arts, believes that creativity must be considered a principle in conservation - without creativity, tradition will be broken because it loses its ability to connect with life. UNESCO's viewpoint in the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions also emphasizes: "The cultural heritage of humanity is expressed, enriched and transmitted through many cultural expressions and is expressed through creative ways, production, dissemination, distribution and enjoyment of cultural products and services."
In fact, when combining tradition with modern and international values, the soft power of Vietnamese culture is enhanced; the international community recognizes and seeks out Vietnamese cultural values. We have had thousands of MVs related to Bac Ninh culture. But it can be said that thanks to the release of the MV Bac Bling by singer Hoa Minzy, the beautiful images of Bac Ninh culture such as: Quan Ho folk songs, Dau pagoda, But Thap pagoda, Phu Lang pottery village... have been spread to the world at such a rapid speed. Currently, the MV has reached 223 million views after three months of being posted on YouTube.
Without creative solutions, telling the story of the cultural life of the people of the ancient Northern Delta, from daily work and entertainment, studying, taking exams to religious and spiritual activities, etc., will encounter many difficulties. But with the live performance Tinh Hoa Bac Bo (Tuan Chau Company - Hanoi), all of those stories are "packaged" in a 75-minute show. Also through live performances, the play Ky Uc Hoi An tells the story of the cultural layers of the ancient town of Hoi An. Both of the above live performances have been highly appreciated by international public opinion. Creative methods from the heritage foundation are also increasingly rich and diverse: Integrating creativity into a heritage foundation; exploiting heritage values to create a new product; taking inspiration from heritage to form a product; integrating tradition with the contemporary...
In particular, there are also solutions integrating traditional and modern multi-disciplinary fields. Typically, director Nguyen Quoc Hoang Anh - founder of the cultural organization "Leng Ngan" and his colleagues have created many multi-disciplinary stage plays: The works can be inspired by the art of tuong, cheo, chau van, combined with many contemporary art forms such as jazz, hip hop, electronic music. The combination of tradition and modernity not only conquers young people but also international audiences.
Along with Resolution No. 59-NQ/TW, the Politburo issued Resolution No. 68-NQ/TW dated May 4, 2025 on private economic development; Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW on breakthroughs in science and technology development, innovation and national digital transformation. These resolutions create a "pedestal" for the cultural industry, attract investment, inspire creativity for artists, artisans, creators... so that Vietnamese culture can continuously promote its value and position itself on the world map.
(To be continued)
Source: https://nhandan.vn/bai-1-chia-khoa-ban-sac-van-hoa-post889331.html
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