Festival planning to be improved
HAI DUONG — The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism held a workshop on Thursday to discuss a three-year master plan to improve State management of festivals.
This included ways to preserve and protect genuine festival activities and atmosphere.
The one-day workshop in northern Hai Duong City follows the spirit of the fifth congress of the eighth Party Central Committee.
It said that cultural heritage was an invaluable asset connecting the community to the core of national identity. It added that it was also the base for creating new values as well as cultural exchanges.
"Thus, it is essential to preserve and bring into full play traditional cultural values," the fifth congress agreed.
Thursday's workshop was told that festivals were a cultural activity of overriding significance in traditional and spiritual life – and of great interest to a huge variety of people from different local and foreign social stratas.
Overall, the country is said to be home to 7,966 festivals, including about 7,000 folk festivals – and 332 historical and 544 religious events.
The master plan aims to preserve this cultural identity for future generations, making sure that it follows the practices of the past. Festivals will be classified into groups for better management.
Attending the workshop were representatives from ministries, central sectors and 32 provinces and cities in the north.
Many agreed that currently many festivals had been commercialised, particularly during festive section. Rituals also appeared to be increasingly similar and the individual flavours of each were quickly fading.
In fact, some visitors complain that some festivals fail to impress. They say that the costumes and ceremonies are often so similar, even down to the particular colour and type of cloth used.
Some participants appear unsure of their movements, indicating that the festival have been revamped for tourists.
Therefore, the workshop agreed that it was essential to have a master plan on festivals to avoid these practices and make sure that the individual nature of each is preserved. — VNS