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| Dr. Phan Thanh Hai - Member of the National Cultural Heritage Council, Director of the Department of Culture and Sports of Hue City |
According to Dr. Phan Thanh Hai, Resolution No. 80-NQ/TW (Resolution 80) can be regarded as a suitable “strategic framework” for shifting from heritage advantages to the model of a “heritage - culture - tourism - creativity urban” with regional competitiveness.
Sir, could you elaborate more on the importance of the promulgation of Resolution 80?
In my view, Resolution 80 is a very important milestone in the way it regards culture and the people not merely as one sector, but as the spiritual foundation of society, an endogenous resource, a driving force for development and a kind of “regulating system” that helps the country develop rapidly yet sustainably.
The Resolution has been issued at a time when the country faces two parallel requirements: accelerating to seize the opportunities of the digital era and deep integration, whilst at the same time consolidating resilience, identity and social cohesion. In other words, development must have a cultural “anchor”; integration must be backed by cultural resilience; we must be modern without losing our core values. This also suggests a development model that places people at the centre and uses quality of life as a measuring tool.
From the perspective of local administration, I believe that the Resolution sets out objectives and tasks that are quite specific and time-framed. This helps localities concretise them into programmes and plans, clearly allocate responsibilities, and at the same time overcome the situation where “policy documents are sound but implementation is thin”, or where implementation becomes a movement, heavy on formalism.
The Resolution affirms clearly and consistently that culture and the people are both the foundation and the endogenous resource, the driving force for development, and, in particular, the “regulating system” for rapid and sustainable development. How do you understand this message?
When the Resolution calls culture a “regulating system”, I understand this as a mechanism that helps society self-balance during the acceleration process. Rapid development always creates pressures: competition, changes in lifestyles, ruptures in relationships, and risks in ethics, law and the environment. Without a “regulating system”, society is easily pushed into extremes: either chasing short-term interests or reacting with a closed, conservative mentality.
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| Resolution 80 was born at the right time, when the country faces two parallel requirements: acceleration to seize the opportunities of the digital era and deep integration, whilst at the same time consolidating resilience, identity and social cohesion. Photo: Phan Thanh |
Culture regulates by shaping norms, creating “soft boundaries” so that individuals and communities know what should and should not be done; at the same time, it nurtures the capacity for self-control, a sense of responsibility and respect for differences. In the digital space, this role is even clearer: polarisation, verbal violence, harmful and toxic information… can spread extremely quickly. In such a context, society’s capacity for “self-adjustment” - from education, family and the media to community norms - becomes a prerequisite for development that has direction and durability.
Could you share your views on the goals clearly specified in Resolution 80, and which goals you are most concerned with?
I highly value the system of objectives in Resolution 80 because they are both quantitative and “action-oriented”, helping all levels and sectors see clearly what needs to be done, what milestones must be reached and how to check results. The Resolution not only sets out general principles but also suggests a modern approach: investment in culture must be associated with social effectiveness, economic effectiveness and sustainability, avoiding dispersion and the tendency to follow movements. The objectives on human development, institutional improvement, enhancing the quality of grassroots cultural institutions, developing cultural industries, digital transformation and human resource training are all close to reality and set requirements for innovation in how we work. If I have to highlight the objectives I am most concerned with, I would emphasise three pillars.
First: building the cultural environment and the Vietnamese people in the new period. Ultimately, culture is made by people and for people. We may invest in many projects and organize many events, but if people are not nurtured in terms of knowledge, character and life skills, all efforts can easily become “beautiful on the surface” but lacking in foundation. Therefore, the objective on the cultural environment must go in depth; we need criteria, assessment tools and enforcement mechanisms, rather than stopping at slogans.
Second: digital transformation and digitization in the field of culture and heritage. The Resolution sets out specific milestones, creating positive pressure to standardize data, conduct digitization systematically, build shared platforms and ensure connectivity. If this is done as a movement, data will be fragmented, non-standard and unusable. Digital transformation here also means renewing governance and expanding access to the people’s culture.
Third: developing cultural industries and the creative ecosystem. This is the key for culture not to rely solely on the state budget but to become a field that generates added value, creates jobs and drives innovation and competitiveness. The Resolution has opened the way; what remains are issues of institutions, markets, human resources and how to organise implementation.
Resolution 80 also sets out the vision that by 2045, cultural industries and the creative economy will truly become a pillar of sustainable development, striving to contribute 9% of GDP, and to have an additional 8-10 cultural heritages recognised by UNESCO. What are your opinions of this roadmap?
I understand this roadmap at two levels of meaning. First is aspiration and national positioning: the objective that cultural industries contribute 9% of GDP is a way of “anchoring” the development strategy in the era of the creative economy, where knowledge, ideas, intellectual property and experiences become key assets. Second is the meaning for governance: to achieve this, there must be strong reforms in institutions, copyright policy, preferential mechanisms, attraction of private investment, market development, human resource training and digital infrastructure. This roadmap is both a goal and a “pressure for institutional reform”. If we want cultural industries truly to increase their share, we must resolve long-standing “bottlenecks”: from mechanisms of commissioning - bidding - funding in the cultural sector, to the business environment for creative enterprises; from protecting authors’ rights and related rights to building markets, creative spaces, performance infrastructure and content distribution. At the same time, the State needs to play a role in creating the framework and orientation, investing in infrastructure and setting standards, whilst the private sector and the creative community are the main actors producing products and building the market.
Regarding the target of an additional 8-10 heritages recognised by UNESCO, this orientation is positive but we must not chase numbers. UNESCO values authenticity, integrity, sustainable management and community participation. Therefore, the roadmap is only feasible if we enhance scientific capacity, management thinking, inter-sectoral coordination mechanisms, and prepare long-term resources for conservation; heritage is a major asset, but exploitation must be carried out in line with principles, standards and sustainability.
For a cultural heritage city, a land with a long history and many preserved heritage values such as Hue, how significant is Resolution 80, in your opinion?
For Hue, Resolution 80 can be seen as a suitable “strategic framework” for shifting from the advantage of heritage to the model of a “heritage - culture - tourism - creativity urban” with regional competitiveness. The Resolution also creates momentum for Hue to prioritise three major tasks.
First, building the cultural environment and the Hue residents in the new period. Hue has the tradition of being a “land of learning”, courtesy and community spirit, but in the context of urbanization, tourism, migration and the digital space, those values need to be nurtured through education, communication, institutions and daily cultural practices; in particular, cultural education for young people is a key task.
Second, digital transformation in the field of culture and heritage. Hue has a rich heritage system, making it well suited to take the lead in digitization, standardizing data, building digital museums, digital experience platforms and educational - tourism - research products based on data, thereby creating a foundation for the digital content industry.
Third, developing spearhead cultural industries that match its advantages. Hue does not need to do everything at once, but should select appropriate spearheads: performing arts and festivals; cultural tourism; handicrafts and design; cuisine; publishing and digital content… When these are organized into value chains, with branding and mechanisms to attract enterprises, they will create new growth, new jobs and new appeal for the city.
At the level of implementation, I think Hue needs to link the spirit of the Resolution with concrete, focused programmes: investing in infrastructure and cultural institutions along open and multifunctional lines; improving coordination mechanisms between heritage management, urban planning and tourism development; increasing public - private cooperation in organizing events and creative products. At the same time, attention should be paid to measuring social impact to allow timely adjustments. If this is done, the Resolution will not stop at orientation, but will become a real driving force for development.
I would also like to emphasise: Resolution 80 designates 24 November as Vietnamese Culture Day and regards cultural enjoyment as an essential right of citizens, under which workers are granted a day off. This is the basis for culture truly to become part of everyday life, fostering habits of cultural participation and enjoyment, and narrowing gaps in access to enjoyment.
In short, Resolution 80 is not only a general “compass”, but for Hue it is also an opportunity to transform heritage advantages into new development capacity, turning the spirit of the Resolution into tangible results in real life.
Thank you for the conversation!