Overcoming difficulties in building, managing and promoting cultural and sports institutions

On the afternoon of October 7, the working delegation of the Department of Culture and Society, Provincial People's Council led by comrade Chu Duc Thai - Head of the Department of Culture and Society, Provincial People's Council, had a supervision on the construction, management and use ofcultural and sports institutionsat the Department of Culture and Sports.

Working with the delegation were comrade Tran Thi My Hanh - Member of the Provincial Party Executive Committee, Director of the Department of Culture and Sports, and representatives of a number of related departments and units under the department.

There are many difficulties

According to the report of the Department of Culture and Sports on the current status of grassroots cultural and sports institutions, at the district level, 20/21 districts, cities and towns have Cultural - Sports centers; 18/21 district stadiums (3 districts and cities do not have district-level stadiums including Quy Chau, Ky Son, Vinh city); 8/21 districts, cities and towns have gymnasiums managed by the district and 77 single-sport and multi-sport gymnasiums managed by sectors and units in the district.

At the commune level, by the end of 2022, the number of communes, wards and towns with cultural and sports facilities (including cultural houses and sports areas) will be 435/460, reaching 94.6%. Of which, the number of communes, wards and towns with cultural houses will be 445/460 (communes, wards and towns), reaching 96.7%; the number of communes, wards and towns with cultural houses meeting the standards prescribed by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will be 403/445, reaching 90.6%. The number of communes, wards and towns with sports areas will be 437/460, reaching 95%; the number of communes, wards and towns with sports areas meeting the standards prescribed by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will be 393/437, reaching 89.9%.

For villages (hamlets, blocks, and hamlets), the number of villages with cultural and sports facilities (including cultural houses and sports areas) is 3,442/3,797 hamlets, reaching 90.7%. Of which, the number of villages with cultural houses is 3,767/3,797, reaching 92.2%; the number of villages with cultural houses meeting the standards of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is 3,098/3,767 hamlets, reaching 82.2%. The number of villages with sports areas is 3,513/3,797, reaching 92.5%; the number of villages with sports areas meeting the standards of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is 3,005/3,513 hamlets, reaching 85.5%.

In recent times, although activities at grassroots cultural and sports institutions have been increasingly developed, meeting the increasing needs of people to enjoy cultural and spiritual life, the activities of the system of cultural and sports institutions in the province still face some limitations and difficulties. The planning of land for the construction of cultural houses, especially sports grounds of villages in mountainous and coastal areas, and stadiums of communes and wards (belonging to Vinh city) in accordance with regulations is still difficult due to the lack of land or the land fund is not concentrated.

In addition, after the merger of villages, the review and submission to competent authorities of plans to handle public assets, including cultural facilities, of some localities has been slow. Some cultural and sports facilities were planned and built many years ago, so they are small in scale, and cultural houses have deteriorated, failing to meet the needs of people's daily life and community activities. Up to now, there are 33 villages in the province that do not have cultural houses (including 15 villages in religious areas). The progress in implementing the target of communes having cultural and sports facilities that meet the standards set by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in mountainous districts has been slow.

Some localities have invested in cultural houses and stadiums but have not been proactive in innovating methods in organizing and guiding activities in accordance with political tasks and people's cultural enjoyment needs. Mobilizing counterpart resources to receive support according to Resolution No. 30/2020/NQ-HDND dated December 13, 2020 on policies to support the construction of cultural and sports institutions at the grassroots level in Nghe An province until 2025 and Resolution No. 09/2023/NQ-HDND dated July 7, 2023 of the Provincial People's Council regulating policies to support investment in swimming pools and organizing swimming lessons for children in Nghe An province of the Provincial People's Council is very difficult...

Strengthening coordination to invest in synchronous cultural and sports facilities

At the meeting, the Department of Culture and Sports proposed that the Provincial People's Council continue to pay attention to issuing policies and mechanisms to support investment in building grassroots cultural and sports institutions in Nghe An province in the period of 2026-2030, prioritizing increasing the total investment for each cultural and sports institution at the commune and village levels to meet the scale of works serving people's community activities; consider assigning targets for new rural communes and advanced new rural areas to have a basis for building standards for cultural and sports institutions suitable to the actual conditions of the locality.

The meeting participants also discussed related issues such as budget allocation for cultural and sports activities at the grassroots level; implementation of cultural criteria in new rural construction; mechanisms for managing and promoting the effectiveness of cultural and sports institutions at the grassroots level, especially promoting the role of cultural and grassroots institutions in creating playgrounds for youth and children during the summer; improper use of community cultural institutions in some localities; solutions to mobilize resources to effectively implement Resolution No. 30 and Resolution No. 09 of the Provincial People's Council; policies to support cultural and sports collaborators and families in villages, hamlets, blocks, and hamlets in the province...

Concluding the meeting, comrade Chu Duc Thai - Head of the Department of Culture and Society, Provincial People's Council highly appreciated the role of the Department of Culture and Sports in advising the Provincial Party Committee, People's Council, Provincial People's Committee to direct, issue documents and implement legal documents and policies related to the construction, management and effective promotion of cultural and sports institutions.

Sharing the difficulties, limitations and problems raised at the meeting, the Head of the Culture - Social Committee of the Provincial People's Council requested the Department of Culture and Sports to review the implementation of the resolutions of the Provincial People's Council such as Resolution 09, Resolution 30... in order to propose adjustments to the implementation in accordance with reality.

Along with that, clearly assess the difficulties and obstacles in managing cultural and sports institutions in communes and villages after the merger to advise the Provincial People's Council and People's Committee to issue policies to remove obstacles and improve the operational efficiency of cultural and sports institutions; strengthen close coordination with relevant departments and localities to invest in building synchronous cultural and sports institutions, as well as promote the effectiveness of the institutions.