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| Artisans at the gong club at Kon Sơ Lăl village in Gia Lai Province’s Ia Khươl commune. —VNA/VNS Photo |
GIA LAI — The People’s Committee of Gia Lai Province has issued a plan to roll out the project “Preservation and promotion of the cultural heritage value of the cultural space of the gongs in Gia Lai Province for 2026-2030 period”.
The plan outlined 13 key tasks to preserve and promote the cultural space of the gongs in the Central Highlands, designated as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2005.
These tasks include investigating and surveying gongs and gong practitioners throughout the province.
The province aims to restore one to two endangered traditional festivals each year, specifically focusing on the Bahnar, Jrai, Chăm, and H’rê ethnic groups.
Classes will be organised to teach gong playing and tuning to the young generations of the Bahnar, Jrai, Chăm, and H’rê.
Training on the preservation and promotion of the cultural heritage of the Gong Culture Space for commune and ward officials will be held.
The Gia Lai Province Ethnic Culture Festival will be held annually, and the Gia Lai Province Gong Performance Festival will be every two years.
The provincial People’s Committee has assigned the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism to implement the plan.
The Department of Ethnic Minority and Religious Affairs is assigned to integrate the plan into existing projects under the National Target Programme for Sustainable Poverty Reduction and the National Target Programme for Socio-Economic Development in Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Areas.
Policies will be implemented to support gong players in the field of intangible cultural heritage in the province according to regulations.
In addition, support will be provided for the restoration, display, and digitisation of the cultural space of the gongs in the province.
The provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism recently issued a plan to organise the “Gong on Weekend – Enjoy and Experience” programme.
The programme will be held from March to December this year every Saturday and on holidays.
Đỗ Thị Diệu Hạnh, director of the department, said the programme is part of activities to implement the national action programme on the preservation and promotion of the cultural space of the gongs in the Central Highlands.
The programme enables gong performers to showcase the beauty of ethnic groups’ traditional culture and boost tourism, Hạnh said.
It provides an opportunity for ethnic groups in the province to meet, exchange experiences, and strengthen solidarity, she said. — VNS
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