'350,000 billion for cultural revival is still a very small number'

On the afternoon of February 29, speaking at the meeting of intellectuals, scientists , artists and writers on the occasion of the beginning of the year of Giap Thin 2024 by Party and State leaders, Chairman of the Vietnam Writers Association Nguyen Quang Thieu said that when the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism gave the "estimated" figure of 350,000 billion VND for the program to revive Vietnamese culture, some people spoke up saying that it was spending too much money while the people were still in difficulty.

Chairman of the Writers' Association Nguyen Quang Thieu speaks at the meeting

Expressing disagreement with these opinions, Mr. Nguyen Quang Thieu said: "The opinion of writers, including me, is that 350,000 billion is still a very small number. Because investing in culture is extremely large. Investing in culture is not like planting potatoes or sweet potatoes, but planting from January to April can harvest potatoes, but it takes hundreds of years."

According to the Chairman of the Vietnam Writers Association , it only takes 10 seconds for a person to throw a bag of trash in a public place, but it takes hundreds of years for a person passing by in a public place to see the bag of trash and automatically pick it up and throw it in the bin.

"That is the time to form beauty and cultural behavior. So I think investing in culture is extremely necessary," said Mr. Thieu.

Citing the speech at the National Assembly by poet Huu Thinh when he was Chairman of the Vietnam Writers Association and a National Assembly delegate, that if we save or reduce one dong spent on culture, we must spend 1,000 dong to build prisons, Mr. Thieu said, "This saying does not carry the spirit of poetry but is the truth, containing the importance of culture."

According to the Chairman of the Writers' Association, his predecessor's statement also warned that if we abandon culture, if we save or reduce spending even one penny on culture, then a hundred years from now, our descendants will have to spend money together to build prisons for moral and personality issues.

"I think the State needs a reasonable and accurate investment policy for culture," Mr. Thieu suggested. He said that since becoming Chairman of the Vietnam Writers Association, he has become a patient and inspired "beggar".

President Vo Van Thuong and delegates at the meeting

Mr. Thieu cited the Vietnam Writers Association's project on giving free books to children in remote areas, saying that by 2023, after 2 years of implementing the project, the Vietnam Writers Association had transferred 70,000 books to children in remote areas.

"Many children do not have books in their homes. They have motorbikes, air conditioners, refrigerators, but no books. I think of the story of a chicken that eats diamonds, lives in a house made of gold, has golden claws, but is unable to become a person with a soul because that chicken is unable to receive cultural values," Mr. Thieu compared, affirming that when a country has a stable political foundation, a position in the world, plus a good culture, that country is a strong country, not afraid of threats to the survival of the nation.

The Party and State need to focus on maximum support and investment.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Vietnam Union of Literature and Arts Associations Do Hong Quan also recommended that the Party and State should take care of comprehensive development of both material and spiritual aspects so that the team has the conditions to be most creative and dedicated. Young artistic talents need to be discovered early, trained and nurtured properly, honored and respected.

Mr. Quan also recommended that it is necessary to innovate the treatment, use and honoring of artists' talents; attract Vietnamese talents around the world to serve and contribute to the people of the country.

Chairman of the Vietnam Union of Literature and Arts Associations Do Hong Quan spoke at the meeting.

"The act of rewarding talent and honoring the outstanding creative careers of artists needs to be considered comprehensively, closely, scientifically, impartially, transparently and promptly; creating excitement and trust in society, consensus and solidarity in the whole world," Mr. Quan stated.

Regarding the mechanism, the President of the Union of Literature and Arts Associations recommended that the development of Vietnamese literature and arts should be placed in the national cultural industry development strategy, and be an important component of the National Target Program on the revival and development of Vietnamese culture and people in the new era.

He said that the types of literature and art directly related to the protection of the Party's ideological foundation, sovereignty, national unity, and the core values ​​of Vietnamese culture and people, the Party and State need to focus on supporting and investing to the maximum to ensure high-quality works in terms of ideology and art; have long-lasting vitality, and spread widely in society.

In addition, Mr. Quan suggested that the works should be brought to the people, teenagers, children, and students in remote areas, rural areas, border areas, and islands. Mr. Quan also mentioned the project of the Vietnam Writers Association in directly bringing tens of thousands of books to remote areas, especially to the hands of students in mountainous areas, becoming the personal property of the students, recognized by the Party and the State.

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