International Cultural Integration: When National Identity Meets Humanity's Quintessence

For a long time, when talking about promoting Vietnamese culture abroad, many people often think of specific cultural products such as ao dai, conical hats, etc. However, is this approach enough, or should other approaches be included to clearly demonstrate the spirit, values, and creativity of the Vietnamese people?

That is the issue that Party Central Committee member, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung raised at the National Workshop on "Project to promote international cultural integration" held on May 22 in the form of direct and online connection from the main bridge in Hanoi with provinces and cities across the country.

Clarifying the content of cultural integration

According to Minister Nguyen Van Hung, implementing the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress, the Party and State have paid great attention to the cultural sector. The most outstanding point of this term is that culture has been concretized into action programs by the leaders of the Party, the State, Party committees at all levels, Committees, Ministries and branches.

In particular, the 2021 National Cultural Conference, chaired by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, was successfully held after 79 years since the first Conference chaired by President Ho Chi Minh ; along with seminars on 80 years of the Outline of Vietnamese culture; seminars on policy creation, removing bottlenecks for cultural development...

The workshop took place in both live and online formats, connecting from the main bridge in Hanoi to provinces and cities across the country. (Photo: Dinh Toan/Vietnam+)

In particular, the National Assembly issued a Resolution approving the investment policy for the National Target Program on Cultural Development for the 2025-2035 period. Along with that, important resolutions and decrees of the Government have created opportunities for the cultural sector to develop.

Thanks to the attention of the Party, the State and the consensus of the people, culture has developed during this period. Many activities were organized with diverse forms and contents, fostering and promoting the values ​​of truth, goodness and beauty and spreading the soft power of Vietnamese culture.

Along with policy creation, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, as a state management agency, was assigned by the Politburo to advise relevant agencies to focus on building documents for the 14th National Party Congress.

“The good news is that in this draft document, culture and people have been included in a section with specific and clear contents. Thereby, we have a basis to thoroughly understand and implement when the Congress approves with many new arguments and new approaches,” the Minister stated.

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung speaks at the conference. (Photo: Dinh Toan/Vietnam+)

According to the Minister, Vietnamese culture is an integrated culture. Vietnamese culture is a persistent stream of the nation and is also open to selectively absorb the quintessence of human culture.

The Minister affirmed that cultural integration is not only the dissemination of traditional and contemporary Vietnamese cultural values ​​to the world, but also the process of enriching Vietnamese culture by absorbing the humanistic and progressive spirit from other cultures. This is a harmonious encounter between national identity and the universality of humanity.

Cultural internationalization is not only the dissemination of traditional and contemporary Vietnamese cultural values ​​to the world, but also the process of enriching Vietnamese culture by absorbing the humanistic and progressive spirit from other cultures. This is a harmonious encounter between national identity and the universality of humanity.

From practice, the Minister hopes that management agencies, scientists, experts, and those interested in the cultural field will clarify the concepts of "internationalization of Vietnamese culture" and "Vietnamization of international culture", thereby proposing solutions on mechanisms, policies, resources, human resource development, etc.

Balance between cultural and foreign factors

Sharing from local practice, Director of the Department of Culture and Sports of Hai Phong City Tran Thi Hoang Mai said that Hai Phong has early and extensive international cooperation (currently twinned with 26 countries, having exchanges with more than 130 countries), the city identifies culture as one of the pillars in the orientation of sustainable development, especially in cultural diplomacy.

Hai Phong aims to join UNESCO’s global creative cities network, aiming to become a “city of music.” According to Ms. Tran Thi Hoang Mai, concretizing concepts and having implementation guidelines from the Central Government will be an important basis for localities to implement more effectively in practice.

Red Flamboyant Festival in Hai Phong city in 2024. (Photo: VNA)

From Thua Thien Hue, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Binh, Permanent Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, said that Hue has long been known for its strength in cultural diplomacy associated with heritage, taking culture as the foundation for green and sustainable development.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Binh suggested that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism provide specific guidance on the content, scope and implementation methods so that localities can apply them practically. In addition, it is necessary to pay attention to developing human resources to be able to implement the requirements of cultural integration.

In his speech, Mr. Vu Manh Hung, Deputy Director of the Social Department, Central Policy and Strategy Committee, said that it is necessary to have a full assessment of the impact of international culture on Vietnamese culture, as well as positive values ​​from outside that can supplement the country's culture.

He said that the Project needs to clearly quantify its goals, balance cultural and foreign affairs factors in implementation solutions, and avoid leaning too much to one side.

The closing art program of Hue Festival 2024 brings together the participation of many international art troupes. (Photo: Dinh Ngoc Lien/VNA)

From a local perspective, Director of the Department of Culture and Sports of Ho Chi Minh City Tran The Thuan commented that in order to effectively integrate and spread Vietnamese cultural values, it is necessary to first have a clear and unified understanding of the concepts of "internationalization of Vietnamese culture" and "Vietnamization of international culture."

Accordingly, internationalization is an inevitable trend, a driving force for socio-economic development, while Vietnamization is a requirement to affirm identity, creating a "cultural identity" of Vietnam in the global flow. These two processes need to be seen as two inseparable aspects.

He also said that current institutions and policies are not strong enough to facilitate the development of culture and cultural diplomacy. Investment in human resources, socialization and improving the international integration capacity of cultural institutions should be given special priority./.

(Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/hoi-nhap-quoc-te-ve-van-hoa-khi-ban-sac-dan-toc-gap-go-tinh-hoa-nhan-loai-post1040123.vnp