Coach Mai Duc Chung was awarded the title of Hero of Labor.

(Dan Tri) - At the 4th Patriotic Emulation Congress of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, coach Mai Duc Chung was awarded the title of Labor Hero for his many special achievements.

On the morning of September 25, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) held the 4th Patriotic Emulation Congress (2025-2030).

Attending the congress were member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long, leaders of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, leaders of units under the Ministry and more than 300 delegates who are typical examples in various fields of work.

Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long speaks at the congress (Photo: Tran Huan).

Speaking at the event, Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long affirmed that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has played an active role in contributing to the emulation movement and the country's brilliant achievements with many important achievements.

According to the Deputy Prime Minister, the outstanding achievements are: Continuing to strongly transform the mindset from "doing culture" to "state management of culture". Institutions, mechanisms and policies on culture, sports and tourism have been supplemented, newly developed, increasingly perfected, comprehensive and profound; the system of legal documents is relatively complete with 433 legal documents.

The work of preserving, embellishing and promoting traditional cultural values ​​and cultural heritage has achieved many results. Many major cultural events have been successfully organized, mobilizing the participation of the masses.

Many valuable cultural heritages of Vietnam have been recognized and listed by UNESCO. The system of cultural institutions has been basically formed from the central to local levels, contributing to gradually narrowing the gap in cultural enjoyment between regions.

Cultural industries continue to develop. Foreign activities in culture, sports and tourism, promoting the image of the country, people and Vietnamese culture and arts abroad continue to be promoted.

Tourism has recovered strongly after the pandemic, and in recent years has grown beyond its set targets, and is considered an economic bright spot; in the first 8 months of 2025, the total number of international tourists to Vietnam reached nearly 14 million, an increase of nearly 22% over the same period in 2024; total revenue is estimated at over 700,000 billion VND.

Vietnam tourism has received many international awards from prestigious international organizations around the world.

Mass sports continue to develop strongly, spreading to all ages and regions. High-performance sports have achieved some positive results.

The happiness index in 2025 will increase by 8 places compared to 2024; Vietnam's human development index will improve significantly, much higher than that of countries with the same income level.

In particular, the Ministry has successfully coordinated the organization of many major events of the country such as: the 70th anniversary of Dien Bien Phu Victory, the 50th anniversary of Southern Liberation and National Reunification, the 80th anniversary of August Revolution and National Day September 2.

Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long affirmed that the congress honored 300 typical advanced models - people who have not only become the pride of the culture, sports and tourism sector - but also contributed to making the country famous, and are a source of encouragement and motivation for people of all walks of life to continue to enthusiastically compete and achieve more achievements in the new era of development of the country.

Mr. Nguyen Van Hung - Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism - shared at the event (Photo: Tran Huan).

At the congress, Mr. Nguyen Van Hung - Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism - said that in the call for patriotic emulation, Uncle Ho advised: "Emulation is patriotism, patriotism requires emulation, those who emulate are the most patriotic people".

That call has become a command of the heart, a sacred call that stirs every cadre, civil servant, public employee and worker in the industry to strive to compete and achieve many results.

The Minister said that in the past 5 years, the Ministry has presented nearly 400 Labor Medals, nearly 800 Certificates of Merit from the Prime Minister, and 26 collectives have been awarded emulation flags from the Government.

The President awarded 16 Ho Chi Minh Prizes, 112 State Prizes, 124 People's Artists, 268 Meritorious Artists, 65 People's Artisans, and 563 Meritorious Artisans.

In particular, at the 80th Anniversary of the Industry's Traditional Day, the Ministry was honored to be awarded the First Class Labor Medal - a noble award recognizing outstanding achievements in the 2021-2025 period and many other forms of commendation from the Central to the grassroots level.

The Minister affirmed that the 4th Patriotic Emulation Congress of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism took place in the context that the Party, the State and the entire political system have been synchronously implementing historic policies and strategic breakthroughs to bring the country firmly into a new era - an era of strong development and prosperity.

"In particular, in the near future, based on the Ministry's recommendations, the Politburo will issue a Resolution on the revival and development of Vietnamese culture in the new era. The Resolution's birth will be a foundation and a stronger driving force for the Ministry and the Culture, Sports and Tourism sector to develop strongly," Mr. Hung affirmed.

At the event, Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long and Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung awarded the title of Hero of Labor to Mr. Mai Duc Chung - Head Coach of the Vietnam Women's Football Team.

At the congress, on behalf of the Party and State leaders, Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long awarded the title of Hero of Labor to Mr. Mai Duc Chung (Photo: Tran Huan).

Sharing his feelings at the congress, coach Mai Duc Chung expressed his joy and honor at receiving the noble award.

"In my life, I never dared to think that I would receive the most noble achievement of the country. I am very grateful to the Party, the Government, the agencies, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Vietnam Sports and Physical Training Department, the Vietnam Football Federation, and all the football fans at home and abroad, and especially the Women's Football Team, who have supported me so much in the past time to have the achievements I have today.

Maybe in terms of health, I am not as good as before, but with everything I have, I always remind myself to be more positive, to do my best to achieve more with the team members, to be worthy of this title," Mr. Chung emotionally shared.

Authorized by the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long and Minister Nguyen Van Hung presented the Government's Emulation Flag to three groups: the Department of Organization and Personnel, the Department of Cultural Heritage and the Vietnam Contemporary Arts Theater.

Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long and Minister Nguyen Van Hung awarded the Government's emulation flag to three outstanding collectives (Photo: Tran Huan).

At the congress, 21 collectives and 57 individuals with outstanding achievements in the 2021-2025 period also received Certificates of Merit from the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

At the congress, Deputy Minister Trinh Thi Thuy also launched the Patriotic Emulation Movement of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for the period 2025-2030.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/huan-luyen-vien-mai-duc-chung-duoc-trao-tang-danh-hieu-anh-hung-lao-dong-20250925112916184.htm