Preserving and promoting the value of national cultural heritage

Former General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong once emphasized: “Culture is the soul of the nation”. In the process of development of the province, preserving and promoting cultural values is not only a responsibility, but also a sentiment, a gratitude for the past and a valuable asset for the future. We need to work together to awaken, preserve and spread the cultural identity of our homeland.

Many practical activities to attract young people to learn about local cultural heritage.

Protect and promote heritage values

Vinh Long is a land located in the center of the Mekong Delta, long known as a place that preserves many unique cultural values of the region.

With a rich system of relics, craft villages, festivals and folk performing arts, the province possesses valuable cultural heritages that need to be preserved and promoted. According to the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, as of October 2025, the province has 214 ranked relics (2 special national relics, 45 national relics and 167 provincial relics), 649 relics are included in the province's inventory list.

There are 701 antiques, 233 rare artifacts, 3 national treasures being kept and preserved at Vinh Long Museum; there are 18 intangible cultural heritages included in the List of National Intangible Cultural Heritages and 1 heritage included in the UNESCO List (Southern Amateur Music Art - Representative Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity).

Over the years, with the coordination between departments, branches, specialized agencies, local authorities at all levels and the active participation of the people, the work of managing, protecting and promoting the value of cultural heritage has achieved important results.

The Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism regularly organizes many practical activities to attract students to participate in learning about local cultural heritage such as: school education programs introducing historical documents, images, and artifacts; introducing economic , cultural, social, defense-security achievements during the period of national construction and development. Writing contests, book promotion contests to learn about local historical figures, etc.

Through activities to enhance education of patriotic traditions and national pride for today's generation.

Many schools regularly take students to visit and take care of relics on a weekly and monthly basis, contributing to the movement "Building friendly schools, active students".

In addition, the Youth Union often organizes trips to the source, organizes recruitment of union members, camps, reports to Uncle Ho, etc. Notably, the cooperation with Mobifone Company, Vinh Long branch, implemented "Youth Project", digitized and scanned QR codes to view relic sites in VR mode at some relics of the province.

In the work of preserving and promoting the value of intangible cultural heritage, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism also pays attention to training, fostering and promoting the young force to inherit traditional art forms such as opening many training classes on the art of Don Ca Tai Tu from basic to advanced, training classes on Hat Boi art and especially organizing the Don Ca Tai Tu Festival at the provincial level for children, or amateur family competitions. From there, promptly discover young artistic talents to nurture and develop a team to inherit the movement.

Promoting the role of the young generation

In the context of integration, the work of preserving and promoting the province's cultural heritage is facing many challenges such as: the risk of losing intangible cultural values due to the young generation's lack of interest and indifference to tradition; traditional crafts gradually losing their place in the face of new technology; cultural infrastructure deteriorating, lack of proper conservation investment... Promoting the role of the young generation in preserving cultural heritage has become extremely necessary.

Young people actively participate in digitizing heritage, introducing relics and craft villages.

Student Luu Yen Tuyet - class 10A5, Tran Dai Nghia High School (Tam Binh commune) shared: "What makes me most proud is the unique culture of my hometown. When visiting the relics and listening to his historical stories, I learned a lesson about the strong will and willingness to sacrifice to protect the country.

With creativity and quick access to technology, young people participate in digitizing heritage, introducing relics and craft villages through social networks, making videos, podcasts, and short clips to spread the beauty of local culture to communities at home and abroad...".

Mr. Duong Hoang Sum - Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism said that in order to preserve and sustainably promote the unique cultural values of the province, it is necessary to synchronously implement solutions to perfect policies and mechanisms, and to have a plan for digital cultural heritage maps to effectively manage and preserve both tangible and intangible cultural heritage.

In addition, infrastructure investment and digital transformation, conservation are associated with tourism development. There are plans to restore and embellish typical relics such as: Van Thanh Temple, Khmer pagoda complex, Dong Khoi Ben Tre National Special Relic Site, etc.

Connecting revolutionary cultural tourism products and spiritual cultural tourism. Building unique cultural spaces: "Van Thanh Space" in Vinh Long, "Coconut Space" in Ben Tre, "Khmer Cultural Village" in Tra Vinh - at the same time being a community education and experiential tourism destination.

In addition, integrate local traditional content into the general education program; organize experiential learning sessions at craft villages, relics and traditional stages. Encourage the younger generation to create traditional cultural content on digital platforms: videos, podcasts, games, e-books...

Promote the role of the community in preserving festivals, restoring customs and practices, ensuring sustainability, avoiding commercialization. Have policies to honor and reward artisans and people working in cultural preservation at the grassroots level...

Promoting the contributions of the young generation in the work of preserving cultural heritage is not only a responsibility, but also an opportunity for the successors to affirm their role in the cause of building and developing the homeland. When each young person understands and is proud of the cultural heritage and precious traditions of the nation, they will become "keepers of the national cultural soul", contributing to making the cultural identity of Vinh Long shine in the flow of the times.

Article and photos: PHUONG THU

Source: https://baovinhlong.com.vn/van-hoa-giai-tri/202511/bao-ton-phat-huy-gia-tri-di-san-van-hoa-dan-toc-b8a3fa4/