Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung stated that Vietnamese culture is the crystallization of the nation's finest values in the process of thousands of years of nation-building and national defense, and is an important endogenous resource that nurtures the intellect, soul, spirit, and character of the Vietnamese people.
In particular, whenever the country faces danger, difficulties, and challenges, it is the spirit of great unity of a nation with a long-standing civilization, a tradition of fervent patriotism, a will for self-reliance and self-strength, compassion, and loyalty, with the spirit of "Using righteousness to overcome brutality, using humanity to replace tyranny," and knowing how to inherit and creatively absorb the essence of human culture, that has formed an unparalleled strength, enabling our country to steadfastly continue writing golden pages in its history.
Member of the Central Committee of the Party, Secretary of the Party Committee, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung presented a paper on the topic: "Promoting the inherent strengths of Vietnamese culture and people, the foundation for rapid and sustainable development of the country in the new era".
From its very inception, our Party and President Ho Chi Minh recognized the special importance of culture. The 1943 Outline on Culture – the Party's first platform on culture – established culture as one of the three main fronts: political , economic, and cultural, reflecting the Party's thinking, vision, and profound concern for cultural development.
Beyond its close organic relationship with other aspects of social life, the new culture established by the Outline on Vietnamese Culture also reflects progressive humanistic values by placing human beings at the center, as the subjects of culture, and as the creative force that transmits, preserves, and promotes the cultural values of the nation.
The great President Ho Chi Minh, the brilliant leader of the Party, the national liberation hero, and an outstanding cultural figure of the world, affirmed: Culture must be directed towards the nation's pursuit of independence, self-reliance, and self-determination; culture must illuminate the path for the nation to follow.
In line with his ideology, throughout the congresses, resolutions, conclusions, and directives of the Central Committee, the Politburo, and the Secretariat have consistently emphasized that culture is the spiritual foundation of society, serving as both a goal and a driving force for development. The goal is to build a comprehensively developed Vietnamese culture oriented towards truth, goodness, and beauty, imbued with national spirit, humanism, democracy, and science.
Experience has shown that when culture is placed under the direct and comprehensive leadership of the Party, the people are the creators and beneficiaries of culture, intellectuals, artists, and cultural officials play an important role, and the inherent strength of culture is transformed into socio-political strength, contributing to the great victories of the Vietnamese revolution and the tremendous achievements in the 40 years of the country's Doi Moi (Renovation) under the Party's leadership.
According to the Minister, economic development, political and social stability, and the maintenance of national defense and security are prerequisites for building and developing culture and human resources. Conversely, culture is the foundation and driving force of economic, political, and social development. This is because culture originates from human resources, encompassing moral qualities, talents, intelligence, resilience, and aspirations for advancement.
People have created everything; it is the hands and minds of the Vietnamese people that are the decisive factor in the quality, depth, and sustainability of development. This perspective has been deepened in the Central Committee's resolutions and clearly affirmed through successive Party congresses, and continues to be inherited and developed in the Political Report presented to the 14th National Congress, where the Party reaffirms its highest political determination to place culture and people at the center of development.
Resolution 80-NQ/TW dated January 7, 2026, of the Politburo on cultural development emphasized: Developing culture and human resources is the foundation, an important endogenous resource, a great driving force, a pillar, and a regulating system for the rapid and sustainable development of the country.
Cultural values must be harmoniously integrated and deeply ingrained in all aspects of social life, from politics, economics, and society to national defense, security, and foreign relations. They must truly become the nation's soft power in the new era. Investing in culture is investing in the sustainable development of the country and its future.
At the ceremony commemorating the 80th anniversary of the establishment of the Culture sector, General Secretary To Lam emphasized: Culture is the fundamental energy of development. Culture must be one step ahead, guiding and leading, fostering character, strengthening confidence, and forming the nation's "soft" capabilities.
To harness the inherent strengths of Vietnamese culture and people in the new era, in his presentation, Minister Nguyen Van Hung outlined three major directions and six solutions.
Regarding the three main directions:
Firstly, the development of human culture is the foundation, a crucial endogenous resource, and a tremendous driving force for the rapid and sustainable development of the country in the new era. Cultural development is placed within a comprehensive and closely intertwined relationship with politics, economics, society, national defense, security, and foreign relations. Ultimately, the development of society is the development of culture, and the flourishing of culture is the highest peak of development.
Secondly, culture and people are two closely intertwined elements. Culture begins with the human element. For the sake of survival and the purpose of life, people are the subjects, the beneficiaries of cultural achievements, and the source of creativity. Cultural development is for the perfection of human character and capabilities, and building people is for the development of culture. Building a cultural environment should be synchronized with building socialist people in the new era. Effectively implementing national values, cultural values, family values, and the standards of Vietnamese people is the decisive factor in creating the creative impetus, strength, character, and intellect, and in arousing patriotism and a strong aspiration for progress of the Vietnamese nation.
Thirdly, culture in the new era takes the happiness of the people and the survival of the nation as its highest goal. Culture is a battlefront; building and developing culture is a long-term revolutionary undertaking that requires revolutionary will and perseverance. Only by maximizing human resources, the internal strength of the entire population, and mobilizing all levels, sectors, and the whole society to participate can the cause of building and developing culture achieve victory. At the same time, it is necessary to harmoniously handle the relationships between construction and combating, between tradition and modernity, between preservation and development, and between real life and virtual space.
Regarding the six specific solutions:
Firstly, there needs to be a strong and comprehensive renewal of thinking and a unified understanding of cultural development. People are the foundation, the crucial endogenous resource, the immense driving force, the pillar, and the regulating system for the rapid and sustainable development of the country. Therefore, we must build the Vietnamese people in the new era to meet the goals of national development with many priorities: cultivating national values, family values, and human values; nurturing qualities of patriotism, compassion, responsibility, honesty, creativity, and discipline.
In particular, it is crucial to create a healthy cultural environment where positive values are nurtured, disseminated, and effectively protected from the negative impacts of the dark side of the market economy and the digital space. This shift in thinking needs to be achieved by integrating the goal of human cultural development into the formulation of socio-economic development strategies, plans, and programs; enhancing the responsibility of leaders in directing and managing the cultural sector; and strengthening propaganda and education efforts to create unity throughout society.
Secondly, we need to improve institutions in a way that fosters, liberates, and unlocks resources for cultural and human development. We need to continue reviewing, supplementing, and perfecting laws, mechanisms, and policies related to investment in culture, heritage preservation, cultural industry development, and digital transformation. At the same time, we must focus on perfecting institutions and policies for integration in line with international practices, concentrating on removing bottlenecks in investment mechanisms, commissioning, and socialization in the cultural sector, ensuring consistency and synergy between cultural policies and economic, educational, scientific, technological, and international integration policies.
Thirdly, recognizing that investment in culture is an investment in the sustainable development of the country and the future of the nation, it is necessary to mobilize resources and enhance the capacity of cultural workers, the human element that directly creates and leads the cultural values of the new era. Emphasis should be placed on improving the quality of intellectuals, artists, and cultural managers, especially their professional competence, ethical conduct, and ability to adapt to digital technology.
Officials working in the fields of culture, information, sports, and tourism need to fulfill their role as "cultural seed sowers," as directed by General Secretary To Lam, so that positive values can be cultivated and nurtured through small actions.
Every work of literature and art must have the power to move people's hearts. Every performance must breathe life, reflect the stature of the nation and the times. Every book must contain the "essence of life" within it, guiding readers towards the values of truth, goodness, and beauty.
Cultural heritage will become an asset. Sports for all will truly become the foundation for breakthroughs in high-performance sports, bringing glory to the nation.
Tourism must be developed in a high-quality direction, continuing to be a bright spot in world tourism.
The press and media must truly be the mainstream, leading the way on the ideological and cultural front, making worthy contributions to ensuring national defense and security, socio-economic development, and enhancing the country's standing.
Fourth, consider the development of cultural industries and the creative economy as new growth drivers, directly contributing to GDP growth, creating jobs, improving quality of life, and increasing national soft power. Developing this ecosystem requires close and effective connections between the State, businesses, the creative community, the market, and technology; while simultaneously positioning and promoting the Vietnamese cultural brand on the global creative map through high-quality cultural products.
Fifth, promote the development of science and technology and digital transformation, ensure cultural security and information safety, and enhance proactive capabilities in the digital space. Build digital platforms and cultural data, digitize heritage, develop digital content owned by Vietnam, and strengthen measures to protect cultural sovereignty in cyberspace.
Sixth, proactively integrate internationally in culture, comprehensively transforming the mindset from casual exchange and meetings to cooperation, and strengthening the nation's soft power. This includes focusing on building a communication strategy to promote Vietnam's image abroad, providing overall direction for national communication, with culture identified as a crucial pillar and central content for spreading the image of Vietnam and its people. The focus should be on the practical lives of the people and the combined strength of the nation as the foundation for continuing to write the story of Vietnam in the new era.
Minister Nguyen Van Hung stated that culture is the foundation for rapid and sustainable development, a fact repeatedly affirmed in the Political Report presented at this Congress.
Our country is entering a new era, an era of national progress with many great opportunities but also intertwined with many difficult challenges in a flat world context.
Vietnamese culture is the source of our identity, a soft power for integration, and helps our nation affirm its character, spread its values, and create a unique position for Vietnam in the global cultural flow.
Source: https://bvhttdl.gov.vn/bo-truong-nguyen-van-hung-phat-huy-suc-manh-noi-sinh-cua-van-hoa-con-nguoi-viet-nam-nen-tang-cho-su-phat-trien-nhanh-va-ben-vung-cua-dat-nuoc-trong-ky-nguyen-moi-20260121165354947.htm
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