Regarding the awarding of the title of "Outstanding Artisan"

From the applications that were not approved.

Recently, Ms. Hoang Thi Dung and many others at the Xuan Thanh Commune Traditional Opera Club in Yen Thanh District have been concerned because no one in the club has been awarded the title of "Outstanding Artisan" this time. Previously, the club had submitted applications for consideration, including many artisans with over 40 years of practice, who have received numerous prestigious awards and have been recognized and encouraged by the government and the people.

Traditional Vietnamese opera in Yen ThanhIt is a unique intangible cultural heritage that the artisans of Xuan Thanh commune have preserved for decades. Ms. Dung confided: “Our Xuan Thanh commune Traditional Opera Club has been active for many years and has won many awards, both big and small. Among them, the Dao Tan Award, given in 2023, is the most prestigious award for those of us who preserve and transmit traditional opera culture. We thought that after receiving the award, along with other commendations from various levels and our long history of achievements, those of us practicing this long-standing heritage would be awarded the title of Outstanding Artisan, but everyone was saddened because no one from the Ke Gam Traditional Opera Club of Xuan Thanh commune was considered for the award this time.”

Ms. Hoang Thi Dung is an artist who has been involved with traditional Vietnamese opera (tuong) for over 40 years. She specializes in playing leading male roles and female lead characters. She was also chosen to perform on stage at the Dao Tan Award ceremony in 2024. She has a great talent for performing tuong and has been passing on her skills for decades.

Mr. Dang Van Huy, head of the Ke Gam Traditional Opera Club in Xuan Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district, said: "Traditional opera is a unique cultural feature of our Ke Gam village. It not only creates a distinctive character for the village but also deeply ingrained itself in the lives and thoughts of many people. In Ke Gam, anyone, from the elderly to young children, young people to senior citizens, can sing traditional opera. However, only those with exceptional talent can take on roles in traditional opera. This year, when preparing applications for the three artists of the Ke Gam Traditional Opera Club in Xuan Thanh commune, the commune authorities provided guidance to ensure the applications met the criteria. However, we are very saddened that all three applications were rejected," Mr. Huy confided.

This year, Yen Thanh district submitted 19 dossiers in various genres including traditional opera, folk songs (Vi and Giam), and ceremonial drumming, with 7 dossiers belonging to the traditional opera genre. According to a representative from the district's Department of Culture, Science and Information, only 5 out of 19 dossiers have been approved for submission to the Ministry. The 5 dossiers approved this time are already a great success. In reality, Yen Thanh district currently only has 6 Outstanding Artisans; in some years, out of 30 dossiers submitted for the Outstanding Artisan title, only 1 was approved, and only 1 artisan was awarded the title.

"Choosing the best option from a bundle of chopsticks"

Representatives from the Culture, Science, and Information Department of Yen Thanh District stated that some errors may occur during the online application process. Previously, applications were submitted and supplemented at the district level before being forwarded to the provincial level. However, now all applications are submitted online to the provincial level without going through the district-level review process, so some applications may be incomplete. Meanwhile, for the Tuong (classical Vietnamese opera) genre, the difficulty for the artists practicing and preserving this cultural heritage is that they have few opportunities and spaces to showcase their talents, so their applications lack the depth compared to applications for other types of heritage.

Besides Yen Thanh district, Quynh Luu district also has many applications for the title of "Outstanding Artisan" this time. According to Mr. Pham Van Giang - Head of the Culture, Science and Information Department of Quynh Luu district: "This time, we have 9 applications, all related to the Nghe An folk song heritage, but only 1 was approved by the province. We also find it regrettable, but because the artisans submitted their applications directly through the online system, we did not review them before sending them, which is probably why many applications still have shortcomings."

Regarding the issue of many applications, despite strong community support, not being approved by the provincial authorities, Ms. Phan Thi Anh, Head of the Cultural Heritage Management Department of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, stated: Many applications did not demonstrate outstanding achievements in the preservation and practice of this type of heritage by the elderly women and men.

Furthermore, the criteria for awarding the titles of "People's Artisan" and "Outstanding Artisan" in the field of intangible cultural heritage at the provincial level must comply with Government Regulation 93/2023/ND-CP dated December 25, 2023: Individuals who possess and practice the heritage and are considered for the titles of Outstanding Artisan and People's Artisan must have exceptionally outstanding talent or professional skills, representative of the type of intangible cultural heritage being honored; and have made significant and recognized contributions to the protection and promotion of the value of the intangible cultural heritage they possess, demonstrated by their understanding, knowledge, secrets, and practical skills related to the type of intangible cultural heritage they hold. They possess valuable intellectual or material products of historical, cultural, scientific, artistic, aesthetic, and technical significance, contributing to the preservation and enrichment of intangible cultural heritage values, and the cultural, economic, and social development of the local community; they have taught many individuals who have participated or are participating in the protection and promotion of intangible cultural heritage values... Many of the elderly people have not clearly demonstrated this in their records.

Reportedly, during this review period, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism received 130 applications but only approved 50 to be sent to the ministerial level for review. These included 3 applications for People's Artisan and 47 applications for Distinguished Artisan.

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“A dossier must receive 90% of the votes from the evaluation committee. Therefore, the evaluation committee has 11 members, and at least 10 votes are required for a dossier to be approved. We have also reviewed the dossiers very fairly, but there are still many opinions from the grassroots, especially from those who were not approved in this round. Among them are individuals who have held and practiced the heritage for over 40 years, possessing outstanding talent and enthusiasm in passing it on. This is regrettable, but choosing the best from a limited pool of options is very difficult for the evaluation committee. The dossiers that did not meet the criteria need to accumulate more experience and improve to be fully approved in the next review.”

Ms. Phan Thi Anh - Head of the Cultural Heritage Management Department

Thanh Nga