Aiming to make Cu Chi Tunnels a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Mr. Tran The Thuan, Director of the Department of Culture and Sports of Ho Chi Minh City, delivered the opening speech at the conference.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Cultural Heritage Conference of the whole sector on the morning of November 24 at Ton Duc Thang Museum (Sai Gon Ward, Ho Chi Minh City), Mr. Tran The Thuan, Director of the Department of Culture and Sports of Ho Chi Minh City, asked experts and scientists to focus on discussing new points in the law related to the work of preserving and promoting the value of cultural heritage. He emphasized the need to comprehensively assess the bottlenecks in mechanisms and policies that have been affecting the implementation process in localities.

One of the important tasks emphasized by Mr. Thuan at the conference was the development of a dossier to nominate Cu Chi Tunnels to become a World Heritage Site recognized by UNESCO. According to him, Cu Chi Tunnels is a special national relic and a revolutionary historical relic that needs to be preserved. Being listed on the World Heritage List will enhance the value of the relic site and contribute to spreading the image of Ho Chi Minh City internationally.

Regarding conservation work in general, Mr. Thuan said that updating and reviewing policies is urgent. “We need to introduce and analyze good models and good practices in the conservation and promotion of cultural heritage values, and at the same time point out difficulties, obstacles and bottlenecks in management work,” he said.

Cu Chi Island photo 1

Opening of the City-wide Cultural Heritage Conference on the morning of November 24 in Ho Chi Minh City.

A specific example he mentioned was the Giong Ca Vo archaeological site in Can Gio district. Although it was an important discovery, the archaeological work encountered obstacles due to the lack of a clear legal framework for compensation and site clearance. “If we do not do this well, we will not receive support from the people and thus easily lead to a delay, affecting the artifacts that the community is preserving for us,” he warned.

In addition, the Department leader said that next week, he will work with relevant units to conduct further surveys in the Cat Trang - Da Trang area (formerly Ba Ria - Vung Tau) to find ways to resolve similar problems. "The current Heritage Law must ensure harmony between the protection of relics and the legitimate rights of the people, because there are not many such archaeological relics in Ho Chi Minh City," he said.

Ho Chi Minh City currently has 7 public museums and about 6 non-public museums. However, the operational efficiency of these cultural institutions is still limited. Representatives of the units proposed that there should be financial policies and professional support to make museums become more lively spaces, closer to the young public.

Source: https://znews.vn/dat-muc-tieu-dia-dao-cu-chi-thanh-di-san-the-gioi-do-unesco-cong-nhan-post1605329.html