Organizing the thematic session on international experiences of Vietnam and Ninh Binh province in managing the relationship between restoration and conservation of cultural heritage with socio-economic development and closing the workshop

On the afternoon of December 22nd, the international scientific conference "Addressing the Relationship between Cultural Heritage Restoration and Preservation and Socio-Economic Development: Perspectives from Regional and Local Governance" continued its thematic session on: International, Vietnamese, and Ninh Binh Province's Experiences in Managing the Relationship between Cultural Heritage Restoration and Preservation and Socio-Economic Development.

Comrades: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Doan Minh Huan, Member of the Central Committee of the Party, Secretary of the Ninh Binh Provincial Party Committee; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Ha, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Communist Magazine; Pham Quang Ngoc, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Ninh Binh Provincial People's Committee; Prof. Dr. Nguyen Quang Ngoc, Vice President of the Vietnam Historical Science Association, chaired the thematic session.

The workshop included a thematic session on international experiences between Vietnam and Ninh Binh province in managing the relationship between cultural heritage restoration and preservation and socio-economic development, and the closing ceremony of the conference. — Dr. Nishino Noriko, from the Southeast Asian Underground Cultural Heritage Conservation Foundation, presented a paper at the conference.

The workshop heard presentations from international scientists and experts from Australia, Italy, Japan, UNESCO, and the Southeast Asian Underground Cultural Heritage Conservation Fund, addressing issues such as: the importance of sharing methods for restoring and preserving heritage, and using heritage as a means of stimulating economic development; experiences in preserving cultural heritage in Venice, Italy, especially the challenges in preserving heritage while developing tourism, and how to protect historical values while effectively exploiting economic value. These are experiences that Ninh Binh province and other localities with heritage sites can learn from; the need for thorough investigation and research of relics to clarify their scope, conduct excavations, document the investigations, and publish reports, aiming towards utilizing the relics and developing the local economy based on scientific investigations and research; Proposing solutions to promote the historical value of Ninh Binh province and its historical figures, emphasizing education and increasing understanding of historical traditions among the people, especially the younger generation, as well as domestic and international tourists; combining scientific research with tourism and popular culture to attract the attention of a wide range of people and the scientific community; comparing Ninh Binh's heritage system with contemporary heritage systems in Southeast Asia...

The opinions of domestic experts and scientists address the following issues: Balancing and harmonizing heritage preservation and restoration with socio-economic development; shifting from a material heritage preservation approach to a comprehensive, sustainable, community-centered approach based on UNESCO standards and tools will effectively support localities in the process of sustainable development; the preservation and restoration process must safeguard the unique and distinctive features that make up a world heritage site, as well as the integrity and authenticity of the heritage, avoiding mass production and widespread adoption; the role of museums and the application of technology in cultural heritage preservation...

Speaking at the conference, Professor Phung Huu Phu, former member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam and former Vice Chairman of the Central Theoretical Council, stated: The conference has further clarified and deepened the understanding of the extremely valuable cultural values of Ninh Binh province and the process by which the Party Committee, government, and people of Ninh Binh have restored and preserved cultural heritage while simultaneously developing socio-economic aspects. From a local governance perspective, Ninh Binh has achieved great success in combining and leveraging the strengths of various stakeholders (the roles of the Party Committee, government, businesses, organizations, and the people), successfully restoring and preserving cultural heritage, and successfully exploiting the potential, advantages, and resources for development. This has created new values, namely the Ninh Binh identity and the identity of the ancient capital, including values of international significance.

In reality, culture is an endogenous resource, a driving force for development, as vividly demonstrated by Ninh Binh province. To strive to become a millennium-old urban heritage site, Ninh Binh still has much work to do and needs a new approach: a regional governance approach. The goal is to integrate Ninh Binh's cultural strengths and values with the cultural values of the Red River Delta region to create new cultural values and elevate Ninh Binh's culture. Ninh Binh is facing a new opportunity, possessing a solid legal and political foundation, as well as the immense cultural potential of the Red River Delta region. If cultural heritage sites and the processes of restoration and preservation can be linked to the entire cultural network, Ninh Binh's culture will soar even higher...

At the workshop, representatives from several businesses in Ninh Binh presented their opinions on practical issues related to the restoration and preservation of cultural heritage and socio-economic development: Xuan Truong Construction Company has set the goal of "bringing happiness to the people" in the restoration and preservation of heritage, helping to improve the lives of local people in heritage areas; paying attention to the restoration and preservation of historical relics; the determination of the local Party committee, government, and businesses is the driving force that helps businesses strive harder in the journey of restoring and preserving cultural heritage. This workshop has inspired many businesses.

The private enterprise Ngôi Sao has raised several issues of concern in the development of community tourism in Ninh Binh: tourism products are still monotonous; there are not many unique forms of living, farming, and production; resources for community tourism development are limited; environmental pollution; the decline of traditional culture; tourism development is still spontaneous; policies to encourage community tourism development are lacking and inconsistent; local people have not received many benefits from tourism development...

In his concluding remarks at the workshop, Associate Professor Dr. Doan Minh Huan, Member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam and Secretary of the Ninh Binh Provincial Party Committee, affirmed that the workshop was a great success. In addition to the 73 papers received by the organizing committee prior to the workshop, 22 online and in-person presentations at the workshop addressed various aspects of resolving the relationship between cultural heritage restoration and preservation and socio-economic development.

On behalf of the co-organizing agencies of the Workshop, Ninh Binh province would like to acknowledge and thank the experts and scientists for their affection towards Ninh Binh. I would like to accept all the insightful and valuable opinions, focusing on policy recommendations and suggestions for issues Ninh Binh needs to address, such as: removing bottlenecks in thinking and awareness, resolving obstacles in mechanisms and policies, and creating breakthroughs by addressing the mindset, awareness, and mechanisms in the implementation of heritage preservation and promotion; regarding regional and local governance, what provinces in the region need to do to link the region in preserving cultural heritage; promoting the role of the community in the process of restoring and preserving cultural heritage and socio-economic development; and promoting the role of stakeholders: the State, businesses, and the community in restoring, preserving, and promoting the value of cultural heritage in conjunction with socio-economic development. The restoration of the relics has prioritized the protection of Ninh Binh's existing landscape, creating a distinction from other localities, and recreating heritage routes as events; suggesting not only the restoration of architecture, but also the restoration of rituals, costumes, and headwear of the Dinh-Le dynasties...

The heartfelt and responsible opinions expressed at the workshop have contributed to a more systematic strategy for the restoration and preservation of cultural heritage and socio-economic development of Ninh Binh province, promoting cultural development in line with the spirit of the National Cultural Conference.

Phan Hieu - Hong Van - Minh Quang

⇒ International scientific conference "Addressing the relationship between cultural heritage restoration and preservation and socio-economic development: Perspectives from regional and local governance"

⇒ Workshop session: Common understanding and practical solutions to the relationship between cultural heritage restoration and preservation and socio-economic development: A perspective from regional and local governance.

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