New milestone in heritage diplomacy journey

"The inscription of Ha Long Bay-Cat Ba Archipelago is a vivid proof, affirming another specific contribution of Vietnam at the international level to the efforts to preserve and promote heritage values, highly appreciated by the international community," said Ambassador Le Thi Hong Van, Head of the Permanent Delegation of Vietnam to UNESCO.

Vietnamese delegation attends UNESCO World Heritage Committee meeting in Saudi Arabia on September 16. (Photo: NVCC)

How did the Ambassador feel when the hammer sounded to approve the Ha Long Bay-Cat Ba Archipelago dossier?

I still remember clearly the feeling of bursting with happiness of the entire Vietnamese delegation when the Chairman of the World Heritage Committee knocked the hammer to register Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago as a new world natural heritage at 5:39 p.m. local time (ie 9:39 p.m. Vietnam time) on September 16.

This is not only the pride of the community and people of Hai Phong City and Quang Ninh Province, but also the common joy of the country, because the name of Vietnam is once again mentioned on the world heritage map after eight years. It is the excitement because of the international recognition and appreciation for the beauty of the heritage and Vietnam's efforts in protecting the heritage. It is also the honor and pride of another contribution of our country to the goal of preserving and promoting the heritage values ​​that UNESCO promotes, enriching the cultural treasure of humanity.

We all understand that honor and pride always go hand in hand with responsibility, requiring all levels, sectors and localities to raise awareness and synchronously deploy practical and effective measures to preserve and promote the value of heritage in accordance with the spirit of the 1972 Convention associated with sustainable development.

To achieve the achievement - the first inter-provincial world heritage in our country, how was Vietnam's advocacy work carried out, Ambassador? During that process, how did you feel about the international assessment of Vietnam's efforts to preserve and promote the value of heritage?

This is the result of closely following and implementing the Prime Minister's direction, the close and effective coordination of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO, the Permanent Delegation of Vietnam to UNESCO and most importantly, the efforts and determination of the authorities and people of Hai Phong city and Quang Ninh province.

The process of building the dossier lasted nearly 10 years with many difficulties, from selecting criteria to highlight the global value of the heritage, to promoting consensus between the two localities, perfecting the cooperation and coordination mechanism to preserve and manage the heritage. Even before the Session, the dossier received negative recommendations from the independent advisory body International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

However, stemming from the desire to best protect and promote the heritage value for future generations, the Vietnamese delegation with the participation of the leaders of Hai Phong City and Quang Ninh Province, our Ambassador to UNESCO, representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism conducted nearly 30 direct meetings with 21 Heads of Delegations of member countries of the World Heritage Committee, Directors of the World Heritage Center, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to share views, clarify the outstanding global value of the heritage, and explain the efforts of the authorities and people of the two localities.

In particular, through the discussions, members highly appreciated the goodwill, strong determination, efforts and specific commitments of Government leaders, local leaders, relevant ministries and sectors and the community in the work of preserving and promoting heritage values, especially with the first inter-provincial heritage dossier of Vietnam requiring consensus and effective management coordination.

On that basis, the Session achieved absolute consensus from all 21/21 members of the Committee in support of Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago deserving to be listed as a new world heritage, with its amazing natural beauty, outstanding global value, the end point in the karst evolution process, representing seven adjacent ecosystems, habitat of many rare animals.

According to the Ambassador, what is the significance of the recognition of Ha Long Bay-Cat Ba Archipelago as a World Natural Heritage for Vietnam's "heritage diplomacy" process?

It can be said that the recognition of Ha Long Bay-Cat Ba Archipelago as a World Natural Heritage is a new milestone in Vietnam's recent journey of cultural diplomacy and heritage diplomacy.

A year ago, Vietnam was one of the first countries to organize the 50th Anniversary of the Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (Ninh Binh, September 2022) with the participation of UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay.

Ms. Audrey Azoulay affirmed that Vietnam is an "exemplary model" of a harmonious model between preserving and promoting heritage values, associated with sustainable tourism development, economic development and people's livelihoods.

Early this year, during his visit to Vietnam, Director of the World Heritage Center Lazare Eloundou Assomo highly appreciated Vietnam's policy of always valuing culture, identifying culture as the spiritual foundation of society, the goal, resource, and driving force for sustainable development. Mr. Lazare Eloundou Assomo was very impressed with the good models and experiences in managing eight world heritage sites in Vietnam.

In particular, at the International Conference on “Promoting the Value of UNESCO Titles for Sustainable Development in Vietnam” last July, UNESCO Assistant Director General for African Priorities and External Relations, Mr. Firmin Edouard Matoko, emphasized Vietnam’s proactive, active, and responsible role as a member of UNESCO, especially in the work of preserving and maintaining world heritages for future generations.

Therefore, the inscription of the Ha Long Bay-Cat Ba Archipelago is a vivid proof, affirming Vietnam's specific contribution at the international level to the efforts to preserve and promote heritage values, which is highly appreciated by the international community. UNESCO leaders believe that, with good experts and practical experience in the field of preserving and promoting heritage values, Vietnam has a full basis to successfully assume the role of a member of the World Heritage Committee for the 2023-2027 term.

With the current position and strength of the country, how does the Ambassador assess the image of the country, people, and natural landscape of Vietnam in the eyes of international friends? From there, what motivation/inspiration can be created for pioneering heritage diplomacy beyond the “frontline”?

It can be said that our country has many advantages bestowed by nature, a glorious historical tradition, a thousand-year-old civilization, the diversity and uniqueness of cultural identity, the industrious and creative qualities of Vietnamese people with a system of precious spiritual values, a foreign policy of peace, harmony, humanity, associated with dynamic development in innovation and international integration. This is a favorable foundation for us to continue to effectively implement cultural diplomacy and heritage diplomacy.

In my opinion, we can continue to promote the pioneering role of cultural diplomacy and heritage diplomacy in the following four aspects:

Firstly, promote the pioneering role in advising and proposing policies, taking advantage of UNESCO's ideas and initiatives in supporting the implementation of national goals, contributing to the country's sustainable development.

Second, pioneer in participating in building, mobilizing, and protecting dossiers submitted to UNESCO for inscription, harmoniously combining heritage conservation and promotion, "turning heritage into assets", "turning potential into resources" to serve practical development.

We continue to promote the heritage and title dossiers that have been submitted and are waiting for UNESCO to review and approve, such as the intangible heritage dossier for the Ba Chua Xu Mountain Sam Festival and the Dong Ho folk painting craft, the dossier of the famous person Hai Thuong Lan Ong Le Huu Trac; submit the dossier of the cultural heritage of the Yen Tu - Vinh Nghiem - Con Son, Kiep Bac relic and landscape complex, promote support for the dossier of the Oc Eo - Ba The relic site, Lang Son Geopark...; seek support, so that the international community can join hands to protect and promote values.

Third, pioneering in promoting the image of the country, people and culture of Vietnam to the world. To date, Vietnam has nearly 60 heritages and UNESCO titles, ranking first among Southeast Asian countries in terms of the number of heritages recognized by UNESCO. The international titles that UNESCO has given to Vietnam are an effective way for international friends to better understand a dynamically developing Vietnam, a successful model of innovation, openness and integration, but still rich in tradition and imbued with identity.

Fourth, enhance the country's position and prestige by raising the level of contribution to common concerns, increasing the responsibility for international affairs, and the executive role in UNESCO mechanisms such as being a member of the UNESCO Executive Board, Vice President of the Intergovernmental Committee of the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, and the Intergovernmental Committee of the 2003 Convention. We continue to campaign for election to the World Heritage Committee for the 2023-2027 term to contribute to the common work of UNESCO.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/dau-moc-moi-trong-hanh-trinh-ngoai-giao-di-san-245012.html