Impressions of 20 years of organizing the National Great Unity Day

Arouse solidarity and compatriotism

Implementing the Resolution of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, the Provincial Party Committee, People's Council, People's Committee, Fatherland Front Committee and departments and branches of the province have paid attention to leading, closely directing, and coordinating to effectively organize the Festival in all residential areas in the whole province. Every year, from the beginning of the year, the Standing Committee of the Provincial Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee develops a plan to organize the Festival in residential areas in the whole province in conjunction with the anniversary of the founding of the Vietnam National United Front, ensuring that it is suitable for specific conditions and associated with the political tasks of the locality. Regularly directing innovation in the content and organization of the Festival, mobilizing the entire political system to participate, creating a new step and becoming a large-scale social activity, practically encouraging and caring for the material and spiritual life of the people, truly a "Festival of the people".

Accordingly, the organization of the Festival in residential areas is of special interest to the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committees at all levels in the province. The Ceremony is solemnly performed, the Festival is organized directly in residential areas with many rich and diverse contents such as: organizing art performances, folk games, badminton and table tennis competitions, many performances praising the homeland and country with strong national cultural identity; through the Festival, many cultural beauties of the local community are preserved and promoted such as: gong cultural activities in Nho Quan, Xam singing in Yen Mo, Cheo singing in Yen Khanh..., contributing to building a civilized and healthy lifestyle, promoting national identity, building a new cultural life in the locality. Some residential areas have coordinated to organize a joyful and exciting "Great Unity Meal"... The festival has become a place to connect the community, arouse, consolidate and promote the strength of the Great National Unity bloc, create social consensus, mobilize people to actively and proactively work with authorities at all levels in the province to successfully implement the province's socio -economic development goals.

During the festival, localities organized many activities to visit and help families in difficult circumstances; the Fatherland Front at all levels coordinated with member organizations, businesses, and religions to mobilize support to help build and repair many new houses of gratitude and solidarity for poor households, near-poor households, and households with meritorious services... Through activities to care for the poor during the festival, it contributed to reducing the poverty rate in the whole province from 8.6% in 2004 (according to the old criteria), to 2.45% in 2022 (according to the new criteria).

Over the past 20 years, the province has had over 2,000 new Great Unity houses built and handed over to households on the occasion of the Festival (including 32 houses of solidarity between Catholics and non-Catholics supported by dignitaries of the two religions with a construction cost of over 6 billion VND, this is a model of skillful mass mobilization launched by the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of the province); nearly 1,000 houses were repaired; learning promotion associations and learning promotion families presented learning promotion gifts to students with good academic achievements.

Through the organization of the Festival, the spirit of solidarity, attachment, mutual love and affection of all classes of people in the community is consolidated and promoted, effectively implementing movements to build cultural families and cultural residential areas; promoting the good cultural values of the nation, arousing the spirit of autonomy and self-awareness of local people in building, preserving and promoting good cultural values in residential areas, fighting and criticizing backward customs, superstitions, social evils (prostitution, drugs, gambling...), building a cultural life, consolidating solidarity, village love and neighborhood love in the locality, contributing to maintaining political stability, order and social security of the locality and the province.

Cultural and sports festival of ethnic groups in Nho Quan district. Photo: Minh Quang

Promoting the self-management role of each individual and community

Since 2017, in order to contribute to realizing and concretizing the work of propaganda, motivating and encouraging local people to promote their role as the main subject, actively participate in implementing emulation movements and campaigns, the Provincial Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee has advised the Provincial Party Committee to develop the theme of the Festival each year in conjunction with the implementation of the province's annual work program; guide the Fatherland Front at all levels in the province to organize the assessment of the results of the implementation of the Festival theme of the previous year, launch and call on people to respond and join hands to implement the theme of the following year. Since then, many good models and effective methods have appeared and been widely replicated.

Typical models include: mobilizing people to donate corneas; model of "Self-managed residential areas on civilized tourism"; "Classifying and treating household waste" in residential areas; "Bright, green, clean, beautiful, safe" residential areas; "Fighting plastic waste, joining hands to protect the environment"; "Ensuring traffic order and safety"; "Peaceful parishes and churches - Temples progressing in security and order"; "Mobilizing religious dignitaries to support scholarships for students in difficult circumstances"... Self-managed models in residential areas have contributed to raising people's awareness of voluntary and voluntary participation, so they have practical and important significance in raising awareness, changing backward behaviors, and forming good habits of the people.

Notably, many models have attracted the participation of many classes of people, dignitaries and religious officials, such as the model "Mobilizing religious people and people to practice civilized lifestyles in weddings, funerals and festivals", up to now, more than 47,000 households and 417 residential areas have signed to participate in the implementation; a number of parishes and pagodas have coordinated with the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee at the same level to organize the launching of the model (typically, Kim Son district has 4 pagodas and 3 parishes; Tam Diep city has 1 pagoda and 1 parish; Yen Mo district has 1 pagoda and 1 parish). The results of the models have actively contributed to the implementation of the contents and criteria on building cultural residential areas, building new rural areas and civilized urban areas.

Also through organizing activities during the Festival, many cultural houses in residential areas (villages, hamlets, streets) have been effectively promoted, becoming places to connect local village and neighborhood sentiment through physical training and sports activities, cultural and artistic exchanges, etc., contributing to reducing social evils and building a civilized lifestyle for local communities. By the end of 2022, in the whole province, 142/143 (99.30%) communes, wards and towns had cultural houses, 1,609/1,679 (95.83%) villages, hamlets and streets had cultural houses attached to sports grounds; 272,864/297,033 (91.86%) were cultural families, 1,638/1,679 (97.56%) were cultural residential areas.

Over 20 years of organization, the whole province has had over 1,500 collectives and over 100,000 individuals and exemplary households honored at the Festival. Over 20 years of organizing the "Great National Unity" Festival by creative and flexible methods, in each residential area in the province, the values and meanings of the Festival have been multiplied, so that every year on November 18, each resident in the residential area can meet, exchange, and demonstrate their ownership. Through the Festival, village and neighborhood relationships are strengthened, cultural values and good identities are preserved, democracy is promoted, the role of self-management among the people is affirmed, consolidating and expanding the Great National Unity bloc to join hands and unite to build the increasingly innovative homeland of Ninh Binh.

Mai Lan

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