Nghe An promotes cultural values in building new rural areas.
Over the years, many localities in Nghe An province have focused on linking the construction of new rural areas with the development of cultural life at the grassroots level, thanks to which the level of cultural and spiritual enjoyment of the people has seen positive changes.
The bright spots
In 2021, Quynh Doi commune (Quynh Luu district) was recognized as a model new rural commune in terms of culture, becoming the first commune in the province to achieve this status. Mr. Ho Bao Thong, Chairman of the People's Committee of Quynh Doi commune, stated: After being recognized as an advanced new rural commune in 2020, the commune continued to implement the model new rural commune program, focusing on cultural criteria to strongly promote the local tradition of studiousness and cultural heritage.
The commune has 9 classified historical and cultural relics, including 8 national-level historical and cultural relics, so the restoration and preservation of these relics into cultural and spiritual tourism destinations is given priority.
In addition, the commune has also focused on consolidating, building, and perfecting cultural and information facilities worth tens of billions of VND, such as the commune and village cultural centers, stadiums, outdoor sports training areas, libraries, swimming pools, and public address systems. Cultural, artistic, and sports activities take place regularly and enthusiastically, attracting the participation of a large number of people.
In particular, the traditional culture of valuing education is still preserved by every villager. For many years, every Lunar New Year, the commune has organized a spring writing ceremony at the village communal house to honor the outstanding achievements of students who have passed their exams, thereby contributing to promoting the spirit of valuing education so that future generations can follow the tradition of valuing education in the commune.
Mr. Ho Bao Thong – Chairman of the People's Committee of Quynh Doi Commune.
To date, 97% of families in the commune have achieved the title of "Culturally Advanced Family," 27% have achieved the title of "Sports Family," all 8 villages have continuously maintained the title of "Culturally Advanced Village," and the residential areas have been culturally advanced for 5 years or more; 100% of agencies and units in the area have met cultural standards.
Similar to Quynh Doi commune, in Nghi Lien commune (Vinh city), the movement "All people unite to build a cultured life" associated with building new rural areas has been widely implemented, creating a strong ripple effect in the community.
According to Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Duc, Chairman of the Nghi Lien Commune People's Committee, in the movement to build new rural areas, the commune pays special attention to cultural, artistic, and sports activities in the area. The system of cultural and sports facilities has been invested in and upgraded; the movement "All people unite to build a cultured life and a civilized urban area" has been promoted. In addition to the commune's cultural center and two multi-purpose sports arenas that have been built in a modern style, all 10 hamlets in the commune have smart cultural centers built by the people, integrated with security cameras and other information to ensure security, order, and environmental monitoring.
In addition to the activities of the folk song clubs, the commune also has many vibrant arts and sports clubs. To date, all 10 hamlets in the commune have achieved the status of "cultural hamlet," with one hamlet achieving the status of "outstanding exemplary cultural hamlet"; 3 schools have been recognized as cultural units; 95% of households have achieved the title of "Cultural Family," and 45% of families are involved in sports and arts. In early August, Nghi Lien became the first commune in Vinh City to be recognized as a model new rural commune in terms of culture in 2024.
Not only in communes that have achieved the model new rural area status in terms of culture, but also in communes building new rural areas and advanced new rural areas, the implementation of cultural criteria is emphasized. As one of the localities in Thanh Chuong district striving to complete the advanced new rural area criteria in 2023, Thanh Linh commune has focused on mobilizing maximum resources to complete the criteria, with particular emphasis on the cultural criteria.
To date, all six villages in Thanh Linh commune have mobilized contributions from the people to renovate the village cultural centers, ensuring sufficient seating for activities after the merger, and to upgrade and renovate the sports fields using socialized funding. In these villages, cultural, artistic, and sports activities are thriving.
The commune has established and organized various clubs such as: the Folk Song Club, the Club for Preventing and Combating Domestic Violence and Building Sustainable Families, the Volleyball Club, the Football Club, and the Folk Dance Club… attracting over 70% of the people to participate regularly. The percentage of culturally exemplary families in the commune is over 96%; the percentage of families participating in sports is 60%; and all 6 villages have consistently maintained the title of Cultural Village.
Promoting cultural values
Over the years, the movement "All people unite to build a cultured way of life," linked with the emulation movement "The whole country joins forces to build new rural areas," has been widely implemented in almost all communes in the province. Cultural and sports facilities have received attention, investment, renovation, and upgrading; the level of cultural and spiritual enjoyment of the people has seen positive changes.
To date, at the commune level, 446 out of 460 communes have cultural and sports facilities, of which 339 out of 460 communes have facilities that meet the standards. At the village level, 3,751 out of 3,800 villages have cultural centers and sports fields.
Throughout the province, 737,186 out of 851,151 families were recognized as culturally exemplary families; 2,563 out of 3,804 residential areas were recognized as culturally exemplary residential areas; 1,767 agencies, units, and enterprises met cultural standards; 787 clans were recognized as culturally exemplary clans; the percentage of families participating in sports reached 24.5%, and the number of people regularly practicing physical exercise and sports reached 35.2%. In addition, the province has 3,905 amateur performing arts groups at the commune, village, hamlet, and neighborhood levels; and 2,302 clubs at the district and commune levels.
According to statistics, to date, 328 out of 411 communes in the province have met the standards for new rural areas, including 101 communes that have met the standards for advanced new rural areas; 16 communes have met the standards for model new rural areas, of which 5 communes have met the standards for model new rural areas in culture and tourism, including: Kim Lien, Nam Giang, Nam Cat communes (Nam Dan district), Quynh Doi commune (Quynh Luu district), and Nghi Lien commune (Vinh city).
However, according to assessments from relevant sectors, in addition to the achievements, the process of implementing the two cultural criteria in building new rural areas still faces certain difficulties.
Although focused efforts have been made in arranging and managing public assets after the merger of administrative units, some areas still face many difficulties and obstacles, such as in implementing criteria for cultural infrastructure in the new rural development program; some cultural centers, facilities, and places for cultural and sports activities serving the community are not being used, wasting resources of the State and the people.
Planning land use for cultural and sports facilities, especially sports fields, in high-altitude mountainous villages, coastal villages, and some villages in Vinh City still faces difficulties. Furthermore, the development and replication of cultural models, and the preservation and promotion of traditional culture in new rural areas, have not been actively implemented.
To promote cultural values in building new rural areas, it is necessary to encourage people to effectively utilize cultural and sports facilities at the commune, village, and hamlet levels, especially cultural centers in villages and hamlets after mergers; improve the quality of the "All people unite to build a cultured life" movement, build cultured families and cultured villages; promote civilized lifestyles; and innovate methods of organizing and operating cultural development so that culture truly attracts attention and contributes to the construction and development of new rural areas.
Ms. Tran Thi My Hanh – Director of the Department of Culture and Sports
