Competition to create models and typical cultural events

In launching the national patriotic emulation movement for the period of 2021-2025 at the 10th Patriotic Emulation Congress (December 10, 2020), the content emphasized was emulation in building and developing culture and society, improving the material and spiritual life of the people; continuing to promote the Movement "All people unite to build a cultural life". To concretize that launch, the Department of Culture of Can Tho City has promoted emulation in creating cultural models and events associated with grassroots cultural life, while promoting traditional culture.

The Ngang Canal Road, Hamlet 7, Vinh Thuan Dong Commune has won many high prizes in the contest "Model with bright, green, clean, beautiful landscape and environment". Photo: HONG NHUNG

Building and replicating many grassroots cultural models

The movement "All people unite to build a cultural life" was officially launched by the Government in 2000. Over the past 25 years, especially in the period of implementing the patriotic emulation movement 2021-2025, as the standing agency of the movement, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism (VHTT&DL) of the new Can Tho City (including Can Tho City, Hau Giang and Soc Trang before the merger) has closely followed the grassroots, promptly encouraged and replicated models formed from practice. Thereby, contributing to improving the spiritual and cultural life of the people, building a cultural lifestyle, civilized urban and new rural areas.

Specifically, along with the process of urbanization and new rural construction in the city, models originating from practice have been formed and replicated such as "Flower roads, clean houses", "Bright - green - clean - beautiful - safe roads", "Urban civilized roads", "Each commune and town builds beautiful roads associated with environmental protection", "Wards and towns are clean of garbage", "Lights in front of the alley, gongs in the house"... Up to now, most hamlets and areas in the city have organized the construction of typical beautiful roads in the locality, mobilized people to participate in planting trees and flowers in front of their houses, launched a general environmental cleaning campaign every week, contributed to the socialization of lighting installation... contributing to creating a general beauty for the city, changing the appearance of urban and rural areas.

Localities also promptly organize to draw lessons from model building and reward typical examples in implementing the model in many forms. For example, in Can Tho City before the merger, the Festival of typical cultural models at the city level was held every two years, since 2016, really creating momentum in building cultural life. Because to select models to participate in the city-level festival, each commune, ward, and locality also organized festivals, thereby promptly praising and rewarding from the grassroots, contributing to improving the quality of the movement in the direction of depth and practicality. Or in Hau Giang before the merger, the Contest "Model with bright, green, clean, beautiful landscape and environment" was first launched in 2007 and over time, the competition subjects expanded: households, exemplary self-governing groups, civilized urban roads and streets...

The movement also spread to each individual and household and created cohesive communities in building a cultural and civilized lifestyle through the work of building and improving the titles of "Cultural Family", "Good People, Good Deeds", "Cultural Hamlet, Area", "Cultural Agency, Unit, Enterprise", "Commune meeting new rural cultural standards", "Ward, Town meeting urban civilized standards" and models of "Exemplary Grandparents, Filial Children", "Civilized Boarding House", "Cultural Family" Club, "Model Self-Managed People's Group", "Model Patriotic Emulation Residents' Union", "Effective Cultural - Sports Center of Commune, Ward, Town"... The models and titles have contributed to improving the material and spiritual life of each person, thereby creating a wide spread and a sustainable development foundation for the movement.

To continue to effectively implement the emulation work launched by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2025, which is "Focusing on prioritizing the building of culture in each family, village community, hamlet, neighborhood, agency, unit, and enterprise; building and effectively implementing village covenants and conventions, promoting the role of the people as the subject, proposed by the people, and voluntarily implemented by the people", the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Can Tho City has advised the City People's Committee to specify the framework of standards and methods for evaluating and considering the titles of "Cultural Family", "Cultural Hamlet, Area", "Typical Commune, Ward, Town"; building Can Tho people "Intelligent - Dynamic - Compassionate - Generous - Elegant" to meet the requirements of industrialization and modernization of Can Tho City by 2030; inspecting the construction of "Civilized Urban Wards and Towns" to have a direction for sustainable development of the movement...

Southern Traditional Cake Festival organized by Can Tho City. Photo: DUY KHOI

Organizing festivals and events from cultural resources

A highlight of the Can Tho City Department of Culture in recent times is that it has worked with agencies, units and localities to advise and coordinate the organization of many large-scale events and festivals, thereby introducing the depth of culture, production and working life, products and images of the people here to domestic and international friends.

In particular, in Can Tho City before the merger, the Southern Traditional Cake Festival was held annually on the occasion of the Hung Kings' death anniversary, and by 2025 it would be the 12th time. Through each organization, the festival has been upgraded in scale, currently attracting 200-300 booths each time, with the participation of many traditional cake makers to perform, exchange, and introduce traditional culinary culture, thereby creating a brand for traditional cakes, creating a highlight for local tourism activities. In addition, there are also Ninh Kieu Flower Lantern Night Tourism Festival, Tan Loc Orchard Festival, Phong Dien Eco-Tourism Festival, Cai Rang Floating Market Cultural Tourism Festival... which are the foundations for the city to prepare to reach larger-scale events, such as the River Festival.

In Soc Trang before the merger, the Ok Om Bok Festival - Ngo Boat Racing in Soc Trang province was held on a regional scale in the Mekong Delta, and by 2024 it will be the 6th time. The festival is an event that combines the Khmer people's Moon Worshiping Ceremony with traditional cultural activities and the Ngo Boat Racing Festival - a national intangible cultural heritage; and has been set a record by the Vietnam Guinness Organization as the Ok-Om-Bok Festival - Ngo Boat Racing with the largest number of Ngo boats and athletes participating in Vietnam in 2022. In the locality, there are also many intangible cultural heritages promoted such as the Chroi Rum Chek Festival (Phuoc Bien Festival), the Thak Con Festival (Coconut Worshiping Festival)... and organizes the practice of the national intangible cultural heritage of the Ro Bam Art and the Nghinh Ong Festival...

In Hau Giang (old), to honor rice plants and rice growers, the Vietnam Rice Festival was organized by the province in 2009. By 2023, Hau Giang continued to host and upgrade it to an international festival of the rice industry of Vietnam. The local Department of Culture is also creative and dynamic in organizing the "Fragrance and beauty of Hau Giang" culinary competition within the framework of the Hau Giang Investment Promotion Conference in 2022. At the event, the teams processed and decorated more than 200 dishes from pineapple and catfish, setting a Vietnamese record. By 2024, the competition will be held for the second time within the framework of the 5th "Vietcombank Mekong Delta" International Marathon in Hau Giang province, aiming to exploit the strengths of culinary culture in tourism development, promoting the land and people of Hau Giang.

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Together with the Party committees, government and the people, the Department of Culture of Can Tho City has recently widely deployed the patriotic emulation movement, creating a foundation for a breakthrough after the merger of 3 localities, reaching the position of cultural center of the Mekong Delta.

PV

Source: https://baocantho.com.vn/thi-dua-sang-tao-mo-hinh-su-kien-van-hoa-tieu-bieu-a191012.html