Decree on encouraging literary development: Concerns about overlap

Deputy Director of the Department of Performing Arts Tran Huong Duong (right) and Vice President of the Vietnam Writers Association Nguyen Binh Phuong chaired the workshop - Photo: T.DIEU

A workshop to collect opinions for a decree regulating the encouragement of literary development was held by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on April 4 in Hanoi.

If the decree is issued but literature still does not improve…

According to the draft decree that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is developing, the ministry will carry out tasks such as supporting and investing in literary activities; organizing writing and composition camps, writing and composition competitions; awarding prizes; introducing, promoting and popularizing literature.

These are the things that the Vietnam Writers Association has been doing for a long time.

The workshop received a number of comments expressing concerns about the duplication and overlap of tasks between the two agencies.

People's Artist Vuong Duy Bien - Vice President of the Vietnam Union of Literature and Arts Associations - suggested that research should be done when drafting the decree to avoid overlapping tasks between the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the associations.

He also wondered if this decree was to encourage literary development, but if the decree was issued but the literary movement did not develop and there were no excellent works, this would be a challenge for the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Poet Tran Dang Khoa - Vice President of the Vietnam Writers Association - said he appreciated the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's determination to build a decree to develop literature.

But according to Mr. Khoa, the decree needs to be made stricter, not overlapping the tasks that the associations are doing.

He cited the example of a decree providing for the organization of national literary awards organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Mr. Khoa wondered if the State Prize and Ho Chi Minh Prize would still be awarded when this award was given and what the correlation between them would be.

In addition, this national literature award overlaps with the national book award that the Department of Publishing, Printing and Distribution organizes annually.

Mr. Khoa confided that there are many literary awards today, but in reality, very few people buy the books that win awards.

Associate Professor Pham Xuan Thach (Hanoi National University) suggested that we can refer to the model of science and technology development fund to apply to literature.

Poet Tran Dang Khoa speaks at the conference - Photo: T.DIEU

Don't just fund propaganda.

Commenting on the decree, Mr. Pham Xuan Thach said that the decree currently stipulates that the State only supports literary works that promote and directly serve political tasks. According to him, the decree should be expanded to encourage and sponsor progressive and positive trends in life.

He also suggested that the decree should have regulations on a literature development fund, with policies to encourage private individuals and businesses to contribute and sponsor literature development.

In addition, Article 32 on the dissemination of literature on cyberspace, according to Mr. Thach, overlaps with the Press Law, Publishing Law and Cyber ​​Security Law.

While what needs to be done more is to be able to research and build a national database on literature.

Regarding investment in literature, Associate Professor Dr. Bui Hoai Son - a full-time member of the National Assembly's Committee on Culture and Society - suggested that when drafting this decree, we must adhere to the viewpoint that state agencies only create a legal corridor and a favorable environment for literature to develop.

There may be investments, sponsorships, and organization of major events... but they are only for orientation, seed capital, and creating conditions to direct society's attention to literary activities.

"The important thing for sustainable development of literature is to direct the whole society to pay attention to literary activities, especially the participation of the private economy," said Mr. Son.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/nghi-dinh-khuyen-khich-phat-trien-van-hoc-lo-ngai-chong-cheo-20250404202005574.htm