What direction for the cultural post office?

Part 1: A special cultural institution

In 1998, the model of Post Office - Commune Culture Point (BĐ-VHX) was officially established and widely deployed throughout the province. By providing many postal, telecommunication, free reading services... before 2005, BĐ-VHX points met the communication needs of people, especially in rural, mountainous, remote and isolated areas.

"Insider" story

Mr. Nguyen Van Tu, former Director of the Provincial Post Office, who directly directed the construction of the model of the communal post office in the period of 1998-2002, said: "Before 1998, postal and telecommunications activities in the province were still quiet. Especially in rural and mountainous areas, the postal and telecommunications service was not yet developed, each district had only a few post offices. People who wanted to use the postal and telecommunications service had to travel dozens of kilometers. Especially in mountainous districts, to send a letter or make a phone call, people had to walk two or three days through the forest to reach the post office of the commune cluster center. Due to difficulties and hardships, and lack of access to information channels (telegrams, telephones, newspapers, etc.), the intellectual level of people in these areas was very low, and economic life was underdeveloped... When building communal post offices, the industry prioritized public services and social security, and efficiency came second. business, is profit."

Implementing Resolution 5 of the Central Committee (VIII term) on building an advanced Vietnamese culture imbued with national identity, including solutions to bring information to the grassroots, especially in remote areas, to propagate the Party's guidelines and policies, the State's policies and laws, disseminate scientific and technical knowledge to apply in production and business, and increase the level of cultural enjoyment for the people; at the end of 1998, the Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Corporation issued Decision 267 on investing in the construction, organization and operation of cultural exchange points in communes.

Exploiting Internet services at the Thanh Duong Commune Cultural and Sports Center (Thanh Chuong).

Implementing that policy, our province has directed the planning of land for the construction of BĐVHXH points, which have been invested in quite synchronously, including working houses, with an average total construction value for each point of 70-120 million VND, along with telecommunications equipment such as: telephones, internet, books, newspapers, cultural products, tables and chairs... In 1998, Nghe An Post Office built and put into operation 68 points. By 2009, 404 BĐVHXH points were in operation. The establishment of BĐVHXH points has helped people, especially in rural mountainous areas, remote areas... to access telecommunications services conveniently; to be provided with information, to disseminate science and technology to apply in production to bring high efficiency.

The budget for building the BĐVHXH points is taken from the production development source of the Post and Telecommunications sector. Understanding the role of the BĐVHXH points, the authorities of the communes prioritize land funds and plan the BĐVHXH points in "prime" locations (located in the center of the commune, with a lot of people passing by, ensuring safety, not affected by natural disasters...). In 2000, the Provincial Post Office was awarded the title "Labor Hero of the Renovation Period", contributing to that list of achievements is the "breakthrough" activities of the BĐVHXH points. It can be considered that the period 1998-2002 was the "golden" period of the BĐVHXH.

A special cultural institution....

As a commune in the border area, although it was established late (in 2004), Thanh Thuy Social Post Office (Thanh Chuong) has really brought practical benefits to local people. Previously, when people wanted to send letters or transfer money to their children studying far away, they had to go to town nearly 20km away. When the Social Post Office was established, all services such as: calling and receiving phone calls, sending letters, postal items, parcels, ordering newspapers, transferring money... were all provided on the spot. In addition, the Social Post Office is also a place where farmers can access knowledge about science and technology in production, legal documents, and social knowledge through a system of free books, newspapers, and magazines. The demand for postal and telecommunications services of people in the commune is very large, so the Thanh Chuong District Post Office had to install an additional telephone booth at this location. At Thanh Thuy Social Security Point alone, at its peak, monthly revenue from stamp sales and telephone services was up to 15-17 million VND. Mr. Nguyen Van Hong, a resident of Thanh Thuy Commune, said: "At that time (2004-2007), at the Social Security Point, people had to wait in line to make phone calls. The phone booths were always full of people..." By 2005, Thanh Chuong had closed the Social Security Point model in the entire district with 38/38 communes, with monthly revenue from the Social Security Points being approximately 100 million VND.

Not only providing postal and telecommunication services, the establishment of the postal service points also created jobs for more than 400 young workers in rural areas with stable income. At the same time, the postal service points also generated revenue for the post office. Initially (in 1998), the average revenue of each postal service point was 784,000 VND/month; by 2005, it reached 2,093,000 VND/month.

In particular, out of 404 BĐVHX points, there are 113 points in mountainous districts, remote areas of the districts: Anh Son, Tuong Duong, Con Cuong, Anh Son, Tan Ky, Quy Hop, Quy Chau, Que Phong. Of which, 66 points are in extremely difficult communes, in public telecommunications areas, BĐVHX also plays a very important political role. After the BĐVHX point system was established, it created a widespread postal and telecommunications network with 519 service points throughout the province; shortening the distance of service use to 3km/point, serving 4,500 people/point.

Mr. Thai Khac Sung, Director of Thanh Chuong District Post Office said: "Before 2005, the Social Post Office played an important role in improving the quality of life in rural areas, especially in mountainous communes and communes in extremely difficult areas. The Social Post Office plays the role of an extension of the local Information and Communications sector, making an important contribution to implementing Resolution 5 of the Party Central Committee on building grassroots culture..."

When it first started operating, VNPT provided initial funding of 1.5 million VND and 500,000 VND/year for the BPOs to buy books and newspapers on agriculture, rural areas, animal husbandry, and cultivation to serve the people. In addition, each BPO regularly has dozens of newspapers and magazines. In addition, the Department of Culture also directed the Provincial and District Libraries to transfer books to the BPOs and the Department of Justice also directed the transfer of legal bookshelves from the Commune People's Committee to the BPOs for the convenience of the people. Thanks to the bookcase, farmers have useful information to grow rice, fruit trees, and produce crops, so productivity has increased significantly... Mr. Luong Quang Phung (Kim Tien village, Kim Da commune (old), Tuong Duong district) happily said: "Thanks to being exposed to books, newspapers, and farming techniques from the cultural bookcase at the commune post office, my mind has gradually been opened. I know how to grow hybrid corn, know how to intensively increase crops, know how to prevent diseases for livestock and poultry in the cold season... Thanks to that, my family's economy has gradually stabilized and developed, becoming a well-off household in the village.

Many households in disadvantaged areas with poor transportation, thanks to the "call" at the BĐVHX points, have grasped the market price situation; joined hands with traders in the lowlands; found ways to promote their family's, village's, and commune's products and goods on the Internet to increase the value of their products. That is the case of plum-growing households in Muong Long (Ky Son), households of ethnic minorities in Huoi Tu, Pha Danh (Ky Son) who changed their way of doing business from self-sufficiency to commodity production; knew how to exchange vegetables and corn for grocery items to sell to relatives and villagers...

During the period from 1998 to 2005, the BĐVHX point was a model for implementing "the Party's will and the people's heart", contributing positively to the development of the rural economy and culture. However, this model has now revealed many shortcomings and needs to be adjusted to suit the development in the new period.

(continued)

Thanh Phuc