Culture transcends language and political barriers to connect people

- Madam, what foreign affairs and cultural diplomacy activities has the Department of International Cooperation had in the past year?

It can be said that 2023 is a bright spot in cultural diplomacy activities, especially the introduction of cultural values ​​associated with working trips and official visits abroad by Party and State leaders.

At the end of April, during the visit of National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue to three Latin American countries (Republic of Cuba, Republic of Argentina and Republic of Eastern Uruguay), the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism organized a rich, unique and diverse cultural and artistic program. In the National Assembly's Project, this activity was even called a " Political and artistic program". This shows that this is a very important activity.

In Cuba, two cultural and artistic performances were held to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Fidel Castro's visit to the liberated zone of South Vietnam in Quang Tri as well as the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the Cuban Committee for Solidarity with South Vietnam. These are extremely meaningful historical events, contributing to strengthening the friendship and solidarity between the two peoples.

Within the framework of the program, in addition to revolutionary songs expressing the heroic history of the two countries, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism also commissioned a musician to compose a song praising leader Fidel Castro's visit to the liberated zone with the image of him standing on a tank.

It can be seen that the use of music and art to depict historical milestones and friendship between the two countries has left a deep impression on the audience.

In Santiago de Cuba, the hall with a capacity of 1,200 people was filled very early, the performances of Vietnamese artists were enthusiastically enjoyed and applauded by the audience. In addition, the joint performance between artists of the two countries also demonstrated friendship and solidarity.

There was also a Vietnamese Film Week with Spanish subtitles. The Director of the Cinema Department, Vi Kien Thanh, and I had a talk show that was broadcast live on their platforms so that the public could better understand the development of Vietnamese cinema in the new era. In addition, there was an exhibition about the life and career of Uncle Ho as well as the friendship between the two countries.

In Argentina, the Ministry also held a performance program to celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Notably, not only did Vietnam introduce one-way, the host country also sent artists to perform together.

I am still impressed by the image of the Argentine female singer wearing Vietnamese ao dai, which shows respect for Vietnamese culture. As for Vietnamese artists, football-themed songs make the audience clap to the beat because Argentines are famous for their passionate love for the king sport.

Next, during the President's trip to Austria and Italy, we introduced a completely different art form. While during the National Assembly Chairman's visit to three Latin American countries, we introduced revolutionary music, folk music and contemporary music, in the side program of the President's visit, we introduced classical music, a moderate chamber orchestra, and two artists playing typical Vietnamese instruments, the monochord and the T'rung.

Thanks to a team of talented young artists such as violinist Bui Cong Duy, conductor Tran Nhat Minh, soprano Khanh Ngoc, monochordist Le Giang and T'rung artist Hoa Dang... who have achieved international standards, we are completely confident when performing in the homeland of the great Austrian composer (Joseph Haydn) and the Italian Presidential Palace.

The President then sent a letter of praise to the artists and sent it to the National Academy of Music. The international public's appreciation was shown by the fact that the Italian conductor then invited the Vietnamese orchestra to participate in festivals during the upcoming Christmas season. After performing in Austria, we also received an invitation to participate in the Haydn Music Festival.

Thus, introducing Vietnamese cultural and artistic values ​​abroad in many different forms and types has achieved certain results. Instead of always wearing conical hats and traditional ao dai, we also have classical music.

Last September, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh visited the US to attend the United Nations General Assembly and we had the opportunity to bring the troupe to perform.

It can be seen that the trips of high-ranking key leaders all have the presence of Vietnamese culture, becoming bright spots in foreign affairs activities.

Besides the attention of the leaders, we also acknowledge the efforts of the artists in introducing and promoting the image of Vietnamese culture.

- Throughout those events, what is Vietnam's cultural diplomacy policy, Madam?

Currently, the policy of the Government and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is to promote the presence of Vietnamese culture at influential international events.

The Government has issued a resolution to increase Vietnam's presence at international events. In the digital age, in addition to promoting traditional culture, we also promote on social media platforms.

2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Japan-Vietnam diplomatic relations, leading to long-term preparations.

For example, the opera project Princess Anio was performed in Vietnam. In November 2023, the show will premiere in Japan. Before that, they also invited Vietnamese artists to tour several cities in Japan, demonstrating the results of the cooperation.

In addition to the trips of Party and State leaders, there are also activities proactively carried out by the Ministry according to the annual plan of diplomatic relations.

For example, Singapore is also a strategic partner of Vietnam in the Southeast Asia region, we also organized Vietnamese Cultural Days in Singapore and received positive feedback.

Besides, this year is also the 30th anniversary of UAE-VN relations, we also have activities to introduce the beauty of Vietnamese folk music.

This November marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and France. We will have performances at the Paris theater, combining these performances with campaigning for Vietnam's candidacy for the World Heritage Committee.

Through this, we will try to “kill many birds with one stone”. Preliminarily, this year's activities are not only bilateral, but also multilateral, introducing many types.

- As you shared, our cultural diplomacy strategy first starts with private, limited-scale activities?

Our implementation approach will include:

Firstly , we organize activities with high-ranking guests, diplomats, politicians...

Second , organize broader invitation activities such as cultural weeks/days to reach the public.

Third , is to organize tours like the play Princess Anio - touring in many cities in Japan and Vietnam.

Fourth , continue organizing Vietnamese festivals abroad (Vietnam festivals in Tokyo, Vietnam festivals in Kanagawa and some cities in Korea). They have annual festivals, and Vietnamese artists will perform within that framework.

This year because there is no sponsorship, I still try to maintain basic activities.

- How do you evaluate the role of cultural diplomacy in promoting the country's image today?

Culture and art are things that transcend all language and political barriers and go straight to the hearts of people to connect them. So it is an effective way for people of other countries to understand and love Vietnam more, this is also soft power.

To make the promotional activities more effective, they need to be organized regularly and continuously; they require funding to sustain the activities for a long time. Even when the funding is sufficient, it still requires us to constantly innovate. We must always introduce more diverse cultures, because we cannot eat the same old dishes forever.

- In the process of implementing cultural exchange and cultural diplomacy activities, what do you see as the difficulties and advantages for Vietnam?

The advantage is that people working in culture are often very open, always welcoming new things and they also love the unique features of Vietnamese culture. There is a connection between us, partners are always ready to support and help each other.

By participating in their cultural week/day framework, we will save costs because we do not have to organize expensively. They have their own stage, media department and audience so we can directly bring culture and arts to them.

Currently, the biggest difficulty for us is the budget to ensure that activities take place regularly, continuously, and as committed. Besides, we also have a headache when the investment budget is not enough to do the appropriate promotional and introduction activities, we can only do small ones.

We can only “order” artists from state-run theaters and units. Although they themselves try very hard, they themselves do not have the money to “renew” the repertoire…

- In your opinion, what should be done to promote the presence of Vietnamese culture abroad?

First, we need to focus on the basics.

Firstly, we need to invest adequately in two parts: one is investing in domestic creativity, because it must have uniqueness and appeal domestically to be introduced abroad. The second is investing in promotion, we need money to bring those creative products abroad in a worthy manner.

Currently, despite great efforts, investment costs are still very low. The Ministry's budget for foreign affairs activities alone is only 10 billion VND per year, including meetings for international commitments. The cost for cultural activities is very small, while a domestic show costs 10-20 billion VND. When sending a delegation abroad, it is necessary to calculate and call for support from foreign partners because it is very difficult to organize it on its own.

Second, we must take advantage of new and effective methods. For example, promoting through platforms, social networks, cinema, etc. Because we cannot always send delegations abroad. Of course, human emotions when watching live are different from when watching through the screen.

We can send Vietnamese films to international film festivals for promotion. But we must pay close attention to copyright issues, because most of them are produced by private individuals, and the State has no money for promotion.

To promote the film, we have to apply for copyright, make subtitles and then submit it to film festivals. That is also a way for foreign countries to know about Vietnamese culture.

Besides, there is another form of promotion, instead of going abroad, we will invite them to Vietnam. Vietnam will organize programs, cultural events, or international art festivals and invite press and film crews to attend. From there, Vietnam will become an attractive "cultural address" in the eyes of international friends.

I also hope that Vietnam will have spaces to promote Vietnamese cinema at major international film festivals. Independent studios and filmmakers will be introduced there to have the opportunity to cooperate in production and distribution to the world... We expect the National Target Program for Cultural Revival and Development to invest resources so that the promotion of Vietnamese culture can be carried out appropriately.

Design: Ngoc Nguyen

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