General Secretary To Lam: Culture must always light the way, lead and foster national strength

The General Secretary emphasized that the 80-year tradition of the cultural sector is a spiritual treasure but will only truly shine when we continue to write new pages of history.

Speaking at the 80th Anniversary of the Cultural Sector's Traditional Day (August 28, 1945 - August 28, 2025) held on the morning of August 23, General Secretary To Lam emphasized that the past 80 years have been a journey full of hardships, sacrifices but also glorious, demonstrating the aspiration to rise up of a nation that always takes culture as the spiritual foundation, endogenous strength, and the torch that lights the way for all victories.

General Secretary To Lam speaks at the 80th Anniversary of the Cultural Sector's Traditional Day

Culture - the torch that lights the way

The General Secretary affirmed that, right from the Party's inception, President Ho Chi Minh placed culture in a special position. The Outline of Vietnamese Culture in 1943 established three major principles: national, scientific , and popular; affirming that culture lights the way for the nation.

Since then, throughout the Congresses, Resolutions and Directives of the Central Committee, culture has been emphasized as the spiritual foundation of society, both the goal and the driving force for development.

Currently, Vietnam is building an advanced culture imbued with national identity; developing cultural industries, building a healthy cultural market; promoting the national value system, family value system, and Vietnamese human value system; and at the same time preventing degradation, "self-evolution", and "self-transformation" in the fields of ideology and culture.

"Culture must be associated with political, economic and social life; present in every decision, every project, every way of thinking, every way of doing, in the behavior and qualities of Vietnamese people" - the General Secretary emphasized.

General Secretary To Lam, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and many leaders visited the exhibition of achievements of the cultural sector over the past 80 years.

On behalf of the Party and State leaders, the General Secretary expressed his deep gratitude to generations of officials in the fields of Culture, Information, Sports and Tourism; artists, journalists, teachers, researchers, librarians, museum and relic staff; tour guides, tourism entrepreneurs, coaches, athletes, etc., along with millions of people working in grassroots culture across the country.

The General Secretary recalled the contributions and sacrifices of generations of "cultural warriors" in the resistance war and national construction: from writers and propaganda painters, to artists, information and propaganda officers who incarnated themselves among the people, using culture as a sharp weapon to arouse faith and indomitable will.

General Secretary To Lam presents the First Class Labor Medal to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism

In peace, construction, development and innovation, the General Secretary affirmed that culture is still the vanguard force on the ideological and spiritual front. The movements "All people unite to build a cultural life", "Building new rural areas, civilized urban areas", building cultural schools, agencies, and enterprises... contribute to changing the face of life.

"Generations of heritage cadres have braved the rain and sun to preserve the communal house roof, the horizontal lacquered board, and each ancient brick; many library staff have diligently worked among the books; many artists have silently practiced behind the scenes; many reporters and photographers have captured the typical moments of life's breath; many tour guides have contributed smiles to the national brand; many coaches and athletes have shed sweat and tears to make the Vietnamese flag fly in the international arena," the General Secretary emphasized.

Five great lessons from revolutionary practice

Acknowledging the achievements of the cultural sector over the past 80 years, General Secretary To Lam drew five important lessons: Persistently following the right path, respecting cultural laws, placing people at the center; identity is the root, integration is the branch - preservation and development must complement each other; culture needs a healthy environment and adequate resources to flourish; culture only lasts when it integrates into life, reaching the public and the community; in the digital age, creativity is the main thread, innovation is the method, and connection is the driving force.

In the context of a volatile world, the 4.0 industrial revolution and deep international integration, the General Secretary emphasized: "Culture must go one step ahead, light the way, lead, foster courage, strengthen trust, and form national soft capacity" and suggested that the whole industry focus on implementing 10 groups of tasks and solutions.

It is necessary to thoroughly grasp the Party's viewpoint, put culture on par with economics - politics - society; build a healthy cultural environment from family, school and society.

At the same time, we should respect and honor intellectuals, artists, coaches, athletes, and tourism entrepreneurs; develop cultural industries and creative economies to become pillars of growth; preserve, embellish, and promote heritage associated with sustainable development.

Along with that is creating a breakthrough for mass sports and high-performance sports; improving the quality and competitiveness of Vietnamese tourism; promoting cultural diplomacy, promoting the national image; promoting comprehensive digital transformation in the culture, sports and tourism sectors; resolutely fighting to defeat the plot of "peaceful evolution" in the ideological and cultural fields.

General Secretary To Lam, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh took souvenir photos with artists and children.

The General Secretary emphasized: "The 80-year tradition is a spiritual treasure but will only truly shine when we continue to write new pages of history."

The General Secretary hopes that intellectuals, artists, and "soul engineers" of the people will continue to be persistent in their creativity; the sports industry will nurture the will and desire to win; the tourism industry will develop sustainably and intelligently; and grassroots cadres will continuously sow cultural seeds in community life.

"With the courage, talent and love for the profession of the team of people working in culture, information, sports and tourism; we will develop Vietnamese culture to its full potential, so that our country will be strong and rich, our nation will last forever, and every Vietnamese person will be happy, confident in integrating and shining" - the General Secretary affirmed.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/tong-bi-thu-van-hoa-phai-luon-soi-duong-dan-dat-va-boi-dap-suc-manh-dan-toc-2435277.html