Investing in Vietnamese cultural centers abroad: Expensive and the fear of premature death

(Dan Tri) - Delegate Nguyen Lan Hieu said that the goal of investing in cultural centers abroad is very difficult to achieve because the investment is expensive but maintaining it is not necessarily effective, and some facilities even die young or are barely surviving.

Investment in Vietnamese cultural centers abroad is one of the issues that National Assembly deputies are interested in and debated in the discussion session on the morning of June 19, regarding the investment policy of the National Target Program on Cultural Development for the period 2025-2035. According to the Government's report, the mobilized resources for the program for the period 2025-2035 are more than 122 billion VND; for the period 2031-2035 are 134,000 billion VND, mainly from the central and local budgets. Expensive investment, worrying about cultural centers abroad surviving Delegate Nguyen Van Manh ( Vinh Phuc ) mentioned that the national target program on cultural development for the period 2025-2035 has set a goal of building a number of cultural centers abroad, but there are no specific targets for this content.

National Assembly Delegate Nguyen Van Manh (Photo: Hong Phong).

He proposed to clearly stipulate the target of how many Vietnamese cultural centers will be built abroad from now until 2035 to implement. Using the right to debate to discuss this content with delegate Nguyen Van Manh, delegate Nguyen Lan Hieu (Director of Hanoi Medical University Hospital) said that this is a good idea but not new and very difficult to implement. "Investing in facilities in developed countries is extremely expensive, but the bigger concern is maintaining and developing them effectively," Mr. Hieu emphasized. The delegate is concerned about the lack of dedicated and qualified people to operate these centers, while the issue of tenure is the biggest obstacle in building long-term and in-depth programs. "If we continue to do it the way we are doing, we can also have cultural centers abroad to cut the ribbon and disburse funds, but they will also die young or survive like some current facilities," delegate Hieu worried. He suggested that it is possible to support Vietnamese associations and overseas Vietnamese groups to organize and manage cultural - commercial - service centers in other countries and they can cover their own costs through services such as restaurants, cafes, and Vietnamese supermarkets. Another issue in developing Vietnamese culture to reach the world , according to delegate Nguyen Lan Hieu, is that it is possible to choose the option through artistic products such as painting exhibitions, art programs or films. However, he noted that the Ministry of Culture needs to have a master plan to avoid waste, and limit asking - giving in the process of approving programs supported by the State budget.

National Assembly Delegate Nguyen Lan Hieu, Director of Hanoi Medical University Hospital (Photo: Hong Phong).

Regarding human resources, Mr. Hieu pointed out that many cultural and artistic talents in the overseas Vietnamese community have not been developed. Therefore, it is necessary to invest in building a network of Vietnamese community activities around the world. "Only with systematic, transparent investment, originating from the people, can we revive a culture that still has many problems," Mr. Hieu said. The total investment of the cultural development program "lacks practical basis." National Assembly delegate Nguyen Quang Huan ( Binh Duong ) said that the program proposed a total investment of VND256,000 billion for 3 phases, equivalent to nearly 11 billion USD. "If calculated on the current total GDP of 420 billion USD, this expenditure is quite large. However, if in the 2035 period, Vietnam's GDP could be 800-900 billion USD, this ratio is small," Mr. Huan said.

National Assembly Delegate Nguyen Quang Huan (Photo: Hong Phong).

The issue pointed out by the delegate is that the basis for determining the total investment of the program is not compatible with the 10 component programs. According to Mr. Huan, the total investment of the program proposed for the National Assembly's approval lacks a practical basis, causing difficulties for the Government's management later. "It is necessary to review the 10 components of the program to cover all goals and aim for core values, then estimate the costs each year, closely following each component and the items are converted into an estimated % of GDP each year," Mr. Huan suggested. After that, according to him, the National Assembly will approve the program's expenditure according to the annual GDP ratio, and the specific items will be decided by the Government depending on the actual situation. Vice Chairwoman of the Economic Committee Doan Thi Thanh Mai commented on the capital structure, the ability to balance investment capital, and the ability to mobilize capital and other resources.

Deputy Chairwoman of the Economic Committee Le Thi Thanh Mai (Photo: Hong Phong).

Because the 3 national target programs are also in need of continued implementation in the 2025-2030 period, Ms. Mai suggested that the drafting committee continue to review the total capital investment associated with the goals and tasks, avoiding proposals that are too high compared to the implementation capacity, causing waste. In addition, for the component contents that have not yet determined the total investment according to the expected source each year, the Deputy Chairman of the Economic Committee said that it is necessary to clarify the forecast for each component project, including central, local and mobilized funds.

Dantri.com.vn

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/xa-hoi/dau-tu-trung-tam-van-hoa-viet-nam-o-nuoc-ngoai-dat-do-va-noi-lo-chet-yeu-20240619105052625.htm