In recent years, provinces in the Central Highlands have implemented numerous effective measures to preserve and promote their intangible cultural heritages, contributing to maintaining the cultural identities of ethnic minority groups in the region.

The provinces have worked with authorised sectors to collect 801 epics, and draw up a list of 388 artisans who can recite these works. Of the total, 123 epics from seven ethnic groups were translated and 75 of them were published in both Vietnamese and ethnic languages.

They also made public hundreds of books on the culture of ethnic minority groups, and restored their traditional cultural activities like epic reciting and gong performances.

The region has preserved and promoted the languages and handwriting of ethnic minorities by including them in the curricula of local primary and secondary schools, and lengthening TV programmes in ethnic languages.

The “Dan toc va Mien nui” (Nationalities and Mountain) pictorial, owned by Vietnam News Agency, is also published in both Vietnamese and ethnic languages such as Ede, Jarai, K’ho and M’nong to be provided free of charge for villages and schools in the Central Highlands.

Vietnam’s Central Highlands region comprises five provinces, namely Kon Tum, Lam Dong, Gia Lai, Dak Lak and Dak Nong. It is home to many ethnic minority groups, including M’nong, Ede, Bana, Jarai and Xo Dang.-VNA