Enhance the value of heritage

According to Mr. Lai Duc Dai, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, this idea is increasingly being interested in and promoted by the social community. Especially in recent years, when the concept of "cultural industry" has been clearly recognized and defined - and people see it as an important trend/space contributing to the economic and social development of every country and nation in the context of deep international integration.

Of course, to bring gong heritage into the development chain of the "cultural industry", there must be appropriate investment. For Dak Lak , since the Central Highlands Gong Cultural Space was recognized by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in November 2005, the local government and the community have made continuous efforts to invest in order to properly promote this heritage.

According to the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, over the past 20 years (2005 - 2025), through the projects "Preserving and promoting the cultural values of gongs in Dak Lak province", the cultural sector has coordinated with local authorities and relevant departments and sectors to actively implement many important core programs and contents such as: opening classes to teach gong playing and gong tuning for the younger generation; restoring traditional rituals and festivals; buying gongs to give to villages and providing financial support for gong teams and community cultural houses to perform; organizing festivals, seminars and gong cultural exchanges; collecting and preserving ancient gong pieces for preservation and conservation; printing books, tapes, and images of rituals and festivals associated with gong performances to serve propaganda andeducation work in the community...

The above programs and contents, according to the Central Highlands culture researcher Linh Nga Nie K'dam, are to quickly stop the problem of indifference, even "gong bleeding" in the villages. What is more noteworthy is that through this, it has truly aroused the awareness and pride of the heritage owners before the new mission: Gong culture is a heritage and also a valuable asset for today's descendants to inherit and promote as a strength to improve and enhance the general economic and social life in each community.

The gong heritage has been exploited and promoted as a strength for development. Photo: Huu Hung

Inheriting and promoting the value of gong cultural heritage in contemporary life is a challenge and opportunity for local authorities and the community of owners and beneficiaries.

Associate Professor, Dr. Tuyet Nhung Buon Krong (Center for Social Sciences and Humanities - Tay Nguyen University) said that, up to now, there are still no specific and accurate statistics on the contribution of gong heritage to the economic and social development of each locality; but it is impossible not to mention the creation of a spiritual foundation as well as the strength of cohesion and spreading of values on its cultural and economic aspects in today's life. As mentioned, gong heritage, if preserved and promoted in the right sense/direction, is one of the outstanding and typical factors to participate in the value-added chain for the "cultural industry" of the country in general and the Central Highlands in particular.

Mr. Lai Duc Dai commented that the gong heritage in Dak Lak has been exploited and promoted by localities as a strength for socio-economic development, especially in tourism activities, introducing and promoting their image in the process of exchange and integration. Since 2017, traditional rituals and festivals of the people have been restored and reenacted by all levels, sectors and local ethnic communities. Many rituals and festivals associated with gong performances of the Ede, M'nong, J'rai, Xe Dang... have been surveyed and restored to create opportunities and performance environments for gongs to resonate and spread. It can be said that thanks to the above efforts, gong culture has truly "revived" to blend in with today's life.

Accordingly, in addition to the gong cultural performance program (regularly held twice a month with the theme Echoes of the Great Forest) to serve the people and tourists from the end of 2017 until now, the cultural sector has also coordinated with many domestic and international organizations and media units to promote and introduce this typical heritage to the public, through festivals and cultural and artistic exchanges nationwide as well as in some European countries and the ASEAN community with the aim of expanding and spreading the value of gong heritage in the flow of cultural - economic and diplomatic integration.

Obviously, the preservation and promotion of gong cultural values associated with socio-economic development has become a new source of inspiration, attracting the community and society in this heritage area to pursue and promote more and more practically and effectively. Especially when this heritage has been taken by the local government and the ethnic communities that own it, taking appropriate and positive steps to bring the gong culture of the Central Highlands to participate and stimulate the "cultural industry" of the region and the country to develop commensurate with its potential.

Source: https://baodaklak.vn/van-hoa-du-lich-van-hoc-nghe-thuat/202505/nang-tam-gia-tri-di-san-944169f/