HÀ NỘI — Deputy Prime Minister Vũ Đức Đam has urged the National Council for Cultural Heritage to focus more on the preservation and promotion of relics to make them a source of strength for national development.

The Deputy PM made the call during a council meeting on Tuesday.

He expressed his appreciation towards the contributions of council members over the last several years, particularly in assessing applications for official recognition of relics at different levels.

An artist practises a ceremony of mediumship, an important activity in the belief in Mother Goddesses of Vietnamese people. Photo toquoc.vn

Đam directed the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the council to promote the application of information technology, suggesting building a digital museum.

Speaking at the meeting, the council’s Chairman Professor Lưu Trần Tiêu said Việt Nam is now home to more than 40,000 relics, of which 112 have earned special national recognition while 3,560 and 10,109 have achieved national and provincial status, respectively.

Việt Nam so far has eight cultural and natural heritages and 13 intangible cultural heritages recognised by UNESCO, he said, adding that a total of 179 museums have been founded in the country with nearly 4 million items on display. It has also recognised 127 historic items and groups of items as national treasures.

The council organised a number of plenary sessions between 2015 and 2020 to verify nominations submitted to the Prime Minister on seeking UNESCO recognition for a tug-of-war folk game, the Vietnamese beliefs in the Mother Goddesses of Three Realms, Phú Thọ’s xoan singing, bài chòi singing, and the practices of then by the Tày, Nùng, and Thái ethnic minority groups, among others.

The professor said the council will continue to provide consultation and work out key plans, strategies, and policies regarding the protection and promotion of cultural heritage values during this tenure. It will also contribute ideas to the building of legal documents in cultural heritages.

Tiêu later proposed the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism take responsibility in developing a programme for the sustainable conservation and promotion of cultural heritage values over the next 10 years, replacing the target programme on cultural development for 2016-2020; and a decree for the management of UNESCO-recognised intangible cultural heritage. — VNS