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| Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyễn Văn Hùng delivers a speech at the 14th National Party Congress. VNA/VNS photo |
HÀ NỘI — Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyễn Văn Hùng has highlighted major directions to harness the intrinsic strength of Vietnamese culture and people, the foundation for rapid and sustainable development.
Speaking at the ongoing 14th National Party Congress on January 26, the minister said culture embodies the nation’s enduring values cultivated over thousands of years of national construction and defence. It serves as a vital endogenous resource, shaping the intelligence, spirit, courage, and resilience of the Vietnamese people.
In particular, during times of national crisis or hardship, the spirit of great national unity, combined with Việt Nam’s patriotic tradition, self-reliance, compassion, and respect for human values – along with the ability to inherit and creatively integrate the best of global culture – has forged an unparalleled strength, enabling the country to continue writing golden chapters in its history.
When culture operates under the Party’s direct and comprehensive leadership – with the people as both creators and beneficiaries, and intellectuals, artists, and cultural officials playing key roles – its intrinsic strength is transformed into political and social power, contributing to the great victories of the Vietnamese revolution and the country’s remarkable achievements over the 40 years of đổi mới (renewal) process.
Hùng pointed out directions and solutions, emphasising that cultural and human development serves as a foundation, a vital endogenous resource, and a key driver for the country’s rapid and sustainable growth in the new era.
Cultural development must be closely aligned with politics, the economy, society, national defence and security, and foreign affairs, as social progress ultimately stems from cultural advancement, with the flourishing of culture representing the highest form of development, Hùng said.
He stressed that effectively promoting the national value system, cultural values, family values, and Vietnamese human standards is key to fostering creativity, strength, resilience, and intelligence, while inspiring patriotism and the nation’s strong aspirations for progress.
“In the new era, culture places the highest value on the people’s happiness and the nation’s enduring prosperity,” Hùng said, noting that it is also a front, and that building and developing culture is a long-term revolutionary endeavour requiring both will and perseverance.
He emphasised the need to carefully balance opposing pairs: creation and prevention, tradition and modernity, preservation and development, and real-life and virtual spaces, in this work.
The minister urged a bold, all-encompassing shift in mindset and a shared vision for cultural growth, emphasising the importance of promoting national, family, and human values while encouraging patriotism, compassion, responsibility, honesty, creativity, and discipline to achieve the nation’s development objectives.
It is necessary to create a healthy cultural environment where positive values can be nurtured, spread, and effectively protected against the negative impacts of the market economy and the digital space, he said.
He added that the renewal of mindset should be implemented by integrating human and cultural development goals into strategies, plans, and socio-economic development programmes, strengthening the accountability of heads in cultural governance, and enhancing communication and education to foster societal consensus.
According to him, it is essential to improve institutions in a way that fosters, liberates, and mobilises resources for cultural and human development, and to recognise investment in culture as investment in the country’s sustainable development and future. It is also important to view the development of cultural industries and creative economy as new growth drivers that directly contribute to GDP growth, job creation, promote scientific and technological advancement and digital transformation while ensuring cultural security and information safety. The nation must also proactively engage in international cultural cooperation, thereby strengthening the country’s soft power.
The development of Việt Nam in the new era must put people’s daily lives at the centre while building on the country’s collective strengths as the foundation for progress, he noted.
The minister affirmed that Vietnamese culture is the source of national identity and a form of soft power, helping the nation assert its resilience, promote its values, and establish a distinct position in the global cultural landscape. — VNA/VNS
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