If we can build a positive cultural environment, oriented towards truth, goodness and beauty, it will create "resistance" to deviant behavior during festivals.
 |
| National Assembly Deputy Bui Hoai Son highly appreciated the promulgation of the set of criteria on cultural environment in traditional festivals. |
That is the opinion of National Assembly Deputy Bui Hoai Son (Standing Member of the National Assembly's Committee on Culture and Education, former Director of the Vietnam National Institute of Culture and Arts) in an interview with The World and Vietnam Newspaper on the occasion of the New Year's holiday season.
Cannot ignore management activities
Currently, the whole country has more than 7,000 traditional festivals. What is the significance of building a cultural environment in these events, sir?
The cultural environment in traditional festivals is very important in building civilized behavior, a spiritual space suitable for preserving and promoting traditional cultural values as well as creating conditions for people to practice and develop personality and ethics from the values of the festival.
In recent years, the culture, sports and tourism sector has made great efforts to rectify the organization and management of festivals in localities. Decree 110/ND-CP in 2018 on the management and organization of festivals has truly been a big step forward, helping this activity become clearer, more professional and more effective.
However, organizing and managing festivals still face many difficulties, partly due to the nature of festivals as a mass entertainment, so no matter how well managed, it is difficult to avoid mistakes. The other part comes from the trend of commercialization in organizing festivals, the phenomenon of superstition associated with spiritual activities... which makes it impossible for us to ignore festival management activities.
Therefore, the promulgation of the set of criteria on cultural environment in traditional festivals helps standardize the construction of cultural environment in traditional festivals as a tool and measure to evaluate the capacity of state management and the effectiveness of festival organization in localities. At the same time, the set of criteria contributes to further realizing management activities, so that traditional festivals truly become a favorable space for practicing national cultural activities and values, preserving cultural identity.
What is your view on the "Set of criteria on cultural environment in traditional festivals" issued by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in early August 2023?
I highly appreciate the set of criteria on cultural environment in traditional festivals issued by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. This proves that we are very interested in building a cultural environment, not only in traditional festivals, but also in all other environments such as residential areas, offices, and schools.
This is a right direction because over the years, our Party and State have always identified building a cultural environment as the most important task in developing culture and building Vietnamese people. If we can build a positive environment, oriented towards truth - goodness - beauty, we will create "resistance" to deviant and anti-cultural behaviors in society.
As traditional festivals have important significance for preserving and promoting national cultural values, and have a direct impact on people's awareness and behavior in honoring national identity, we need to build a cultural environment in traditional festivals to realize those noble purposes.
The set of criteria helps to be more specific and clear, creating conditions for relics and festivals to better implement the cultural environment in their traditional festivals. That is the reason why I support this approach of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
How to specify the criteria for building a cultural environment at relics and festivals to improve the effectiveness of organizing festival activities in a civilized, healthy and economical direction?
Each relic and festival has its own characteristics, so it is necessary to specify the criteria for building a cultural environment.
In my opinion, 9 groups of criteria, with 44 specific criteria, defining the implementation responsibilities of the relevant parties are the guiding principles for relics and festivals to implement in detail, as well as effectively organize and manage festivals in their localities. This is also consistent with the trend of decentralization and delegation of power associated with responsibility that the Government is determined to pursue and the policy of strengthening cultural management activities.
 |
| Building a cultural environment for traditional Vietnamese festivals plays an important role. (Source: wanderlust.co.uk) |
To keep the festival from being commercialized
How do you evaluate the construction of a cultural environment for traditional festivals to preserve traditional cultural values and create social and economic benefits?
Building a cultural environment for traditional Vietnamese festivals plays an important role in preserving and promoting cultural values as well as creating multi-dimensional social and economic benefits.
First , preserve and promote traditional cultural values. The cultural environment for traditional festivals provides the foundation for maintaining and developing traditional cultural activities of the nation. Organizing traditional festivals not only helps preserve local customs, practices, rituals, and cultural traditions, but also helps participants understand and appreciate these values.
Second , create business opportunities and develop tourism. Building a cultural environment for civilized and healthy traditional festivals will create business opportunities for local enterprises and increase income for the community. Cultural tourism will also develop when festivals become attractive destinations for domestic and foreign tourists.
Third , promote community solidarity. Traditional festivals often create opportunities for communities to gather, exchange and share with each other. Participating in festival activities can create a strong sense of solidarity within the community, contributing to strengthening social ties and consensus.
Fourth , create a positive image of the country in the international arena. Organizing traditional festivals professionally and successfully can create a positive image of the country in the international arena, helping to enhance prestige and attract the attention of international tourists. At the same time, it opens up opportunities for cooperation with international partners in the fields of culture and tourism.
The new set of criteria has set an important goal of standardizing the construction of cultural environments in traditional festivals. But in your opinion, what solutions are needed to prevent festivals from being commercialized?
We are living in a market economy and the factors and rules of that economy have penetrated into all social relationships, including culture, more specifically traditional festivals. We have witnessed many rituals being desecrated for commercial purposes, similarly, there are excessive activities in organizing traditional festivals for profit.
Therefore, building a system of solutions to prevent festivals from being overly commercialized and to restore their beauty is very important. To ensure that traditional festivals are not overly commercialized and still retain their cultural identity, in my opinion, we can apply the following solutions:
First , local authorities need to take measures to strictly manage and supervise the organization of festivals, especially by developing specific regulations and guidelines on how to organize festivals, limiting commercial advertising, and controlling business activities.
Second, enhance community awareness. It is very important to promote and educate the community about preserving and respecting the cultural values of festivals. Promotional activities can be organized to raise awareness about the historical and cultural significance of festivals.
Third, encourage community participation. Promoting community participation in festival organization and management helps keep traditional festivals from becoming overly commercialized. Community organizations should be further encouraged to actively participate and take greater responsibility in organizing festival activities.
Fourth, continue to develop stricter legal regulations. Governments and regulatory agencies can establish specific and strict legal regulations to restrict commercial activities during festivals. Applying strict penalties and sanctions for violations of these regulations is also a very good way to ensure compliance.
Fifth, encourage appropriate forms of sponsorship. Instead of relying too much on businesses and commercial advertising, it is necessary to encourage sponsorship from non-profit organizations, social organizations, and cultural interest groups to support festivals without losing the traditional identity of the festival.
Thank you!
Source
Comment (0)