Time for new directives for publishing?

Deputy Head of the Central Propaganda and Mass Mobilization Commission Phan Xuan Thuy gave a speech at the workshop - Photo: T.DIEU

Mr. Dinh Xuan Dung, who participated in the development of Directive 42 in 2004 of the Central Party Secretariat on improving the overall quality of publishing activities, said that a new directive is needed to guide publishing activities in the new situation.

Mr. Dung expressed his opinion at the scientific conference "Improving the quality of publications in the new situation" organized by the Central Propaganda and Education Commission in coordination with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Vietnam Publishing Association on March 21 in Hanoi.

The workshop was organized to provide theoretical and practical basis for summarizing 20 years of implementing Directive 42 of 2004 of the Central Party Secretariat on improving the overall quality of publishing activities.

Time for a new model for publishing?

Affirming that Directive 42 has greatly contributed to promoting publishing development over the past 20 years with outstanding achievements in both breadth and depth, Mr. Dung said that in the new situation with many changes, the publishing industry is also revealing many problems.

The most notable of these is the widespread publication of publications, with a strong increase in quantity but not corresponding quality. The widespread availability of bad books and the paucity of quality books makes readers and himself frustrated.

Deputy Head of the Central Propaganda and Mass Mobilization Commission Phan Xuan Thuy and Chairman of the Vietnam Publishing Association Pham Minh Tuan chaired the workshop - Photo: T.DIEU

Many shortcomings and bottlenecks that are hindering the improvement of publishing quality were also pointed out by some delegates.

Deputy Head of the Central Propaganda and Mass Mobilization Commission Phan Xuan Thuy, in his concluding remarks and direction of the workshop, also noted: After 20 years of implementing Directive No. 42, publishing activities have developed rapidly, meeting the increasingly high and diverse needs of readers.

But there still exist some books with incorrect political and ideological content; works that are far from the practical life of the country and the people; there are not really publications commensurate with the country's 40-year renovation career.

There are not many publications that attract and gain wide public interest and have the power to touch people's hearts...

The problems in association, exploitation of book copyrights and the tendency to commercialize and pursue purely economic interests have not been pushed back but continue to have new and more complex manifestations.

Mr. Thuy affirmed that after more than 20 years of implementing Directive 42, the context has changed a lot, posing new requirements for improving the quality of publishing activities in general and the quality of publication content in particular.

Mr. Dinh Xuan Dung suggested that relevant agencies need to report to the leadership agencies to issue a new directive for the new development step of publishing.

“We should study and build a new model and structure for the publishing, printing and distribution system according to modern thinking, closely linked to the country's development. At the same time, we should study and survey the reality and truthfulness of the entire publishing policy mechanism, to create a new institution for the publishing, printing and distribution system,” said Mr. Dung.

Professor Dinh Xuan Dung recommends that there should be new directives for publishing activities - Photo: T.DIEU

Urgently perfecting publishing institutions and policies

In his speech, Mr. Phan Xuan Thuy also emphasized that the leadership, direction and management agencies need to urgently improve institutions and policies, especially amending, supplementing or issuing new regulations of the Party and policies of the State to remove bottlenecks and create motivation to promote publishing activities.

Mr. Thuy said that we can consider some major policies to promote books with good content, such as establishing a publishing support fund, a translation fund or a mass reading movement...

He also noted that the implementation of the linkage model between publishers and companies and bookstores must be based on a transparent and clear cooperation mechanism, creating growth momentum for the publishing industry.

In particular, it is necessary to strengthen the leadership of the Party, promote the role and responsibility of Party committees, the management of the State... to maintain the leadership and orientation role for publishing to fulfill its mission well in the new era.

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