Folk song clubs in Nghe An 'take shortcuts' when accessing support policies

The support policy for artisans and folk clubs, although not large, is a timely encouragement for those who are holding and practicing intangible cultural heritage of humanity. However, there are still shortcomings surrounding the implementation of Resolution 29 at the grassroots level.

As reported, up to now, after 3 years of implementing Resolution 29/2021/NQ - HDND, dated December 9, 2021 (hereinafter referred to as Resolution 29), but4 commune-level clubs in Thanh Chuong districthave not yet received support from the Resolution. The reason is that these commune-level clubs have not been fully established and completed procedures to comply with Point a, Clause 1, Article 3 (Clubs for preserving and promoting intangible cultural heritage must have their establishment decisions and charters approved by the Chairman of the District People's Committee) stipulated in this Resolution. It is worth noting that this is only an exceptional case in Thanh Chuong district, while other localities across the province have had many immediate measures, "shortcuts" to help commune-level clubs complete their dossiers in accordance with the provisions of Resolution 29.

Clubs only need to be completed to enjoy the policy.

Hung Nguyen district currently has 17 commune-level Vi and Giam folk song clubs, which are operating steadily, including 14 old clubs and 3 newly established clubs after Resolution 29/2021/NQ - People's Council, dated December 9, 2021 was issued. The advantage of the clubs in Hung Nguyen district is that up to this point, all clubs established before January 1, 2022 and newly established clubs after this time have completed the procedures to be granted regimes in the spirit of Resolution 29.

Ms. Hoang Thi Hoai Thanh - Head of the Department of Culture of Hung Nguyen district said: "After the Resolution was issued, we have checked and reviewed the clubs that have been operating recently with many results and are expected to be promoted in the long term. Through the review, we see that the Folk Song Club of Phan Village in Hung Tan Commune and the Folk Song Club of Hung Dao have a lot of potential with quite systematic activities.

In particular, the Folk Song Club of Lang Phan is considered to have a profound influence on people's lives. The performances of the Club are widely responded to and recognized by the people and tourists from near and far. More importantly, currently the Folk Song Club of Lang Phan is not under the shadow of the Hung Tan Folk Song Club, which was established decades ago, but they operate independently and have new and unique features. Therefore, the establishment of a new Club in a hamlet in a commune that already has a long-standing Club is also a remarkable thing."

Ms. Thanh also said that after Resolution 29 was issued with the advice of grassroots levels, the district established a district-level folk song club with the core being key members of commune-level clubs. "The purpose of establishing the district-level club is not only to serve political events in the district, but also to establish a semi-professional team to participate in provincial-level competitions or inter-provincial mobile propaganda competitions," Ms. Thanh said.

A special thing in Hung Nguyen district is that 14 clubs established before January 1, 2022 were all approved by the Chairman of the District People's Committee before Resolution 29 was issued. "This is rare in the province, when in most localities, commune-level clubs only have establishment decisions signed by the Chairman of the Commune People's Committee" - Mr. Nguyen Thanh Ngan - expert of Hung Nguyen District Cultural Center said.

The reason why the commune-level clubs were approved by Hung Nguyen district before Resolution 29 was issued was because of the attention of the team of "hand-holding" experts, who had foreseen the legitimacy of a commune-level club if approved by the district.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Ngan also said: "Decades ago, the district had more than 10 clubs established by the commune and approved by the Chairman of the People's Committee at the commune level, but because we followed the regulations on building the model of Vi and Giam Folk Song Club at the provincial level, which is that the commune-level club must be approved by the district level, we guided the communes to approve it. Therefore, later on, all newly established clubs were guided by us according to those regulations even though Resolution 29 was not yet available."

Thanks to the timely attention and close supervision of cultural officers in Hung Nguyen district, up to now, all 17 clubs have received support in the spirit of Resolution 29.

Similar to the way Hung Nguyen district did, Nam Dan district now has 14 clubs enjoying policies in the spirit of Resolution 29. All clubs established before January 1, 2022 are guided by the district to complete procedures for reorganization.

“As soon as Resolution 29 was issued, we reviewed all 10 old clubs that had been established and operated for many years, and then instructed them to reorganize according to the spirit of the Resolution. Restructuring sounds like a big deal, but in reality, the clubs only need to organize a congress with temporary members,” said Mr. Phan Van Tinh, Director of the Nam Dan District Cultural Center. According to Mr. Tinh, the Vi and Giam Folk Song Clubs established in Nam Dan District have had great advantages in accessing support policies from Resolution 29.

What direction to remove the problems for 4 clubs in Thanh Chuong district?

As reported, 4 Vi and Giam Folk Song Clubs at the commune level in Thanh Chuong district have been established for many years but have not yet enjoyed the policies under Resolution 29. Mr. Dang Van Hoa - Head of the Department of Culture of Thanh Chuong district said: "Immediately after Resolution No. 29 was issued, we issued an official dispatch instructing the communes to complete the dossiers according to the provisions of the resolution, but because according to Point a, Clause 1, Article 3 of Resolution No. 29, the condition for support is that the Chairman of the People's Committee at the district level 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 at the commune level. Therefore, Vi and Giam Folk Song Clubs in Ngoc Son, Dai Dong, Thanh Linh, and Dong Van communes have not yet had access to policy resources".

In addition, the completion and approval of the dossier must also be assessed by the Department of Internal Affairs. Mr. Dau Ba San - Deputy Head of the Department of Internal Affairs of Thanh Chuong district said: Up to this point, I still affirm that in order for the commune-level club to have its charter approved by the district, the district-level club, the Song Lam Club, newly established in 2023, must have an opinion. I have requested the district-level club many times, but the head of this club has not yet taken any action to review and propose to us.

However, according to Mr. Dang Van Hoa - Head of the Department of Culture of Thanh Chuong district: It is completely unnecessary to let the district-level Club approve the reorganization of the commune-level Club, because according to the provisions of Decree 45 of the Government on the organization of Association activities and Guiding Document No. 2079/UBND-VX dated March 30, 2022 of the Provincial People's Committee on the implementation of Resolution No. 29/2021/NQ-HDND dated December 9, 2021 of the Provincial People's Council, the commune-level Club established before January 1, 2022 only needs to be reorganized.

According to Document 2079/UBND-VX dated March 30, 2022 of the Provincial People's Committee on the implementation of Resolution No. 29/2021/NQ-HDND dated December 9, 2021 of the Provincial People's Council:

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.

The spirit of Resolution 29 is to add motivation and resources for artisans and clubs in the field of intangible cultural heritage to operate with more enthusiasm and sustainability. This is a policy that has been responded to by a large number of artisans and clubs; therefore, in order for the policy to be implemented in a timely manner, any problems need to be resolved promptly, and relevant levels and sectors must coordinate synchronously, closely and actively to achieve high efficiency, meeting the expectations of the majority of cultural workers.

According to Ms. Phan Thi Anh, Head of Heritage Department - Department of Culture & Sports: Currently, there are 17 districts, cities and towns with Vi and Giam folk song clubs enjoying the regime according to the spirit of Resolution 29. Of all the districts, cities and towns with Vi and Giam folk song clubs at the commune level operating regularly and effectively, up to now, only Thanh Chuong district has not yet had access to this policy source.

Clause 1, 2, Article 3, Resolution 29 stipulates: Clubs for Preservation and Promotion of Intangible Cultural Heritage must have their establishment decisions and charters approved by the Chairman of the District People's Committee; Have a board of directors and at least 20 members; Regularly conduct at least one meeting per 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.