UNESCO is ready to support Vietnam in preserving and promoting the value of documentary heritage.

On the morning of July 23 in Hanoi, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST), Vice President of the Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO Hoang Dao Cuong had a meeting and worked with Chairman of the International Advisory Council, UNESCO Memory of the World Program Johannes Joseph Maria Bos.

Welcoming Mr. Johannes Joseph Maria Bos and the delegation of experts to visit and work in Vietnam, Deputy Minister Hoang Dao Cuong said that over the past 50 years, the Vietnam-UNESCO cooperation relationship has brought about important achievements, effectively contributing to the country's sustainable development.

Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism , Vice Chairman of the Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO Hoang Dao Cuong received Chairman of the International Advisory Council, UNESCO Memory of the World Program Johannes Joseph Maria Bos. (Photo: Dinh Toan)

Vietnam has always been an active and responsible member, constantly promoting its role in building UNESCO and contributing to international strategic issues.

High-level exchanges between the two sides and the visit of the UNESCO Director General to Vietnam have shown that the two sides are making efforts to promote cooperation; demonstrating the special attention of the leaders of the Party and State of Vietnam to the work of preserving and promoting the value of cultural heritage, including documentary heritage.

Deputy Minister Hoang Dao Cuong informed that within the framework of UNESCO's Memory of the World Program, Vietnam currently has 11 documentary heritages recognized by the Program's Committee.

Of these, there are 4 world documentary heritages and 7 Asia- Pacific documentary heritages. Notably, the UNESCO Executive Board recently agreed to include the collection of Vietnamese musician Hoang Van in the Memory of the World List.

The ceremony to receive the World Documentary Heritage Certificate for the Collection of musician Hoang Van will take place on the evening of July 24 at the Ho Guom Theater (Hanoi). The Deputy Minister affirmed that UNESCO's recognition of these documentary heritages is not only a recognition of the special value of those documents but also contributes to the preservation and promotion of the cultural and historical values of Vietnam.

Deputy Minister Hoang Dao Cuong added that at the 8th Session of the 15th National Assembly, the Vietnamese National Assembly officially passed the Law on Cultural Heritage (amended). In particular, the Law has a separate chapter with many contents clearly stating the definition of documentary heritage, while emphasizing the regulations to preserve and promote the values of documentary heritage.

Deputy Minister Hoang Dao Cuong presents a souvenir to Mr. Johannes Joseph Maria Bos. (Photo: Dinh Toan)

In addition to the results achieved, in the coming time, the Deputy Minister hopes that experts from the UNESCO Memory of the World Program will continue to support and increase assistance to Vietnam in the process of building documentary heritage records. This will be the driving force to help Vietnam continue to build documentary heritage records.

The Deputy Minister also asked the Program's experts to come to Vietnam to support the work of preserving and promoting the value of documentary heritage; and to spend more time researching Vietnam's documentary heritage.

"For the recorded documentary heritages, Vietnam always has special protection measures and is ready to share experiences in perfecting the legal framework related to the management, protection and promotion of the value of documentary heritages," Deputy Minister Hoang Dao Cuong affirmed.

Thanking the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for the warm and friendly reception for the delegation, Chairman of the International Advisory Council, UNESCO Memory of the World Program Johannes Joseph Maria Bos highly appreciated Vietnam's efforts in preserving and promoting the value of documentary heritage; as well as coordinating in building a dossier of documentary heritage for submission for registration.

Mr. Johannes Joseph Maria Bos assessed that Vietnam is one of the countries that always promotes the awareness of preserving and promoting the value of cultural heritage in general and documentary heritage in particular. Vietnam's history teaching program has helped students to appreciate the values of cultural heritage.

He emphasized that the collection of musician Hoang Van, which was listed in the World Memory List, is a rich and diverse collection; has many values, and contributes to the preservation of Vietnamese and world musical heritage.

During the process of building the dossier of the Collection of musician Hoang Van, Vietnam actively exchanged information with the team of UNESCO experts; demonstrating Vietnam's strong commitment and efforts in honoring and preserving the values of documentary heritage.

Delegates attending the reception took a souvenir photo. (Photo: Dinh Toan)

Along with the fact that the Law on Cultural Heritage (amended) of Vietnam devotes a whole chapter to the protection and promotion of the value of documentary heritage, Mr. Johannes Joseph Maria Bos stated that this is a big step forward for Vietnam in the process of perfecting the legal corridor in the field of cultural heritage.

With the proposals of Deputy Minister Hoang Dao Cuong, Mr. Johannes Joseph Maria Bos expressed his agreement and said that the team of experts from UNESCO's Memory of the World Program is ready to support Vietnam in preserving and promoting the value of documentary heritage; as well as exchanging information to support Vietnam in building the next documentary heritage records.

The delegation of experts from the UNESCO Memory of the World Program will visit and work in Vietnam from July 22-27 with the following scheduled programs: Paying a courtesy call to Permanent Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chairman of the Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO Nguyen Minh Vu; working with the Director of the State Records and Archives Department; attending the Ceremony to receive the UNESCO Documentary Heritage Certificate for the Collection of musician Hoang Van.

The delegation also visited the Temple of Literature, the Forest Research Institute, the National Archives Center I - where the Nguyen Dynasty's Royal Records are preserved, the National Archives Center - where the collection of musician Hoang Van is preserved (Hanoi), Pho Hien relic site (Hung Yen) and the world heritage Ha Long Bay (Quang Ninh).

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/unesco-san-sang-ho-tro-viet-nam-trong-bao-ton-phat-huy-gia-tri-cua-di-san-tu-lieu-321992.html