President Vo Van Thuong: People's artists and meritorious artists are truly 'valuable assets of the country'

Attending the ceremony were: Permanent Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Tran Thanh Man; Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Head of the Central Propaganda Department Nguyen Trong Nghia; Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha; Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Chairman of the State Council for the 10th conferment of the title of People's Artist and Meritorious Artist Nguyen Van Hung.

Also attending were leaders of central departments, ministries, branches, socio-political organizations, the National Committee of the Vietnam Union of Literature and Arts Associations and central professional associations; representatives of the Hanoi People's Committee; members of the State Council for the 10th conferment of the title of People's Artist and Meritorious Artist; leaders of units under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and many artists, representatives of the families of the late artists who were conferred the title this time.

389 artists have outstanding artistic talent, have made many contributions to the cause of building and developing the nation's cultural and artistic foundation, of which 125 artists were awarded or posthumously awarded the title of People's Artist; 264 artists were awarded or posthumously awarded the title of Meritorious Artist. The 10th ceremony to award the title of People's Artist and Meritorious Artist demonstrates the deep concern of the Party and State for artists.

Artists make important contributions to the great achievements of historical significance of the country.

At the ceremony, on behalf of the Party and State leaders and with respect and admiration for the artists, President Vo Van Thuong sent the artists his warmest regards and best wishes.

President Vo Van Thuong emphasized that the thousands of years of history of building and defending the country of the Vietnamese people can also be considered the history of the formation and development of culture and art, because it is through labor, building and defending the country that the Vietnamese people have created good cultural values ​​and unique art forms to reflect the rhythms of labor, solidarity, love, courage in fighting against natural disasters, enemies and beautiful dreams about life.

On the basis of patriotism and humanity, cultural and artistic forms have praised love for humanity and country, aroused and encouraged the will to fight for national independence, build and protect the Fatherland. Culture and art from a form of social consciousness has transformed into a material strength to help our people overcome countless difficulties and challenges, defeat all invaders, liberate the country, bring the country back together, together heal the wounds of war, build new people, new lives.

The renovation career over the past 40 years and the great achievements of historical significance of the country are an endless source of inspiration and a great motivation for a team of talented, sensitive artists who are always exploring, innovating, and creating art rich in content and diverse in form, conquering many audiences.

Artists in each art form, with their own language and method of expression, have created many good works that make cultural and artistic life increasingly colorful, vividly reflecting the great innovation of the country, nurturing the soul, guiding people to good values ​​of truth, goodness, and beauty, making an important contribution to building the spiritual foundation of society.

The President affirmed that People's Artists and Meritorious Artists are truly "valuable assets of the country", regardless of age or ethnicity, they have all made valuable contributions to Vietnamese culture, contributing significantly to the great achievements of historical significance of the country.

In this solemn ceremony, the President proposed to pay tribute to generations of talented artists who have devoted and sacrificed for the revolutionary cause of the Party and the nation; to express our most precious, deepest, and most sincere feelings to artists who are always dedicated and devoted to their profession, with their artistic talent and love for humanity, love for the country, responsibility for the Fatherland and the people, working and creating persistently, actively contributing to the cause of building and defending the Fatherland; among them, there are artists who are no longer here to hear their names called at this Honoring Ceremony.

Artists must constantly innovate and create.

The President said that the new context and new opportunities intertwined with many difficulties and challenges are posing increasingly high requirements and tasks for the fields of artistic activities, in which the most important task is: Promoting the good values ​​of Vietnamese culture and people, cultivating the qualities of Vietnamese citizens and people in the new era, encouraging aspirations and will to rise up, arousing optimism, passion for work, responsibility, discipline, and creativity; promoting national pride, the spirit of great solidarity, the will to be self-reliant and self-reliant, and the aspiration to develop Vietnam to become increasingly prosperous and the society to become more civilized and progressive.

The team of cultural and artistic activities must constantly innovate, explore and experiment with new methods of expression suitable for Vietnamese culture, reaching regional and world levels, producing many good works, conveying humane and beautiful values, meeting the people's increasing demand for cultural enjoyment, narrowing the gap in cultural enjoyment between urban and rural areas, between regions and social classes, between plains and mountainous areas, remote and isolated areas; contributing to creating strong changes in social development management, implementing social progress and justice, improving the quality of life and happiness index of Vietnamese people.

Have appropriate policies to take care of artists, ensuring that artists can make a living from their profession.

The President requested agencies, organizations, ministries, sectors and localities to continue to deeply understand the role of culture and arts and artists; continue to care for, encourage and motivate the country's cultural and artistic workforce to promote their talents, artistic creativity, and dedication with full awareness of difficulties, challenges and opportunities in development, their social responsibilities and civic duties, and contribute more to the cause of developing an advanced Vietnamese culture imbued with national identity, building and defending the Fatherland.

There should be appropriate policies to take care of artists, ensuring that artists can make a living from their profession. Pay attention to nurturing young talents, especially in traditional art fields that are lacking in the next generation.

Respect the characteristics of artistic creation, the creative freedom of artists, promote a healthy democratic life. Create favorable conditions and environments, encourage artists to penetrate reality, engage in the vast, vivid reality of social life, explore and exploit the values ​​and beauty of the country and people of Vietnam, bring traditional art forward with the times, spread the love of life and the beautiful, great aspirations of the entire nation.

Encourage artists to participate in foreign cultural activities, bring the image of Vietnam, the country and its people to international friends, enhance the attractiveness of Vietnamese national culture, absorb the quintessence of world culture, and enrich the richness of Vietnamese culture.

Timely honor and reward artists for their dedication and hard work. Carefully review and consider awarding the title of People's Artist and Meritorious Artist to artists with outstanding artistic talent who are deserving but have not been honored.

The President believes that with generations of artists following each other firmly with rich and diverse creative abilities and passionate love for the Fatherland, deeply attached to the people and the cause of innovation led by the Party, the country's artists will create many good works of high ideological and artistic value, of great significance to the times, building a social spiritual foundation, making even greater contributions to the nation's journey forward.

The awarding work is carried out in accordance with the correct procedures and processes.

At the ceremony, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung said that, implementing the Party and State's policy of awarding the noble titles of People's Artist and Meritorious Artist to individuals working in the field of culture and arts, since the first round held in 1984, through 9 times of organization, 452 artists have been awarded the title of People's Artist, 2,621 artists have been awarded the title of Meritorious Artist; actively contributing to the cause of cultural development, building an advanced culture imbued with national identity.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism always strictly implements the provisions of the Law on Emulation and Commendation. At the same time, it coordinates with relevant departments, ministries and branches to review and propose competent authorities to amend and supplement regulations on emulation and commendation in the direction of administrative reform; ensuring favorable conditions for individuals in the process of considering and awarding the titles of People's Artist and Meritorious Artist.

The awarding work is carried out in accordance with the procedures and documents prescribed in Decree 89/2014/ND-CP and Decree No. 40/2021/ND-CP of the Government.

Applications for consideration go through three council levels: the grassroots council, the ministerial/provincial council and the state council. The higher council only considers applications submitted by the lower council.

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung said that compared to previous awards, this awarding process has many new points. Decree No. 40/2021/ND-CP of the Government has created more favorable conditions for artists. In particular, the Decree stipulates more specific criteria for awards in the title; adds the consideration and awarding of titles to subjects with outstanding contributions and excellent artistic talents discussed and evaluated by councils at all levels as special cases submitted to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision; clearly stipulates how to calculate professional working time...

In this award consideration, the State Council received 139 applications for the title of People's Artist and 348 applications for the title of Meritorious Artist.

Pursuant to the provisions of law, the Council held a meeting to vote. Accordingly, there were 136 dossiers proposing to consider awarding the title of People's Artist and 347 dossiers proposing to consider awarding the title of Meritorious Artist that met the conditions to report to the Prime Minister for consideration to submit to the President to award the title of People's Artist and Meritorious Artist for the 10th time.

With the spirit of impartiality, objectivity and high responsibility of the Councils at all levels, the work of considering and awarding the titles of People's Artist and Meritorious Artist for the 10th time has completed the set goals and requirements. The President signed the Decisions on conferring the titles of People's Artist and Meritorious Artist. Specifically, 125 Meritorious Artists were conferred or posthumously conferred the title of People's Artist; 264 artists were conferred or posthumously conferred the title of Meritorious Artist.