Hanoi (VNA) - ꦺMinister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung 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.

In an interview granted to the press on November 17, Hung said 2021 is a year with many important political events for the country. This is the first year Vietnam has implemented 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 Vietnam must be a developed industrialised country at that time. 2021 also marks 35 years since the country's Doi moi (renewal) process. “Additionally, 2021 is also the year 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, Vietnam has gradually controlled and repelled the pandemic, bringing the country into a new phase of safe adaptation to and effective control of the pandemic. Specifically, 2021 also marks the 75th anniversary of the first National Cultural Conference which was held 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 a historical nature, inheriting and promoting the spirit and meaning of the first National Cultural Conference chaired by President Ho Chi Minh. 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 Ho Chi Minh’s thoughts on culture. Besides systematising and interpreting President Ho's ideological views on culture based on our Party's line and especially the spirit of Marxism-Leninism on culture, Ho Chi Minh's thoughts have been approved by the Party as a major guideline,” he said. “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 the 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 with an 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. According to the minister, it is hoped that after the conference, people 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 Vietnam is 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 on cultural evolution. After the conference, we must establish and build a cultural ecosystem, a cultural environment. We need to choose priorities, including corporate culture,” he stressed. “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, it is a must to 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. Hung said 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 Hanoi on November 16 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 Vietnam and how to promote those values in the future. An art programme "Belief 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./.