Applying President Ho Chi Minh's viewpoint on preserving and promoting the value of cultural heritage in our country today

1- President Ho Chi Minh once emphasized that culture is not only the spiritual foundation of society but also the driving force for socio-economic development. Therefore, the Decree establishing the National Construction Plan Research Committee signed by President Ho Chi Minh on December 31, 1945, emphasized: "The Committee has the task of researching a practical plan to build the country in terms of economy, finance, administration, society, culture and research other construction projects" ⁽¹⁾ . In President Ho Chi Minh's concept of culture, it can be seen that culture is not only the material and spiritual values ​​of humans but also includes cultural identity, cultural heritage crystallized throughout history created by humans, expressing the spirit and soul of the nation. A nation or people that does not know how to preserve, inherit and promote cultural heritage will lose its national cultural identity.

Preserving cultural heritages of special importance in the cause of traditional education (in photo: Tet pole-raising ceremony, author: Nguyen Thi Bich Huong)_Source: nhiepanhdoisong.vn

President Ho Chi Minh always attached great importance to the protection of national cultural heritage, because it is a task of great significance to the cause of national development. According to him, valuing and preserving the traditional cultural values ​​of the nation is an essential requirement for communists, such as imbuing Marxism-Leninism: “We communists must highly value the classics. There are many streams of progress flowing from that classical mountain. The more imbued with Marxism-Leninism, the more we must value the fine cultural traditions of our ancestors” ⁽²⁾ . He always reminded everyone, especially cadres and party members, to value national traditions: “Our people must know our history/To understand the origin of the Vietnamese nation” ⁽³⁾ . President Ho Chi Minh affirmed that cultural heritage is considered an important part of national traditions, vividly expressing national identity. The source of cultural values, traditional ideology, independent will and desire for freedom have become the spiritual cultural foundation, the great driving force for the survival and development of the Vietnamese nation. The issue of protecting and promoting cultural heritage is of special importance in the cause of traditional education, contributing to creating the basic premises for development.

Realizing the importance of heritage preservation, on November 23, 1945, President Ho Chi Minh signed Decree 65/SL ⁽⁴⁾ on "determining the mission of the Oriental Bac Co Academy" with the task of "preserving all ancient relics throughout Vietnam" (the concept of "ancient relics" in the Decree is now called cultural heritage, including tangible cultural heritage and intangible cultural heritage). This is the first decree that laid the foundation for the cause of preserving national cultural heritage. The decree was issued at a time when the country was still facing numerous difficulties with ignorance, famine, and foreign invaders, clearly demonstrating President Ho Chi Minh's far-sighted vision. The short and concise decree captured his profound thoughts and views on the issue of preserving national cultural heritage.

To preserve and promote the cultural heritage values ​​of the nation, according to President Ho Chi Minh, it is necessary to rely on the foundation of respecting and inheriting the achievements of previous generations, while making efforts to preserve and promote the good and the beautiful to flourish and spread widely in the community, multiplying good values. He reminded: “What is old and bad must be discarded…; What is old and not bad, but troublesome, must be modified to be reasonable…; What is old and good must be further developed; What is new and good, we must do” ⁽⁵⁾ . But at the same time, we must be alert to fight against the infiltration of all harmful cultures, resolutely criticize and eliminate backward and conservative customs. We must thoroughly eliminate all colonial relics and the enslaving influence of international culture. President Ho Chi Minh called on the people to fight against the harmful effects of enslaving culture: “We must thoroughly eliminate all colonial relics and the enslaving influence of imperialist culture” ⁽⁶⁾ . President Ho Chi Minh advocated the importance of preserving cultural identity inseparably from absorbing the quintessence of world culture: “…developing the fine traditions of national culture and absorbing the new things of progressive world culture to build a Vietnamese culture that is national, scientific and popular” ⁽⁷⁾ .

To preserve and promote the value of national cultural heritage, President Ho Chi Minh also paid attention to building a museum, because this place is a good school of history. He personally came to review the exhibition content of the Revolutionary Museum before the opening day. He said: "The Revolutionary Museum is like a history book. It shows us clearly how hard our ancestors worked to build the beautiful country we have today" ⁽⁸⁾ ; and "if everyone learns and absorbs the heroic spirit and strong will learned at the Museum, and is determined to follow the Party's policies, follow the mass line, and put the common interest above personal interest, then we will definitely win in everything" ⁽⁹⁾ .

In the cause of national renewal, the Communist Party of Vietnam has always deeply and consistently recognized the importance of preserving and promoting the value of national cultural heritage, and at the same time proposed viewpoints and policies to raise awareness of the whole society and orient activities to preserve and promote the value of cultural heritage, thereby arousing national pride and promoting the comprehensive development of the country, especially in the current context of globalization and modernization.

From Decree No. 65/SL, dated November 23, 1945, "On the preservation of ancient relics throughout Vietnam" to Decree No. 519-TTg, dated October 29, 1957, of the Prime Minister "Regulating the regulations on the preservation of ancient relics", Decree No. 14-LCT/HDNN7, dated April 4, 1984, of the State Council "On the protection and use of historical relics and scenic spots", all show the consistency in viewpoints as well as the concern of the Party and State for the preservation of national cultural heritage. That is the basis and important foundation to orient the work of protecting and promoting the value of cultural heritage in Vietnam.

Realizing the importance of society in the work of preserving cultural heritage, our Party has advocated: "The State, together with the people, builds the necessary material and technical facilities for culture and art, preserves and embellishes historical and cultural relics" ⁽¹⁰⁾ . Resolution of the 5th Central Conference, Session VIII "On building and developing an advanced Vietnamese culture imbued with national identity" identifies one of the important tasks as preserving and promoting cultural heritage. Resolution of the 9th Central Conference, Session XI "On building and developing Vietnamese culture and people to meet the requirements of sustainable development of the country" continues to emphasize the need to mobilize the strength of the whole society to preserve and promote traditional cultural values... Build a mechanism to reasonably and harmoniously resolve the conservation and promotion of cultural heritage with socio-economic development".

At the National Cultural Conference to implement the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress (November 24, 2021), the late General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong affirmed: “Preserve and promote traditional cultural values, absorb the quintessence of human culture, and at the same time improve the quality and effectiveness of creating new cultural values. Build a healthy and civilized cultural environment associated with the uncompromising fight against evil, badness, unculture, and counterculture; protect the values ​​of truth - goodness - beauty” ⁽¹¹⁾ .

2- In recent years, on the basis of applying the viewpoints of President Ho Chi Minh and the Party, the work of preserving and promoting cultural heritage values ​​across the country has achieved a number of remarkable achievements.

Firstly, the system of documents, policies and laws on cultural heritage has been gradually built and improved. The Party's policies and guidelines on culture in general and the conservation of cultural heritage in particular have been institutionalized by many laws and legal documents, typically the Law on Cultural Heritage in 2001; the Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Cultural Heritage in 2009; the Consolidated Document of the Law on Cultural Heritage in 2013; detailed decrees and circulars..., creating a solid legal corridor for the conservation of national cultural heritage. The Government has developed and implemented a series of strategies, programs and projects to preserve and promote cultural heritage, such as the Project on Preserving and Developing the Culture of Ethnic Minorities in Vietnam to 2020 (Decision No. 1270/QD-TTg, dated July 27, 2011, of the Prime Minister); Project on Inventory, collection, preservation, display and dissemination of typical traditional cultural heritage of ethnic minorities in Vietnam in the period of 2017 - 2020" (Decision No. 2493/QD-TTg, dated December 22, 2016, of the Prime Minister); Program on Preservation and sustainable promotion of the values ​​of Vietnamese cultural heritage, period 2021 - 2025" (Decision No. 1230/QD-TTg dated July 15, 2021, of the Prime Minister)...

Raising awareness about preserving and promoting the value of cultural heritage, creating a spread of the value and role of cultural heritage in the development of the country (in the photo: Under the roof of So communal house (Quoc Oai district, Hanoi city) by author Le Ngoc Huy)_Source: nhiepanhdoisong.vn

Second, public awareness of cultural heritage as well as the role of preserving and promoting the value of cultural heritage is enhanced. November 23 is chosen every year as Vietnam Cultural Heritage Day, thereby contributing to propaganda and creating a great influence on the whole society about the value and role of cultural heritage in the development of the country. Through that, public awareness is increasingly enhanced, thereby encouraging a large number of people to participate in the work of preserving and promoting the value of national cultural heritage.

Third, activities to preserve and promote cultural heritage values ​​have flourished throughout the country. According to the Department of Grassroots Culture, the country currently has 8,868 festivals, including 8,103 traditional festivals, 687 cultural festivals, 74 industry and trade festivals, and 4 festivals originating from abroad. In recent years, many traditional festivals have been restored, making an important contribution to preserving and promoting the cultural values ​​of ethnic groups ⁽¹²⁾ . Historical, architectural, and cultural relics are restored and embellished every year, becoming attractive destinations for many domestic and foreign tourists, such as the restoration of the Japanese Covered Bridge - a more than 400-year-old symbol of Hoi An; Kien Trung Palace in the Hue Citadel relic complex... In addition, many tangible and intangible cultural heritages have been recognized as national heritages, including many world heritages. Activities and events on preserving and promoting intangible heritages have been organized, creating conditions for artisans and communities to participate in preserving and teaching effectively.

Fourth, the application of technology in the conservation and promotion of cultural heritage values ​​is increasingly being implemented effectively, such as digitizing documents and materials on cultural heritage, building electronic databases to store and manage information on heritage. Virtual reality and augmented reality (AR/VR) technology has also been applied to recreate cultural heritage, helping people and visitors to access and experience heritage in the most vivid way. Since 2021, the Vietnam Museum of Fine Arts has officially launched 3D online tour technology to serve visitors; 360-degree digital tours on the 3D technology platform have helped the Vietnam Women's Museum attract a large number of visitors. 3D/360 technology has also been applied to display, preserve and restore cultural heritage such as: using 3D scanning technology in measuring and shaping to accurately recreate heritage; Applying artificial intelligence technology to classify and restore heritage, in addition, the work of promoting and introducing heritage also effectively applies technology. This is a solution to complete the goals of the Program to digitize Vietnam's cultural heritage for the period 2021 - 2030 set out: 100% of tangible and intangible cultural heritages and documentary heritages recognized by UNESCO; 100% of special national relics are digitized and applied on digital platforms; 100% of national treasures, heritages in the list of national intangible cultural heritages are digitized and applied on digital platforms. Currently, some projects have shown initial success, such as the Thang Long royal palace relic of the Ly dynasty restored with 3D technology; other relics such as Dien Huu pagoda of the Ly dynasty; 3D digitization of the national relic of Tien Le family; 360-degree virtual tour introducing the dynasties associated with the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long - Hanoi Heritage Conservation Center. The remarkable results in the work of preserving and promoting cultural heritage values ​​in our country in recent times have contributed to building an advanced Vietnamese culture, imbued with national identity, spreading and promoting the values ​​of Vietnamese cultural heritage to the world.

However, the work of preserving and promoting the value of cultural heritage still faces some limitations. Many legal documents and policies have been issued but they are still lacking in uniformity and overlap between management agencies, departments and branches. The restoration and conservation process still faces many difficulties and is cumbersome, going through many agencies, leading to a lack of timeliness and affecting the safety of cultural heritage. The work of managing, preserving and promoting the values ​​of cultural heritage is not really effective due to many reasons, such as the leadership and management team in the cultural field still lacks knowledge and understanding of the cultural field; the encroachment on heritage still occurs, especially in tangible cultural heritages, historical relics that are rarely exploited for tourism development purposes; there is a lack of attention and research on "single" relics and cultural heritages that are less likely to be exploited for tourism in localities despite their cultural and historical values. The role of stakeholders in the conservation and promotion of cultural heritage values ​​has not been properly recognized. Currently, this work has only been deployed and implemented at all levels of government, but the main force and the most influential factor are the people and local communities, which are still limited. Awareness of the conservation and promotion of cultural heritage values ​​in some localities is still lacking in depth and comprehensiveness. Some management agencies are not proactive, lax in management, and have not resolved the relationship between conservation and promotion, leading to people being spontaneous in service business, lacking planning, causing loss of aesthetics and affecting heritage. The impact of environmental factors and climate change on our country's architectural heritage is also an issue that needs attention. The increase in temperature, rainfall, humidity, and extreme weather intensity has been identified by UNESCO as a threat to culture, including heritage works. Vietnam is located in the tropical region, most affected by climate change, leading to many cultural heritage architectural works being affected both directly and indirectly such as the risk of fire; damage to the landscape and structure of the works; increased mold, termites; saltwater intrusion, erosion of relics...

3- In the coming time, to improve the effectiveness of conservation and promotion of cultural heritage values, it is necessary to pay attention to implementing a number of solutions:

Firstly, continue to create conditions and mobilize people to actively participate in activities to preserve and promote the value of cultural heritage. Propagate, educate, and mobilize people to raise their awareness, responsibility, obligations, and rights in activities to preserve and promote the value of cultural heritage. Continue to effectively implement the policy of "The State and the people work together" in preserving and promoting the value of cultural heritage.

Second, respect and create conditions to ensure the diversity of cultural expressions and local cultural nuances. Synchronously implement solutions to create conditions for the community to express and develop local cultural identity. This can be done through organizing events, festivals, and unique cultural activities typical of the region. At the same time, it is necessary to support and encourage local artisans and artists to promote their creativity through financial support policies, workspaces, and performance opportunities... In traditional arts and crafts, there should be training courses and support programs to transfer skills and experiences between generations; implement the construction of cultural centers, encourage research and collection of local culture.

Third, build an educational environment and create conditions for the transmission of knowledge about cultural heritage in the community. Culture is created in a community environment, culture must be lived in a community environment. Therefore, no environment can promote the most optimal efficiency in transmitting knowledge about the culture of each locality than the community environment itself, through collective activities, especially the issue of educating awareness and responsibility for cultural heritage. For education in schools, it is necessary to build balanced educational programs, associated with comprehensive human development for each student, to arouse and nurture passion for art in each person, contributing to educating pride in national culture and creating an environment to transmit knowledge about cultural heritage to the younger generation from the community.

Fourth, encourage creativity and innovation in the conservation and promotion of cultural heritage values. Cultural heritage conservation is not mechanical protection, it is necessary to apply principles, mottos, and innovative methods in the most effective way in conservation work: innovative thinking, innovative action, saying goes hand in hand with doing, theory goes hand in hand with practice. Creativity and innovation are important factors for cultural heritage to not only be preserved but also to develop and be alive. Policies need to encourage creativity in applying technology, art, and modern means to preserve and promote the value of cultural heritage.

Fifth, promote the application of information technology in the conservation and promotion of cultural heritage values. In addition to the application of 3D/360, AR/VAR technology, it is necessary to quickly apply research on remote sensing and GIS technology in the field of relic conservation that has been carried out by the Institute for Monument Conservation (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism). The remote sensing and GIS system provides basic functions, including: online maps; heritage management documents; index image catalog; product image catalog; remote sensing image catalog. From maps, index images, remote sensing images, it is possible to assess changes in landscape space, combined with environmental data to predict the development of flooding, changes in soil, water, and air environments of heritage sites, thereby taking timely response measures to minimize possible damage.

Sixth, focus on parallel implementation of "pre-inspection" and "post-inspection" in the restoration, embellishment and reconstruction of cultural heritage. Before carrying out the restoration, embellishment and reconstruction of cultural heritage, it is necessary to build detailed records, consult experts, digitize original data, and concretize them with 3D/360 models to have an overview before proceeding. At the same time, the implementation process also needs to be closely monitored, and at the end, there needs to be an assessment, comparison and cross-check with the original records to ensure the effectiveness of cultural heritage conservation, thereby spreading cultural values ​​in contemporary life, contributing to promoting the sustainable development of the country./.

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(1) Ho Chi Minh: Complete Works, National Political Publishing House Truth, Hanoi, 2011, vol. 4, p. 610

(2) Tran Duong: Uncle Ho as we know him, Thanh Nien Publishing House, 2009, p. 166

(3) Ho Chi Minh: Complete Works, op. cit., vol. 3, p. 255

(4) National treasure: Collection of decrees of the President of the Provisional Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1945 - 1946, National Political Publishing House Truth, Hanoi 2017, p. 120

(5) Ho Chi Minh: Complete Works, op. cit., vol. 5, pp. 112-113

(6) Ho Chi Minh: Complete Works, op. cit., vol. 7, p. 40

(7) Ho Chi Minh: Complete Works, op. cit., vol. 7, p. 40

(8) Ho Chi Minh: Complete Works, op. cit., vol. 12, p. 6

(9) Ho Chi Minh: Complete Works, op. cit., vol. 12, p. 257

(10) Documents of the 6th National Congress of Delegates, Truth Publishing House, Hanoi, 1986, p. 92

(11) See: Nguyen Phu Trong: "Strive to build, preserve and promote the unique values ​​of advanced Vietnamese culture with strong national identity", Communist Magazine, No. 979, December 2021, p. 11

(12) Ha Phuong: "100% digitalization of data on traditional festivals: Creating changes in festival management and organization", Electronic Culture Newspaper, December 11, 2023

Source: https://bvhttdl.gov.vn/van-dung-quan-dem-cua-chu-tich-ho-chi-minh-ve-bao-ton-phat-huy-gia-tri-di-san-van-hoa-o-nuoc-ta-hien-nay-20250325143906651.htm