Delegates and many Laotian students and students of Hung Vuong University attended the wrist-tying ceremony in the program to celebrate the traditional Lao New Year Bunpimay 2025.
Solid foundation from heritage source
As the first capital of the Van Lang state, Phu Tho was awarded a huge treasure of cultural heritage - an endless resource, the "golden material" for cultural diplomacy .
The Hung Kings' Commemoration Day, from a traditional festival, has become a national holiday - a sacred symbol of the spirit of national unity and the morality of "When drinking water, remember its source". Every March of the lunar calendar, millions of hearts at home and abroad respectfully turn to the Hung Kings Temple Historical Relic Site to pay tribute to the ancestors. This is not only an opportunity to preserve and promote the unique cultural values of the Hung Kings' era, but also a golden opportunity to promote the image of a Phu Tho rich in tradition that is growing strongly. The attraction of the festival spreads to a large number of international tourists, diplomatic delegations, and foreign reporters to attend, learn and experience; contributing significantly to socio -economic growth, while enhancing the position of Phu Tho as a special spiritual and cultural center of the whole country.
When it comes to heritage, we must mention “Hung King Worship” and “Phu Tho Xoan Singing” - two heritages recognized by UNESCO as Representative Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity - the pride of the entire Vietnamese nation and especially the people of Phu Tho. Being recognized by UNESCO is a “passport” that brings Phu Tho culture beyond national borders, significantly enhancing the province’s position on the world cultural map, attracting the attention of international organizations and experts to research, study and cooperate.
In addition to internationally recognized heritages, Phu Tho also owns hundreds of ranked historical and cultural relics, thousands of other intangible cultural heritages such as: Tro Tram Festival, Dao Xa Communal House Festival, Au Co Mother Goddess Worship, Lang Suong Temple Festival, traditional craft villages... The diversity, richness and richness of cultural identity are absolute advantages, a solid foundation for Phu Tho to confidently "tell its story" to international friends through the lens of cultural diplomacy.
Not only stopping at preserving and promoting existing heritages, Phu Tho also creates wordless but powerful "ambassadors" imbued with the cultural identity of the Ancestral Land.
Typically, the project "Application of information technology to propagate and promote cultural heritage and scenic spots to promote tourism development of Phu Tho province with countries around the world" in 6 languages has been applied in propaganda practice, bringing practical benefits to promote the image of Phu Tho, creating highlights to attract more international tourists and Vietnamese people abroad.
The 3D bilingual film project "Hung Temple - Sacred Origin" was broadcast on national television channels such as VTV, VTC... Or in some diplomatic events at the headquarters of the Vietnamese Embassy in Cambodia, Laos, Japan, Korea, France... the film was printed on DVD, as a foreign gift of the province in major diplomatic events.
Or souvenirs, though small, contain a whole cultural and historical story. When given to international delegations and foreign partners, the gifts become souvenirs, reminding us of a land rich in tradition, friendliness and hospitality. The exquisite Ngoc Dat To tea pot, the fragrant Thanh Ba purple tea bud package, the wood carving of Hung Temple, the miniature Dong Son bronze drum model or the sweet Doan Hung grapefruit... are not only local products but also "silent ambassadors", carrying meaningful messages, expressing respect and goodwill, contributing to building and strengthening the friendly relationship and close cooperation between Phu Tho and other localities and international friends.
A corner in the Foreign Gifts exhibition space of the Foreign Information, Consulting and Service Center (Department of Foreign Affairs) - where products are selected by the province as souvenirs to send to domestic and foreign partners.
“Soft power” spreads value and enhances position
The term “soft power” and its connotations of cultural soft power first appeared officially in the speech of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong at the 29th Diplomatic Conference (August 22, 2016), once again emphasizing the role of culture as a key factor of national strength.
In practice, cultural exchange has become a bridge connecting countries, playing a great role in promoting countries to strengthen solidarity, friendship, mutual understanding, cooperation and development. Deeply aware of that, the Provincial Party Committee, People's Council and People's Committee have identified cultural diplomacy as an important pillar in the comprehensive foreign policy strategy, in addition to political diplomacy and economic diplomacy through the promulgation and implementation of the Plan to implement Vietnam's Cultural Diplomacy Strategy to 2030 in the province (Plan 1006/KH-UBND in 2022).
Not only stopping at awareness, Phu Tho has acted proactively, creatively and flexibly through cultural diplomacy activities deployed diversely on many channels, targeting many audiences.
Besides the Hung Kings' Commemoration Day - Hung Temple Festival, a national and international cultural event, Phu Tho has continuously upgraded its infrastructure to meet the requirements of organizing major international events such as: SEA Games 31, qualifying rounds of regional and continental football tournaments, heritage sites to explore in the 2022 World Miss Tourism Finals... The events not only attract the attention of many international friends but also create opportunities for Phu Tho to introduce its unique cultural features.
Guests visited Ngoc Dat To products at the Heritage Tea Party - Flavors of the Ancestral Land event within the framework of the 11th Asia-Pacific International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (AP-11) held in Hanoi.
The role of the overseas Vietnamese community has also been effectively exploited by Phu Tho in cultural diplomacy. The province has successfully organized the online contest "Overseas Vietnamese with the two heritages of Hung King worship and Phu Tho Xoan singing", attracting nearly 100 overseas Vietnamese living and working in 9 countries around the world to participate in the contest; welcomed overseas Vietnamese delegations from 20 countries around the world to offer incense to commemorate the Hung Kings on the occasion of the annual Hung King's death anniversary. These are "cultural ambassadors", an important bridge to help spread the cultural values of Phu Tho to the international community.
Phu Tho also proactively and actively participates in international cultural exchange activities such as: Tourism fairs, culinary festivals, Vietnamese cultural days abroad, diplomatic relations establishment days, National Day, important events of twin countries and localities such as: Luang Nam Tha, Luang Prabang (Laos), Nara (Japan), Son Tay (China), Hwaseong city (Korea). At the same time, it organizes programs to introduce culture, culinary arts, traditional costumes of ethnic groups in Phu Tho province. Many festivals and annual cultural events of the province attract diplomatic corps, friends, and international guests, bringing the natural beauty, the image of friendly, close, and hospitable people of the Ancestral Land to international friends, contributing to improving the investment and business environment and promoting investment.
Phu Tho also focuses on a comprehensive and flexible cultural diplomacy strategy by promoting culture and tourism through media, online platforms, and digitizing cultural heritages; promoting propaganda and promotion on media about investment potential and strengths as well as honoring cultural values - intangible cultural heritages of the province such as: Phu Tho Newspaper in English, English - Vietnamese bilingual newsletter, Vietnamese - Japanese, Vietnamese - Korean bilingual magazine, Phu Tho Foreign Affairs magazine in 3 languages of the Department of Foreign Affairs...
The results achieved have shown the right direction and strategic vision of the province in making culture an important endogenous resource, a "soft power" contributing to enhancing the position and image of Phu Tho in the international arena. However, the cultural potential of the Ancestral Land is still very large and the room for cultural diplomacy to develop is still wide open. With a unique cultural foundation, a long and heroic history and dynamism and creativity in implementation, cultural diplomacy will certainly continue to be a solid and effective bridge, bringing Phu Tho closer to the world, contributing to the successful implementation of the goal of rapid and sustainable socio-economic development, worthy of its position as the Ancestral Land of the Vietnamese people.
Phuong Thuy
Source: https://baophutho.vn/ngoai-giao-van-hoa-cau-noi-phu-tho-voi-the-gioi-234138.htm
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