Vietnam has made breakthroughs in terms of cultural diplomacy in 2009, with its biosphere reserves and cultural heritages added to the list of UNESCO-recognised.
Cham Islands, 20km off the coast of central Quang Nam province’s Hoi An town, and Ca Mau Cape, the southernmost part of the country, were officially recognised as World Biosphere Reserves by the United Nation’s Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organisation (UNESCO) last May, paving the way for a year of success.
Then, a collection of Nguyen dynasty wood blocks was named as a Memory of the World by UNESCO for the first time.
In late September and early October, UNESCO also recognised Quan Ho Bac Ninh singing (Bac Ninh folk love duets) and Ca Tru (ceremonial songs) as part of humanity’s intangible cultural heritage, with the latter needing urgent action to be safeguarded from being lost to history.
As a result, Vietnam has, to date been recognised by the cultural organisation for its numerous assets: a Memory of the World (the Nguyen dynasty wood blocks), nine assets of world natural and cultural heritage-- Ha Long Bay in Quang Ninh province, Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park in Quang Binh province, the Hue ancient city and Hue Royal Music in Thua Thien-Hue province, Hoi An ancient town and My Son tower in Quang Nam province, the Space of Gong Culture in the Central Highlands, along with Quan Ho Bac Ninh and Ca Tru singing, as well as eight world biosphere reserves including Can Gio, Cat Tien, the Red River Delta, Cat Ba, Kien Giang, west Nghe An, Cham Islands and Ca Mau Cape.
Pham Sanh Chau, Head of the Foreign Ministry’s Cultural Diplomacy Department and General Secretary of the Vietnam National UNESCO Committee, said these recognitions are the fruits of a focus on Vietnam’s part on forming a master plan and a detailed roadmap in developing documents for nominations by UNESCO.
However, Chau said, the number of nominations documents submitted by Vietnam is still lower than that of other nations, as the country is not yet fully acquainted with all the possible titles in UNESCO’s list system.
In light of this, he called for stronger and more active involvement from localities and ethnic minority communities in devising nomination documents that are more diverse in terms of the geographic areas they cover and the types of cultural and natural assets to be recognised.
Vietnam has submitted to UNESCO four documents for nominations. The stone steles of doctoral graduates in the Le-Mac dynasties (1442-1779) at Hanoi’s Van Mieu-Quoc Tu Giam (Temple of Literature) has been nominated as a Memory of the World; the stone mountains of Dong Van Plateau in Ha Giang province as a World Geological Park; the Thang Long Royal Citadel as a world cultural heritage site; and the Saint Giong Festival as a part of the world’s intangible cultural heritage./.
Cham Islands, 20km off the coast of central Quang Nam province’s Hoi An town, and Ca Mau Cape, the southernmost part of the country, were officially recognised as World Biosphere Reserves by the United Nation’s Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organisation (UNESCO) last May, paving the way for a year of success.
Then, a collection of Nguyen dynasty wood blocks was named as a Memory of the World by UNESCO for the first time.
In late September and early October, UNESCO also recognised Quan Ho Bac Ninh singing (Bac Ninh folk love duets) and Ca Tru (ceremonial songs) as part of humanity’s intangible cultural heritage, with the latter needing urgent action to be safeguarded from being lost to history.
As a result, Vietnam has, to date been recognised by the cultural organisation for its numerous assets: a Memory of the World (the Nguyen dynasty wood blocks), nine assets of world natural and cultural heritage-- Ha Long Bay in Quang Ninh province, Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park in Quang Binh province, the Hue ancient city and Hue Royal Music in Thua Thien-Hue province, Hoi An ancient town and My Son tower in Quang Nam province, the Space of Gong Culture in the Central Highlands, along with Quan Ho Bac Ninh and Ca Tru singing, as well as eight world biosphere reserves including Can Gio, Cat Tien, the Red River Delta, Cat Ba, Kien Giang, west Nghe An, Cham Islands and Ca Mau Cape.
Pham Sanh Chau, Head of the Foreign Ministry’s Cultural Diplomacy Department and General Secretary of the Vietnam National UNESCO Committee, said these recognitions are the fruits of a focus on Vietnam’s part on forming a master plan and a detailed roadmap in developing documents for nominations by UNESCO.
However, Chau said, the number of nominations documents submitted by Vietnam is still lower than that of other nations, as the country is not yet fully acquainted with all the possible titles in UNESCO’s list system.
In light of this, he called for stronger and more active involvement from localities and ethnic minority communities in devising nomination documents that are more diverse in terms of the geographic areas they cover and the types of cultural and natural assets to be recognised.
Vietnam has submitted to UNESCO four documents for nominations. The stone steles of doctoral graduates in the Le-Mac dynasties (1442-1779) at Hanoi’s Van Mieu-Quoc Tu Giam (Temple of Literature) has been nominated as a Memory of the World; the stone mountains of Dong Van Plateau in Ha Giang province as a World Geological Park; the Thang Long Royal Citadel as a world cultural heritage site; and the Saint Giong Festival as a part of the world’s intangible cultural heritage./.
