A newly built cultural house in Nội Ninh residential area.

BẮC GIANG — The northern mountain province of Bắc Giang has, over recent years, invested in flexible and creative measures to build a local unity movement with an increase in quality.

The movement is now spreading more and more widely with a consistent viewpoint that: “Culture is the spiritual foundation of society, the goal and driving force for sustainable development of the country”.

Visiting Nội Ninh residential area in Ninh Sơn ward, Việt Yên Town in Bắc Giang Province today, it is not difficult to see those changes in the countryside environment with green, clean and beautiful landscapes. This place has become a bright example in building a cultural residential area since 2020.

Head of the Nội Ninh residential group Đoàn Văn Toan, said that the locality made remarkable changes as the result of an effective implementation of the movement themed 'All People Unite to Build a Cultural Life, in which the target is to create a bright, clean, green, clean, beautiful and safe residential area.

"The movement has helped create positive changes in the awareness and actions of most of the people," according to Toan.

In 2022, Nội Ninh was selected as a pilot project residential area for implementing the new bright and beautiful idea and the results have been positive.

All cultural houses in Bắc Giang Province have book libraries meeting demands of cultural improvement in the local areas.

All residential and public areas in Nội Ninh have been installed with lighting systems. Many main roads look more beautiful since flowers and trees were planted on both sides. Village roads and alleys have also been concreted with a width of 3.5 metres or more and are regularly cleaned.

Security is now guaranteed with cameras installed on the main roads.

The locality has also built entertainment and sports centres, many of them are equipped with modern facilities to meet the needs of local people.

The model of 'bright-green-clean-beautiful-safe' residential areas has been expanded to all seven residential areas in Ninh Sơn Ward.

Following Nội Ninh, many localities Bắc Giang have developed the movement in their local areas. Depending on their social economic conditions, many have creatively implemented the movement under different models.

Some have successfully built models such as typical cultural residential areas, or typical cultural villages for economic development or arts or sports. These have helped create a healthy cultural environment and improve the cultural and spiritual life of local people.

In 2023, about 86 per cent of villages and residential areas in Bắc Ninh were recognised achieving the standardised cultural titles, an increase of 1.6 per cent compared to 2022. About 54 per cent of residential areas were recognised receiving the 'bright' title, an increase of 5.8 per cent compared to 2022.

In many localities, building, maintaining and replicating typical models of building a cultural life is one of the most effective ways to promote the movement. The model was first applied in Tân Yên District, aiming to be 'bright - green - clean - beautiful' since 2018.

Roads and alleys in Bắc Giang are very "bright, green, clean and beautiful".

After five years of implementation, the model has been replicated throughout the district attracting more 416 villages to register and 93 units having been recognised.

Chairman of the People's Committee of Tân Yên District, Ngô Quốc Hưng, said that to build typical models in the implementation of the movement, the district's Steering Committee had assigned tasks to each commune and town to register for building one to two typical models since the beginning of the year.

At the same time, specific tasks were also assigned to each member of the Steering Committee to be responsible for supporting the models and reviewing the implementation at the end of the year. 

Increasing investment resources for culture

With the goal of developing in depth, quality and efficiency, in recent years, the 'All People Unite to Build a Cultural Life' movement in Bắc Giang has been implemented in conjunction with movements in the community, thereby contributing to closely linking culture with areas of social life. 

The province has determined that the system of cultural and sports institutions plays an important role in improving the people's spiritual life, thus authorities have prioritised funding sources for investment and construction.

At the provincial level, many typical key cultural works have been invested and newly built, such as the Bắc Giang Provincial Sports Stadium, which has been operating since 2019 with a total investment of VNĐ758 billion, the Provincial Cultural - Exhibition Center with a total investment of more than VNĐ540 billion, expected to be completed and put into operation in the first quarter of 2025.

Sport facilities are installed in many residential areas in Bắc Giang.

At the district level, by the end of 2023, ten out of ten districts, cities and towns in Bắc Giang had cultural houses and libraries and nine out of ten of them had stadiums. The whole province has 98.56 per cent of commune-level cultural houses and 82.5 per cent of village-level cultural houses meeting the standards prescribed by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Some localities have issued mechanisms and policies to attract, mobilise and effectively use socialised resources for the system of grassroots cultural institutions.

Việt Yên Town is a good example. Under plans to upgrade the system of grassroots cultural and sports institutions, they have, since 2023  invested more than VNĐ69 billion in building and repairing 41 cultural houses, supporting more facilities for 47 others and installing outdoor sports training equipment for 31 sports and entertainment centres in villages and residential areas.

Lục Nam District is another good example with more than 80 per cent of villages, hamlets and residential areas in the district currently have cultural houses fully equipped with tables, chairs, amplifiers and loudspeakers to serve the cultural, artistic and sports activities of local people. Since 2021, the district has built and repaired 102 cultural houses, with a budget of more than VNĐ118 billion.

It strives to built 100 per cent of cultural houses in villages, hamlets, and residential areas by 2025. Vice Chairman of Lục Nam People's Committee Dương Công Định said that the district's experience in mobilising resources to build grassroots cultural and sports centres is to boost dissemination, effectively allocate resources, be transparent and democratic in the movement implementation.

Bắc Giang also pays attention to preserving and promoting the value of historical and cultural relics. Since 2021, the province has restored and embellished over 150 relics with a total cost of about VNĐ300 billion. Every year, the province and localities allocate funds for organising hundreds of performances, competitions, cultural, artistic and sports festivals, contributing to improving the spiritual and cultural life of the people.

Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Giang Province Trương Quang Hải said that to continuously develop the movement more widely, substantially and sustainably, the province will focus on prioritising resources to promote family works, diversifying propagandas so that people fully understand the meaning, goals and contents of the movement.

At the same time, authorities at all levels should continue to mobilise all resources to build and synchronously develop the system of cultural and sports institutions at the grassroots level, according to Hải. Each locality, agency and unit needs to take the importance of linking the movement's contents with the implementation of political targets and annual production and business tasks, he said. — VNS