Hanoi (VNA) - Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam has urged the NationalCouncil for Cultural Heritage to focus more on the preservation and promotionof relics to make them a source of strength for national development.
TheDeputy PM made the call during a council meeting on January 5.
He expressedhis appreciation towards the contributions of council members over the lastseveral years, particularly in assessing applications for official recognitionof relics at different levels.
Dam directedthe Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the council to promote theapplication of information technology, suggesting building a digital museum.
Speaking at the meeting, the council’s Chairman Professor Luu Tran Tieu saidVietnam is now home to more than 40,000 relics, of which 112 have earnedspecial national recognition while 3,560 and 10,109 have achieved national andprovincial status, respectively.
Vietnam has so far had eight cultural and natural heritages and 13 intangiblecultural heritages recognised by UNESCO, he said, adding that a total of 179museums have been founded in the country with nearly 4 million items ondisplay. It has also recognised 127 historic items and groups of items asnational treasures.
The council organised a number of plenary sessions between 2015 and 2020 toverify nominations submitted to the Prime Minister on seeking UNESCOrecognition for a tug-of-war folk game, the Viet Beliefs in the MotherGoddesses of Three Realms, Phu Tho’s Xoan singing, Bai Choi singing, and thePractices of Then by the Tay, Nung, and Thai ethnic minority groups, amongothers.
The professor said the council will continue to provide consultation and workout key plans, strategies, and policies regarding the protection and promotionof cultural heritage values during this tenure. It will also contribute ideasto the building of legal documents in cultural heritages.
Tieu later proposed the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism takeresponsibility in developing a programme for the sustainable conservation andpromotion of cultural heritage values over the next 10 years, replacing thetarget programme on cultural development for 2016-2020; and a decree for themanagement of UNESCO-recognised intangible cultural heritage./.