Legal propaganda changes the awareness of ethnic minorities

Thien Phu commune's civil status and judicial officials support people with administrative procedures related to civil status.

Help people understand and raise awareness of law compliance

Early in the morning in Chong village, Thien Phu commune, Ms. Ha Thi Mai, 45 years old, was preparing her things to go to work in the fields while listening to the information on the village loudspeaker announcing the developments of storm No. 3 - storm Wipha and necessary response measures. "Thanks to the loudspeaker, we know a lot of things!" - Ms. Mai said with a typical local accent - "Especially policies on education, health care, and economic development support for ethnic minorities. Only when we know, will people go through the procedures and receive support".

Not far from Chong village, Mr. Ha Van Dung, 38 years old, in Bau village also had many emotions when talking about the changes in recent years: "I still remember a few years ago, if there were small conflicts, people often argued, even fought. Now, through legal propaganda sessions, people are aware that if they cannot control their emotions, they can easily get into trouble with the law, so they know how to resolve the issue in a more civilized way. Children in the village now also go to school more regularly, and do not drop out of school halfway like before."

Thien Phu is a mountainous commune with the majority of residents being Thai, Muong and Kinh ethnic groups. Recognizing the importance of bringing the law closer to the people, the commune government has identified this as one of the key tasks that need to be implemented regularly, with many diverse and rich forms, such as: village meetings, integration into cultural and mass activities, and especially using ethnic languages to propagate for people to easily understand and absorb.

Mr. Phan Van Dai, Chairman of Thien Phu Commune People's Committee, shared: "Legal dissemination not only helps people understand their rights and obligations but also raises awareness of law compliance. In particular, since the implementation of the 2-level local government, we have continuously disseminated information so that people clearly understand which procedures are done at the commune level and which procedures need to be taken to the province. In just 1 month of operation, 162 people have come to the commune public administrative service center to complete procedures, focusing on birth and death registration, land procedures, social and pension policies and regimes, and certification of documents... In particular, 100% of the records were processed on time and before the deadline, with no cases of overdue. These figures show the positive impact of legal dissemination and education (LED) on the people".

Diversify forms of propaganda

The positive changes in Thien Phu commune are just a microcosm of the legal dissemination work in the whole province. According to the report of the Department of Ethnic Minorities and Religions, the ethnic minority and mountainous areas of the province have 7 ethnic groups living together: Kinh, Muong, Thai, Tho, Mong, Dao, Kho Mu, with a total population of 1,088,860 people, of which 709,876 are ethnic minorities, accounting for more than 65% of the entire mountainous population (as of May 25, 2025). This number shows the great diversity of ethnic groups and poses separate requirements in dissemination work suitable to the cultural and linguistic characteristics of each community.

Faced with this reality, the province has identified legal dissemination for ethnic minority areas as a key task, determining the improvement of the quality of life and promoting sustainable development. All levels and sectors have synchronously implemented many solutions, such as: through programs, projects, and policies for ethnic minority and mountainous areas to integrate propaganda and legal dissemination to the people. In the 2021-2025 period alone, legal dissemination has achieved remarkable results. The National Target Program for Socio-Economic Development for Ethnic Minorities and Mountainous Areas alone has organized 500 conferences with 62,083 participants. In addition, 75 propaganda programs on television, 1,366 news articles on radio, and 261 news articles on electronic media have created a multi-dimensional legal information network reaching all classes of people. In particular, the publication of 1,358 question and answer books, skill handbooks, 16,185 leaflets, brochures and 123 tapes, discs, billboards and posters has created practical reference materials suitable to the level and needs of the people.

Through the Project “Reducing child marriage and consanguineous marriage”, all levels have organized 141 propaganda conferences with 23,851 participants and 40 competitions with 4,742 participants, creating lively discussion forums, contributing to changing awareness, gradually eliminating bad customs among the people. The Project to Support Gender Equality Activities has also achieved remarkable results with 148 conferences, 8,472 participants; 17 competitions with 1,321 participants. In particular, 6 television reports and 258 radio news have contributed to raising awareness of gender equality, promoting the role of women in the family and society.

Through the propaganda and implementation of programs, projects, plans and policies for ethnic minority and mountainous areas, people's legal awareness has changed significantly. Especially in communes with difficult socio-economic conditions and a large number of ethnic minorities, people have understood and improved their legal awareness, always trusted the leadership of the Party and the State, and felt secure in working and producing, developing the family economy. The rate of law violations has decreased significantly, contributing to maintaining political stability. Bad customs have been eliminated, thereby preserving and promoting the good cultural values of ethnic minorities.

To achieve the above results, the province has applied various forms of propaganda: organizing PBGDPL conferences, oral propaganda, legal club activities, legal research competitions, propaganda on mass media, and grassroots loudspeaker systems. Promoting the role of reporters, propagandists and prestigious people in the region has brought about positive results, creating closeness and trust from the people.

To spread the light of law widely

However, this work still faces challenges, such as: Training to improve professional skills for staff is not much, not widely implemented. Forms of legal dissemination have been innovated but not widely replicated, the application of information technology is not strong. To overcome these limitations, the province has proposed specific solutions, such as: regularly innovating content, forms and methods of legal dissemination to suit each target group; strengthening training, professional development to improve the quality of human resources...

In the late afternoon in Chong village, the loudspeakers resounded with news about storm Wipha and new policies for ethnic minority areas. Ms. Ha Thi Mai was preparing dinner for her family when she stopped to listen to the news: "Luckily, the storm did not affect me much. With this, I can go to the commune tomorrow morning to do the paperwork for my child to go to university." Ms. Mai's simple words seemed to most truly reflect the change in awareness of the ethnic minorities in the mountainous areas. The law is no longer something strange and difficult to access, but has become a companion in daily life. From dispute resolution, administrative procedures to accessing support policies, everything is done naturally and in accordance with regulations.

Mr. Ha Van Dung also has specific plans for his family: "I plan to send my daughter to high school, then take the university entrance exam. Now that I know about the policies to support ethnic minority students, I feel more secure sending my daughter to school."

From the villages near to the villages far from the commune center, the light of the law is spreading widely, not only bringing knowledge but also changing the way of life and thinking of the people. That is the solid foundation for a better future for the ethnic minority and mountainous areas of our province.

Article and photos: Ngan Ha

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/tuyen-truyen-phap-luat-lam-thay-doi-nhan-thuc-cua-dong-bao-dan-toc-thieu-so-260141.htm