The Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyễn Văn Hùng. VNA/VNS Photo

The Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyễn Văn Hùng said that the upcoming 2021 National Cultural Conference will be an opportunity to open a new turning point in the revival and development of Vietnamese culture and people.

What is the purpose and significance of organising the 2021 National Cultural Conference 75 years since the first conference was held in 1946? 

2021 is the year with many important political events of our country. This is the first year that Việt Nam is implementing the Resolution of the 13th National Congress of the Party, concretising the country’s socio-economic development plan for 2021-30 period and towards 2045, celebrating the country's 100th founding anniversary. The Party set the goal that our country must be a developed industrialised country at that time.

2021 also marks 35 years since the country's Đổi mới (renewal) process.

Additionally, 2021 is also the year that we see many changes,  advantages and challenges in domestic and international economic, political and social situations. Our country has had to face a widespread COVID-19 pandemic, especially the fourth wave since April 2021, which has caused great damage to culture in particular. 

However, with the leadership of the Party, specific action programmes of the Government and the solidarity of the people, we have gradually controlled and repelled the pandemic, bringing the country into a new phase of safe adaptation and effective disease control. 

Specifically, 2021 also marks the 75th anniversary of the first National Cultural Conference which was held in on November 24, 1946.

This second conference will be held with the aim of implementing the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress on culture. This is also an important task of all party organisations.

Therefore, this conference has an historical nature, inheriting and promoting the spirit and meaning of the first National Cultural Conference chaired by President Hồ Chí Minh.

What will be discussed at the conference?

The conference will closely follow the overall implementation of the Resolution of the 13th National Congress of the Party on culture.

The key point of this event is that we will quote and systematise the views of the Party and President Hồ Chí Minh’s thought on culture. Besides systematising and interpreting President Hồ's ideological views on culture based on our Party's line and especially the spirit of Marxism-Leninism on culture, Hồ Chí Minh's thoughts have been approved by the Party as a major guideline.

We will review 35 years under the Party's renovation in the cultural field to see what achievements we have made, as well as difficulties and weaknesses to learn lessons. When we have the right perception, we will do right things.

The requirement is to determine the direction and the mission on future development of Vietnamese culture and people, arousing the aspiration to build a country of advanced and strong culture.

The Secretariat of the Party Central Committee will host the online National Cultural Conference with the participation of representatives of all 63 provinces and cities in the country and a number of ministries and state agencies on November 24.

What can we expect from this conference?

It is hoped that after the conference, we will have a deeper and more comprehensive awareness of the Party's viewpoints to preserve and develop  culture in line with the Party's guidelines and views, and fully promote its connotations, building the culture we are aiming for. It is an advanced culture imbued with national identity, absorbing the cultural quintessence of humanity.

We need to be proactive to overcome the impact of foreign culture and negative influence in the cultural evolution. After the conference, we must establish and build a cultural ecosystem, a cultural environment. We need to choose priorities, including corporate culture.

When we build a socialist-oriented market economy, we consider enterprises as the heart of the economy. So how to build this environment to ensure culture in economy and the economy in culture? Culture must start from the grassroots, we must promote and preserve it. We have to build culture from residential areas and urban areas so that it becomes a cultural environment where we live.

After the conference, we will implement the values of the Vietnamese people set out by the Party's resolution, which are patriotic, righteous, creative and with aspirations to build the country. Culture forms the noble qualities of Vietnamese people, the people of the integration era, the people who can keep their cultural identities. 

What can you tell us about the preparations so far?

All preparations for this important event have been completed. Many activities were organised early ahead of the conference to show and spread the meaning of the conference.

An exhibition to celebrate the 2021 National Cultural Conference started in Hà Nội on Tuesday displaying various valuable materials and artefacts that shed light on the country’s development and international integration over the years.

A documentary film is being produced that will help the audience look back on the original values ​​of Việt Nam and how to promote those values in the future.

An art programme "Faith and Aspiration" will also be performed to convey messages about cultural issues, fostering human values of truth, goodness, and beauty.

Other activities have been urgently deployed to keep up with the schedule for the official conference on November 24. — VNS