Need to create a unique mark on the beautiful cultural identity of Nghe An

Attending the conference were comrade Le Minh Thong - Member of the Provincial Party Standing Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, representatives of the Propaganda Department, departments, branches and 21 districts and cities in the province. Photo: Thanh Nga

Protect and promote 2,598 relics

Last year, the sector actively managed, protected and promoted the value of 2,598 relics and scenic spots that had been inventoried in the province, while also doing a good job of inventorying, compiling records for ranking, restoring, embellishing, renovating, marking, and zoning off relic protection zones. Typically, in 2017, the Prime Minister was asked to decide on the ranking of 1 more Special National Relic (Hoanh Son Communal House, Nam Dan District); the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism was asked to rank 5 national relics; the Provincial People's Committee ranked 32 provincial relics.

In 2017, the department continued to coordinate with the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Ha Tinh to advise the Prime Minister on the Project to Protect and Promote the Value of Nghe Tinh Vi and Giam Folk Songs until 2030 and hoped that this would be a new impetus to promote the Vi and Giam folk song movement to continue to spread in life.

Procession on Lam River during Qua Son Temple Festival (Do Luong). Photo courtesy

Many opinions at the conference agreed with the shortcomings pointed out in the report, such as the traditional culture of ethnic minorities is at risk of fading and being distorted. Cultural policies and mechanisms are implemented through projects and programs that are not effective due to lack of funding or inadequate investment.

Institutionalization and law-making have not kept up with practical requirements. Investment resources for the cultural and artistic sectors have not met the requirements of the tasks, especially resources for preserving and promoting cultural heritage and building cultural institutions, while socialization is increasingly facing many difficulties.

Last year, the work of building grassroots cultural life received attention and focus. Cultural institutions at the grassroots level were basically well implemented, many localities have proposed specific solutions to build effective institutions such as Nghi Loc, Do Luong, Cua Lo districts...

The flower street project undertaken by the Women's Union of Quynh Chau - Quynh Luu commune has created a lot of buzz. Photo: Document

However, in general, the facilities and techniques of museums, traditional houses and cultural institutions in some localities are in a state of degradation or have not yet ensured their functions and lack operating funds. The reason is that the Department of Culture and Sports in districts, cities and towns is still passive in advisory work; management and supervision work has not received due attention.

Investment in sports is still low compared to demand.

In 2017, the mass sports movementdeveloped strongly in both scale and quality. Last year, the industry also successfully organized the 2017-2018 Sports Festival at all levels, in which it directed the completion of the grassroots Sports Festival (480/480 communes, wards, towns and 21/21 districts, cities, towns).

Tug of war competition at the Hoang Muoi Temple Festival. Photo courtesy

However, according to Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Huong - Deputy Director of the Department of Culture and Sports: In reality, investment in physical education and sports is still low compared to the demand. Although there have been many changes in the socialization of physical education and sports, it is not uniform, only stopping at some sports such as: tennis, football, volleyball, badminton...

In addition, the system of facilities and technical equipment serving training and competition organization at the provincial and local levels, especially training and competition equipment for national team athletes, is still lacking, outdated and degraded.

“The mass sports movement has not developed evenly, and has not fully exploited the strengths of the localities. The achievements of high-performance sports are not stable and uniform. The management of non-public sports business establishments in some localities is not strict,” the Deputy Director of the Department of Culture and Sports affirmed.

Need to improve inspection and control work

Speaking at the conference, comrade Le Minh Thong said: The results achieved by the industry in the past year are very remarkable, but the industry also needs to seriously acknowledge the limitations and shortcomings as stated in the report to come up with breakthrough solutions to create further changes in the coming time.

On this occasion, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism awarded the Emulation Flag to 3 units with outstanding achievements in 2017. In the photo: Authorized by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, comrade Le Minh Thong awarded the Emulation Flag to 3 leading units. Photo: Thanh Nga

To achieve the criteria stated in the report, the Vice Chairman of the People's Committee requested the sector to continue administrative reform; improve the effectiveness of inspection, examination and handling of violations, focusing on violations in organizing and managing festivals, restoring and embellishing relics, licensing art performances, advertising, cultural services, sports services, etc.

Besides, it is necessary to pay attention to preserving the values ​​of cultural heritage in general and the heritage of the province in particular so that cultural heritage is truly preserved, protected and promoted sustainably.

Authorized by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, comrade Le Minh Thong awarded Certificates of Merit to collectives with high achievements in 2017. Photo: Thanh Nga

Continue to improve the quality of the movement "All people unite to build a cultural life" associated with the movement to build new rural areas and civilized urban areas; build a healthy lifestyle and cultural environment; promote the implementation of the strategy to develop Vietnamese families; pay attention to mass sports movements.

Special attention should be paid to the quality and effectiveness of propaganda to create a unique mark on the traditions and fine cultural identity of Nghe An.