One year after being recognised as part of UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage, Vietnamese quan ho (love duet) has strongly developed in the northern provinces of Bac Ninh and Bac Giang. In the regions, nearly 50 villages have their own clubs where senior artists provide lessons to the young generation. — VNA/VNS Photo Anh Tuan

HA NOI (VNS)— Viet Nam is making a big effort to implement UNESCO's conventions, especially those relating to the country's commitment to preserving and promoting its cultural and natural heritages, said UNESCO experts at a forum held in Ha Noi yesterday.

"Viet Nam has made concrete contributions to the role of culture as both a driver and enabler of sustainable development," stressed Sun Lei, UNESCO's representative to Viet Nam, during the forum discussing the 10 years since the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage was signed.

"Viet Nam's diversity of cultural expression is clear in the activities of its communities, who show great respect for their history and the cultural treasures left by our ancestors," she said.

"Through Xoan singing and worshipping the Hung Kings in Phu Tho, Ca Tru (ceremonial singing) in Hai Duong, Ha Noi as well as the gong culture in the Central Highlands, we see a commitment from every society to further the development and share its benefits.

"Within a community, memories and intangible cultural heritages are visibly sustained by the public's commemoration of people. I am very glad to acknowledge that the educational programmes taking place in the provinces are aimed at raising the awareness of the general public, in particular young people, according to Article 14 of the Convention."

Addressing the forum, Pham Cao Phong, secretary general of the Viet Nam National Commission for UNESCO, said that Viet Nam had been recognised seven times for a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage, which proved that the country possessed a diverse culture.

This recognition had also brought with it a chance for the country to advertise its unique cultural values and to use them to further the development of tourism in order to make a more effective contribution to the socio-economic development of the country, he said.

Participants at the forum objectively and scientifically assessed the tasks, ascertaining which had been completed and proposing solutions to the problems behind those that have not been completed over the past 10 years.

The UNESCO representative office in Ha Noi also made a commitment to support these agencies to fulfill their various tasks, including encouraging local communities to take responsibility for their heritages and to enact "urgent protection" measures for those heritages at high risk.

It proposed a more immediate and effective policy for protecting heritages. For example, the singing art of ethnic minority groups in the Central Highlands, which has been listed amongst the heritages in need of urgent protection since the early 2000s.

Yet the art has not been mentioned in Viet Nam's list of heritages in need of urgent protection, despite the fact that the old singers are dying and young people don't seem to pay much attention to traditional arts.

The office also hoped that the draft of regulations on giving honorable artisan titles by the culture ministry would be approved soon so individuals making great contributions to protecting and developing cultural heritages receive proper treatment and are helped to make further contributions.

The case of Dong Van Karst Plateau Geo-park in the northern province of Ha Giang was cited at the forum as an example of a lack of attention to local tangible and intangible heritages.

A master plan for developing the park from 2012-20 with vision towards 2030 has just been approved with the focus on exploiting geological values for tourism. In the meantime, local intangible values have not been properly paid attention to, according to a report by the office.

The plan only stresses on developing some traditional craft villages such as the wine making and embroidery villages, that supports tourism but lacks adequate investment on long-term cultural values.

The office also called for careful research to be conducted before compiling files seeking recognition for traditional and intangible cultural values as well as serious judgements being made on the unique features of the heritages.

The agencies concerned also need to carry out independent research on the effects of formal recognition by the State or UNESCO on the heritages, the report stressed. – VNS