For 3 years, the Vi and Giam clubs in Thanh Chuong are still waiting for support.

The club is in trouble

The Ngoc Son Folk Song Club is considered the backbone of Thanh Chuong district in the movement to preserve and promote the intangible cultural heritage of humanity. Established in 2009, the Ngoc Son Folk Song Club is not only famous inside and outside the district, but it is also a unit that has contributed a lot in the process of preparing documents to submit to UNESCO for recognition. The Club is also the unit chosen to perform at Ho Chi Minh Square in the ceremony to honor the Vi and Giam Folk Song as a representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

In the Ngoc Son Commune Folk Song Club, there is one folk artist and two excellent artists. The members of the Club are quite active and are often invited to participate in Festivals as well as the Sen Village Singing Festival at the district and provincial levels and have won many awards, considered an effective model of a provincial folk song club. The Club also does a good job of transmitting folk songs to the younger generation by opening many training classes inside and outside the district.

"Many times we have won Gold and Silver prizes in provincial and inter-provincial festivals for performing Nghe An folk songs; we were once built as a model provincial folk song club" - People's Artist Vo Thi Hong Van - Club Manager said.

Not only the Folk Song and Vi Giam Club of Ngoc Son Commune, in Thanh Chuong District there are also 3 other clubs in Thanh Linh, Dai Dong and Dong Van Communes that are all operating "steadily", making many contributions to the preservation and promotion of Nghe An Folk Song and Vi Giam.
Notably, all four clubs have one thing in common: they have not received support from Resolution 29/2021/NQ-HDND dated December 9, 2021 (hereinafter referred to as Resolution 29) of the Provincial People's Council regulating support policies for artisans and clubs in the field of intangible cultural heritage.

Clause 1, 2, Article 3, Resolution 29 stipulates: Clubs for preserving and promoting intangible cultural heritage must have their establishment decisions and charters approved by the Chairman of the People's Committee at the district level; Have a board of directors and at least 20 members; Regularly and periodically operate at least once a month; Practice performances and organize teaching to preserve and promote the value of intangible cultural heritage in the area; Actively participate in festivals, competitions, exchange activities, and promote cultural heritage of the province and locality, and are supported with 30,000,000 VND/newly established club to purchase musical instruments, props, and performances, and 5,000,000 VND/club/year for operations.

People's Artist Hong Van - Head of the Folk Song Club of Ngoc Son Commune shared that the policy has been issued for 3 years, almost all the Folk Song Clubs at the commune level in the province have benefited from the policy of Resolution 29, but the clubs in Thanh Chuong District have not yet benefited from this policy. "If this continues, it will be very difficult for our club to survive and develop. The members of the club also feel distracted and feel sorry for their fate", People's Artist Hong Van confided.

Finding the cause

Questioning why the Vi and Giam Folk Song Club of Ngoc Son Commune and three other clubs in the area, which were established many years ago, have not yet enjoyed the policies under Resolution 29, Ms. Nguyen Thi Quy - a specialist of the Department of Culture of Thanh Chuong District said: "Immediately after Resolution 29 was issued, we sent an official dispatch instructing the communes to complete the documents according to the provisions of the resolution, but due to some problems, the Vi and Giam Folk Song Clubs of Ngoc Son, Dai Dong, Thanh Linh, and Dong Van communes have not yet been completed."
According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Quy, at Point a, Clause 1, Article 3 of Resolution No. 29, it is stipulated that the condition for support is that the Chairman of the District People's Committee must issue a decision to establish and approve the charter. Meanwhile, the dossiers for establishing clubs since 2009 in Thanh Chuong district were only approved by the commune level.

In addition, the completion of the dossier and the approval of the dossier must also be assessed by the Department of Home Affairs. Mr. Dau Ba San - Deputy Head of the Department of Home Affairs of Thanh Chuong district said: According to Point a, Clause 1, Article 3 on the conditions for support for clubs to preserve and promote intangible cultural heritage stipulated in Resolution 29, commune-level clubs do not have enough basis to enjoy this policy regime. Because according to Decree 45 of the Government, to establish an Association, the founders must establish a campaign committee to establish the Association. The campaign committee to establish the Association is recognized by the State management agency of the main industry and field in which the Association plans to operate. In addition to the conditions for establishing a commune-level club, the district-level club must assess and review the operation process of the commune-level club.

After Resolution No. 29/2021/NQ-HDND dated December 9, 2021 of the Provincial People's Council stipulating support policies for artisans and clubs in the field of intangible cultural heritage was issued, on March 30, 2022, the Provincial People's Committee issued Document No. 2079/UBND-VX on the implementation of Resolution No. 29/2021/NQ-HDND dated December 9, 2021 of the Provincial People's Council.

According to this document, in order for newly established clubs to access support policies, the People's Committees of districts, cities and towns must appraise and issue decisions on establishment and approval, and operating regulations for newly established clubs according to the provisions of Decree 45/2010/ND-CP dated April 21, 2010 of the Government on organization, operation, and management of associations and the conditions prescribed in Clause 1, Article 3, Resolution No. 29/2021/NQ-HDND dated December 9, 2021 of the People's Council of Nghe An province.

For clubs that were established and operating before January 1, 2022 but did not complete all procedures, it is necessary to organize inspections, reviews, and guide the clubs to complete all procedures in accordance with regulations.
According to the leaders of the Department of Culture and Sports, this issue has been implemented quite well by most districts, cities and towns. Districts, cities and towns only require newly established commune and ward level clubs to complete the list of current club members and the association's charter to be able to establish an Executive Committee according to Decree 45 of the Government and the district will be responsible for completing the documents in accordance with Clause 1, Article 3 (Chairman of the district People's Committee issues the decision to establish and approve the charter) and organize the club's launching ceremony.
For old clubs established before January 1, 2022, only the current list of club members and operating regulations are needed for the district to complete the procedures. From here, the district-level cultural department submits to the provincial level for approval and regular funding. Therefore, in most districts, cities and towns, both new and old commune-level clubs enjoy support policies according to Resolution No. 29 of the Provincial People's Council.

Ms. Phan Thi Anh - Head of Heritage Management Department, Department of Culture and Sports said: "In the province, only Thanh Chuong district has not yet completed and completed the procedures for the Folk Song and Vi Giam Clubs operating before January 1, 2022 to receive regular funding according to Resolution No. 29 of the Provincial People's Council. 4 commune-level Folk Song and Vi Giam Clubs in Thanh Chuong district, especially the Ngoc Son commune Folk Song and Vi Giam Club, have repeatedly made recommendations to the Department. In my opinion, Thanh Chuong district needs to soon create conditions and support the clubs to complete the procedures to receive this policy."