Minister Nguyen Hong Dien chaired a meeting of the State-level council to consider awarding the title of handicraft artisan.

On the morning of December 6, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien chaired the 5th meeting of the State Council to consider awarding the title of artisan in the field of handicrafts.

Reviewing 70 records of conferring the title of artisan

Speaking at the opening of the meeting, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien said that on April 19, 2024, the Government issued Decree No. 43/2024/ND-CP detailing the awarding of the titles "People's Artisan" and "Meritorious Artisan" in the field of handicrafts (Decree No. 43) replacing Decree No. 123/2014/ND-CP of the Government regulating the awarding of the titles "People's Artisan" and "Meritorious Artisan" in the field of handicrafts (Decree No. 123).

Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien delivered the opening speech at the 5th meeting of the State Council to consider awarding the titles of "People's Artisan" and "Meritorious Artisan" in the field of handicrafts. Photo: Can Dung

On September 19, 2024, the Prime Minister issued Decision 1010/QD-TTg on the establishment of the State-level Council for the awarding of the titles of "People's Artisan" and "Meritorious Artisan" in the field of handicrafts for the 5th time (the Council). The Council is responsible for assisting the Prime Minister in organizing the examination and selection of individuals who meet the criteria to submit to the Prime Minister for consideration and proposal to the President to award the titles of "People's Artisan" and "Meritorious Artisan" in the field of handicrafts for the 5th time.

The Minister of Industry and Trade emphasized that, according to the provisions of Decree No. 43 and the transitional provisions for this awarding of individuals regarding the subjects and standards according to Decree No. 123, for nearly a year, the local and ministerial levels have considered and proposed to the State Council. The transitional provisions of Decree No. 43 allow for consideration of proposals from the Provincial Council and the Ministerial Council in the spirit of Decree No. 123 and at the State Council in the spirit of Decree No. 43 newly issued in April 2024.

Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien chaired the 5th meeting of the State Council to consider awarding the titles of "People's Artisan" and "Meritorious Artisan" in the field of handicrafts. Photo: Can Dung

At the meeting, the representative of the standing agency, Mr. Ngo Quang Trung - Director of the local Department of Industry and Trade - reported on the acceptance of the application for the title of "People's Artisan" and "Excellent Artisan" in the field of handicrafts for the 5th time.

Specifically, regarding the awarding of the title "People's Artisan", the Provincial Council proposed to consider 22 people; the Ministry-level specialized Council considered and proposed the State-level Council to consider awarding 10 people.

Considering the award of the title "Meritorious Artisan", the Provincial Council proposed to consider 69 people; the Ministry-level specialized Council considered and proposed the State-level Council to consider awarding 60 people, of which 1 case was posthumously awarded.

Director of the local Department of Industry and Trade Ngo Quang Trung speaks at the meeting. Photo: Can Dung

The total number of applications for the 5th time for consideration of the title "People's Artisan", consideration of the title "Excellent Artisan" in the field of handicrafts and fine arts reviewed by the Ministry-level Specialized Council and submitted to the State-level Council in Submission No. 763/TTr-BCT is 70 applications. Of which, the application for the title "People's Artisan" is 10 people; the application for the title "Excellent Artisan" is 59 people; the application for the title "Excellent Artisan" is 1 person.

Mr. Ngo Quang Trung also informed that in the 2024 title awarding period, the provinces, cities and localities with the largest number of applications include: Hanoi with 31 applications; Thanh Hoa and Quang Nam each with 6 applications; Bac Ninh with 5 applications...

There are 24 handicrafts proposed for consideration, including: sculpture, bamboo and rattan, pottery, bronze casting, carpentry, relief, embroidery, lacquer, folk painting, gilding, and hand weaving. Pottery is the most proposed handicraft with 10 applications, followed by bronze casting with 7 applications.

Continue to review and complete the regulations for recognition consideration.

At the meeting, after carefully reviewing the application documents, the Council members highly appreciated the organization of the standing agency, closely following and fully complying with current legal regulations. The cases proposed for consideration of the title are specific and clear, meeting the prescribed standards.

Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien delivered a concluding speech at the meeting. Photo: Can Dung

Representatives of the Council members also said that the 2024 selection of artisans still lacks artisans from remote areas and ethnic minority artisans. Therefore, it is necessary to further expand the selection criteria; especially to find more young artisans to both inherit the heritage of previous generations and demonstrate strong creativity.

After listening to the Council members' comments, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien said that, through discussion, the Council members suggested that the selection method should be innovated to honor properly, accurately, and promptly, reflecting the true and diverse contributions of elderly artisans. They may not meet the criteria according to current regulations, but in fact, they have made great contributions to society, or in remote areas, ethnic minority areas, there are many talented people who need to be discovered and honored.

“ This opinion is very valid, innovating the selection and discovery methods. This is not only very important to the individuals involved but also has great social value ,” Minister Nguyen Hong Dien emphasized.

Mr. Duong Trung Quoc - General Secretary of the Vietnam Historical Science Association, Member of the Council - contributed his opinion at the meeting. Photo: Can Dung

According to the Minister, from innovating the way of detection and selection, we also boldly propose to the State to promptly adjust the standards, criteria, and conditions that are necessary to promptly detect and honor typical advanced individuals. Along with that, it is necessary to continue researching and have a mechanism to support the development and promotion of artisans' products to spread to society, turning the title into a large enough material value. This will contribute greatly to the country's economy, for example, tourism or on-site export, and at the same time is a very good way to promote the brand and the country and people of Vietnam. At the same time, support artisans to continue to passionately pass on their profession better and more effectively.

Mr. Luong Xuan Doan - Chairman of Vietnam Fine Arts Association, Member of the Council - spoke at the meeting. Photo: Can Dung

The local Department of Industry and Trade has taken this opinion into account to develop an annual industrial promotion plan, focusing on supporting artisans to widely pass on their skills to the community. Along with the honoring, it is necessary to do a good job of communication to spread the value and influence of the title to artisans. Communication has many values, one is to encourage artisans spiritually, and at the same time, it is also an effective monitoring channel.

Regarding the concerns of Council members regarding the consideration of awarding titles according to Decree No. 123 or Decree No. 43, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien clearly analyzed that the process of considering and proposing the title of artisan takes place from the beginning of the year, Decree No. 43 takes effect in May 2024 and cannot be considered for application. The consideration process takes place at the time of transition, therefore, the regulations allow individuals to be considered according to Decree No. 123, the Council is established according to Decree No. 43.

The Minister of Industry and Trade also noted that the summary in the dossier needs to be reviewed for correct wording so that it does not need to be edited after publication.

According to Decision No. 1010/QD-TTg on the establishment of the State-level Council for conferring the titles of "People's Artisan" and "Excellent Artisan" in the field of handicrafts for the 5th time, the Council consists of 11 members, including Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien - Chairman of the Council; Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Phan Thi Thang - Vice Chairman of the Council...

The Ministry of Industry and Trade is the standing body of the Council. The Council has a Secretariat established by the Minister of Industry and Trade and is allowed to use the Ministry's seal to handle its work. The Council dissolves itself after completing its tasks.

Source: https://congthuong.vn/bo-truong-nguyen-hong-dien-chu-tri-hop-hoi-dong-cap-nha-naoc-xet-tang-danh-hieu-nghe-nhan-thu-cong-my-nghe-362795.html