VN
EN
30/07/2025, 15:00
Awakening cultural strength: An opportunity to affirm national position
At the first National Cultural Conference in 1946, President Ho Chi Minh stressed that culture lights the way for the nation. The great leader’s teachings have become a fundamental, consistent, and enduring view in Ho Chi Minh’s thought on the role of culture in the revolutionary cause and national development. This perspective has been thoroughly grasped and further developed by the Party over the years, particularly since the 13th National Party Congress in 2021.
A European perspective: Unity in diversity
Culture lies at the heart of the European integration project and is an essential part of the European Union’s (EU) development. Today, EU politicians recognise that culture is not a luxury or a decorative addition to the life of a prosperous society, but an essential factor closely tied to politics, economics, and security (Miquel Iceta I Llorens, Culture and its capital role, Big Issues).
Currently, amid an era of crises and unpredictable changes, the EU is placing even greater emphasis on the role of culture. As Spanish politician Miquel Iceta affirms, in times of uncertainty, bold cultural policies are needed to address future challenges. The Spanish government has shown a clear political commitment to artists and cultural workers by establishing the Artist Statute, improving their working conditions and incomes, and investing in future generations through the Bono Cultural Joven programme, which grants young people access to culture as an effective means of fostering critical, free, creative minds engaged with national culture (¿QUÉ ES EL BONOCULTURAL JOVEN?, https://bonoculturajoven.gob.es/).
Globally, at the 2022 UNESCO Conference, 150 countries, influenced by the EU initiative, agreed to include culture as a sustainable development goal beyond 2030 (SDG Post-2030). For the first time in history, culture has been defined not only as a citizen’s right (cultural rights) but also as a “global public good” that all governments have the responsibility to protect, promote, and develop.
Culture: The source of creativity
Resolution No. 03-NQ/TW dated July 16, 1998, of the Party Central Committee at the 5th Plenum (8th Tenure) on building and developing an advanced Vietnamese culture imbued with national identity, affirmed that Vietnamese culture is the crystallisation of thousands of years of development and resilient struggles to build and defend the country by the Vietnamese ethnic communities, while also absorbing the cultural essence of humanity to achieve continuous refinement. Culture has shaped the soul, mettle, and spirit of Viet Nam, contributing to glorifying national history. Integration is an opportunity for us to absorb humanity’s intellectual achievements, but it also presents challenges in preserving national cultural identity — unity in diversity.
The 13th National Party Congress further affirmed that culture is an endogenous strength, a driving force for national development and defence. Culture is not only a heritage but also a foundation for human development, nation-building, and elevating Viet Nam’s position on the international stage. The Cultural Development Strategy to 2030 underscores that building and developing an advanced culture imbued with national identity, humanity, democracy, and scientific spirit — reflecting unity in the diversity of the ethnic communities — is the cause of the entire people, led by the Party, managed by the State, with the people as creative subjects, and intellectuals, artists, and cultural workers playing the core role.
Resolution 138/NQ-CP on the National Master Plan for 2021–2030, with a vision to 2050, continues to emphasise the need to preserve cultural identity, promote the nation’s fine traditional values, build a living environment in harmony with nature, and develop a circular, green, low-emission economy.
Promoting Vietnamese culture should not merely be about “traditional showcases” but should be linked to modern, creative, and globally relatable stories, in which the contributions of artists and cultural workers are indispensable.
Culture is not only a spiritual foundation but also the wellspring of creativity, the adhesive binding communities together, and a firm support for the nation to rise strongly on its path of development and integration. Building culture is the shared cause of the entire Vietnamese people, requiring methodical, long-term investment with strategic vision. Viet Nam today is both a destination for many world cultures and a nation with potential to export cultural value through music, cinema, fashion, design, cuisine, and more.
Additionally, the idea of selecting exemplary Vietnamese cities to serve as national cultural centres for a year is a concept worth researching and piloting. This model could help highlight each locality’s unique cultural features, deepen their connection with the national cultural flow, and create sustainable links between central and local levels. At the same time, it could serve as a foundation for elevating Viet Nam’s cultural position within ASEAN through artistic exchange, creative collaboration, heritage promotion, and, more broadly, as an effective soft power tool to connect Viet Nam with the international cultural community, grounded in respect for diversity and identity.
RECOMMENDED TOPICS
