The workshop took place under the chairmanship of Mr. Lazare Eloundou Assomo - Director of the World Heritage Center; Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Dao Cuong, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO and Vice Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee Vu Thu Ha.
The workshop was attended by the UNESCO Hanoi Office, leaders of central ministries, People's Committees of localities owning heritage, world heritage management boards in Vietnam, experts, scientists in the fields of History, Archaeology, Conservation, Museums, Heritage... and community representatives.
Overview of the Workshop
The workshop is an event in a series of activities to implement the Action Plan for the period 2021 - 2025 of the Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO, the Memorandum of Understanding on Vietnam - UNESCO Cooperation for the period 2021 - 2025, the Cultural Diplomacy Strategy to 2030 and the conclusions of the National Cultural Conference emphasizing the role of culture in serving local socio-economic development that will take place in the coming time.
The workshop aims to evaluate the overall work of preserving and promoting the values of world cultural and natural heritage in Vietnam, the contribution of world heritage to local socio-economic development (especially community outreach);
Enhancing and promoting the role and value of world cultural and natural heritage in sustainable development strategies; Expanding the participation of stakeholders in cultural and natural heritage such as non-governmental organizations, businesses, and communities;
Strengthening the commitment of the Vietnam National Committee for UNESCO and UNESCO in accompanying local authorities and supporting heritage management units in preserving and promoting the values of world heritage in Vietnam;
Demonstrate Vietnam's commitment to UNESCO in seriously implementing the World Heritage Convention, and expressing the desire to contribute to the conservation of world heritage through candidacy for membership of the World Heritage Committee for the 2023-2027 term;
Exchange and learn from the experiences of those working in research, conservation and promotion of heritage domestically and internationally; the results of the discussion are the scientific basis for the World Heritage sites to propose community approach plans for the sustainable development of Heritage.
Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO Hoang Dao Cuong spoke at the Workshop.
Speaking at the opening of the workshop, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Dao Cuong, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO, said: On October 19, 1987, Vietnam officially ratified its participation in the 1972 Convention on the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.
Since then, Vietnam has had 08 cultural and natural heritages recognized by UNESCO as world heritages; along with that, since joining the 1972 Convention, Vietnam has been elected twice as one of the 21 members of the World Heritage Committee for the 2013-2017 term and the 2023-2027 term.
Vietnam has also made many important advances in awareness and theory in the field of protecting and promoting the value of world heritage, demonstrated through the increasingly improved legal system on cultural heritage.
Five-year data (2016 - 2020) shows that the total number of tourists at World Heritage sites in Vietnam in 2016 welcomed 14.3 million visitors, increasing in 2019 to about 18.2 million visitors.
In 2024, 08 World Cultural and Natural Heritage sites in Vietnam welcomed about 14.9 million visitors, a vivid demonstration of the promotion of the value of world heritage. Statistics have shown the great contribution of world heritage to the socio-economic development of the country and localities since being recognized by UNESCO.
In particular, on November 23, 2024, the National Assembly passed the Law on Cultural Heritage, contributing to the full institutionalization of the Party and State's guidelines and policies on cultural heritage, with many new points, deeply affecting all aspects of the country's cultural, social and economic life, creating a fundamental shift in position and strength for the cause of managing, protecting and promoting the values of Vietnam's cultural heritage.
According to the Deputy Minister, the 2024 Law on Cultural Heritage was built with many internalized provisions from the 1972 Convention, Guidelines for implementing the Convention and Policies on integrating the perspective of Sustainable Development into the processes of the 1972 Convention, creating an important legal corridor for managing, protecting and promoting World Heritages in Vietnam.
Over the past years, the work of building and implementing management plans, planning, investment, and financial support at world heritage sites in Vietnam has always been of interest to the Government, ministries, sectors, and localities of Vietnam. World heritage sites in Vietnam have been restored, rehabilitated, and their outstanding global values, authenticity, and integrity have been preserved in a sustainable manner; the apparatus and human resources for managing world heritage sites from the central to local levels have been increasingly consolidated and improved; resources for protecting world heritage sites have been prioritized and mobilized to the maximum.
Due to the special attention received from all levels, sectors and people, since Vietnam's typical relics and landscapes were recognized by UNESCO, the number of tourists coming to visit and research has increased.
Implementing the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress on the task of reviving and developing Vietnamese culture, foreign policies, and international commitments to which Vietnam is a member, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and localities are focusing on implementing the global goal of strengthening the protection and ensuring the safety of World Cultural and Natural Heritages and Intangible Cultural Heritages recognized by UNESCO in the "National Action Plan for the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development", towards the implementation of the 2030 Agenda of the United Nations.
However, the Deputy Minister said that there is still a lot of work to be done to further improve the effectiveness of management, protection and promotion of world heritage values in Vietnam in the coming years.
“Therefore, we highly appreciate the initiative to organize this international workshop and believe that the experiences that delegates shared and suggested in the workshop will be valuable directions for the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and localities to continue researching and applying to the practice of world heritage management in Vietnam in the coming time,” Deputy Minister Hoang Dao Cuong affirmed.
Conference Scene
At the workshop, delegates shared experiences from the perspective of state management and heritage ownership in promoting the value of world heritage to serve local socio-economic development and improve people's lives.
Director of the World Heritage Center Lazare Eloundou Assomo answered some questions raised by delegates, provided professional advice on the protection and promotion of World Heritage values in a community-based approach and shared some international experiences.
The workshop drew a number of recommendations and proposals for heritage management in the coming time, including: continuing to improve the legal basis in heritage management; promoting and further raising awareness and the role and participation of the community because they are the owners of heritage; strengthening environmental protection, sustainable use of resources, and sustainable tourism development; promoting international cooperation in preserving and promoting heritage values; training to improve the capacity of heritage management staff and applying information technology and digital transformation in the management, preservation and promotion of heritage values.
HA AN, photo: THANH TUNG
Source: https://baotanglichsu.vn/vi/Articles/3091/75481/tiep-can-dua-vao-cong-djong-vi-su-phat-trien-ben-vung-trong-bao-ve-va-phat-huy-gia-tri-di-san-the-gioi.html
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