Culture – an endogenous strength

The National Cultural Conference, which will take place on November 24, is a very important event aimed at implementing the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress on comprehensive human development and building an advanced Vietnamese culture imbued with a strong sense of national identity that will become an endogenous strength and driving force for the national development and defence.

Vietnam has a large number of workers in the cultural, literary and arts sectors. Over the past 35 years implementing Doi Moi (Renewal), cultural and artistic work has made significant contributions to the country’s common development. However, during the 4.0 period, culture is facing many new opportunities and challenges. Therefore, the Party, State and agricultural sector should agree the major directions and tasks for cultural and artistic work during 2021-2026, with a vision to 2045. The conference will be an opportunity for culturalists, intellectuals, writers and artists to voice their enthusiastic opinions. Through the event, the cultural sector in the country and abroad will uphold solidarity to serve the country and people as well as promote the great national unity bloc.

Culture has always been the foundation and motivation for all aspects of social life. In the development of a socialist-oriented market economy, culture plays a pivotal role. If culture is abandoned, the country will face the risk of losing its identity and the onset of the fading of traditional values. To become an endogenous strength, culture needs the care and orientation of the Party and State. In particular, the consolidation, development, training and use of intellectuals for cultural and artistic work is a core element.

Cultural and artistic life in Vietnam is diverse in its forms, expression and ways, but is also subject to many complicated fluctuations due to both the positive and negative trends of the world's cultural and artistic flows. The unselective absorption of foreign cultural values in the integration period has had a significant influence on the formation of people's lifestyles, morality and behaviors, especially amongst the younger generations.

Basically, the resolutions and policies of the Party and State have created favourable conditions for cultural and artistic forms to develop in accordance with the specific situation of the country. However, there are still many inadequacies such as the treatment for writers and artists in specific art industries, the autonomy of traditional art units, the socialisation of both literature and the arts, policies on development of creative cultural industries, and urban creative cultural spaces.

Throughout the nation's history, Vietnamese culture has held a position as a social spiritual foundation and an "armor" that protects the nation's survival. Culture will create a strong driving force for the country's development in the new period, becoming an endogenous strength by which Vietnam can further integrate with the world.