Dossiers on intangible heritages built to seek UNESCO recognition
Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam has assigned the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to work with relevant agencies on the preparation of dossiers on two of Vietnam’s intangible cultural heritages for UNESCO recognition.
A shrine dedicated to the holy lady of Mount Sam in An Giang (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) – Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam hasassigned the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to work with relevantagencies on the preparation of dossiers on two of Vietnam’s intangible culturalheritages for UNESCO🅠 recognition.
They are Mo Muong prayer singing in the northwesternprovince of Hoa Binh and Via Ba Chua Xu festival in the Mekong Delta provinceof An Giang.
According to folk culture researchers, Mo is used by Muongethnic people to practice a variety of rituals in daily life. Mo Muong has a long-lasting life because it comprises allfolk cultural values of the ethnic Muong people, including fork🌃 literature,folk singing, folk rituals tellꦿing about people’s knowledge and behavior.
Mo Muong is the essence of experience in labour, production,cultural behavior and philosophy of life, reflecting the love of life, peopleand hometown. It shows the courage and personality of the Muong ethnic peopleand land of Muong Hoa Binh. Mo Muong reflects the characteristics, the soul andmoral principles of the Muong ethnic minority people. For generations, Muong people have preserved, passed downand promoted Mo Muong values in a sustainable manner, giving vitality andinspiring capability of the intangible cultural heritage. Meanwhile, the Via Ba Chua Xu spiritual festival honours theholy lady of Mount Sam in An Giang’s Chau Doc city. The festival annually takes place from the 22nd to the 27thof the fourth lunar month. The event goes through a number of rituals, most importantlythe rite of statue bathing on the opening day. According to a popular mythology, the goddess statue wasdiscovered on the top of Mount Sam, and then carried to the foot of themountain, where she has been housed and worshipped until today. The festival also features a range of cultural activities,including musical concerts, a dragon-dance performance and a boat race. It was recognised as a national intangible heritage in late2014./.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has agreed with the submission of a dossier on Dong Ho folk paintings to UNESCO to include the art in the list of intangible cultural heritage in need of urgent safeguarding.
The Prime Minister has agreed to assign the Da Nang People’s Committee to the restoration of the Ngu Hanh Son (Marble Mountains) landscape site – a National Special Relic – in a decision released last week.
The central province of Khanh Hoa has approved a project on preserving and developing the value of the local intangible cultural heritage of Bai choi with a budget of 6.7 billion VND (nearly 286,200 USD).
Museums in Vietnam will hold various activities to celebrate International Museum Day on May 18, following plans by the International Council of Museums (ICOM), according to a document recently issued by the culture ministry's Department of Cultural Heritage.
Eight teams will join the tournament, divided into two groups. Group A features Vietnam, the Philippines, Sichuan Club (China), and Australia, while Group B consists of Vietnam U21, Korabelka Club (Russia), Taiwan (China), and U21 Thailand.
Despite strong home support and high expectations, Vietnam were unable to overcome the defending champions, who secured their third consecutive win over Vietnam in a regional final, following previous victories in 2014 and 2023.
The event, part of Vietnam’s cultural diplomacy strategy through 2030, was jointly organised by the Vietnamese Embassy in Venezuela and USM’s Faculty of International Relations. It attracted thousands of students from universities across Venezuela.
For the first time, Vietnamese audiences will have the opportunity to experience the ballet masterpiece "Don Quixote" in its original version by renowned choreographer Marius Petipa.
The contest carried deep meaning as it was the first time the life of Vietnamese women abroad had been highlighted as the central theme, said poet and writer Nguyen Quang Thieu, Chairman of the Vietnam Writers’ Association.
The event formed part of Vietnam’s ongoing campaign to seek UNESCO World Heritage status for the complex at the 47th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, scheduled to take place in Paris in July.
Creative cultural festivals are fast emerging as a new catalyst for tourism development in Vietnam, as localities increasingly invest in these vibrant events on a more systematic and larger scale.
This marks the first time Vietnam has hosted a continental-level Muay event which will feature competitions across 28 weight categories in combat and eight performance categories.
Coming to the Vietnamese booth, visitors had the chance to take part in a bamboo dance, a workshop on painting woven bamboo or rattan, or quizzes about Vietnam.
These are impressive achievements, not only showing the efforts and prowess of Vietnamese paddlers but also serving as proof of the sports sector’s strategic and systematic investment.
The cultural event in Canberra not only fostered cultural exchanges between Vietnam and Australia but also contributed to promoting Vietnam’s image internationally
The U23 competition will run from June 16 to 22, followed by the U17 event from June 23 to 28, while athletes competing in the U23 category will undergo weight and skill checks ahead of the matches starting June 18, while similar checks for U17 athletes will take place before June 23.
Vietnam continues to sit just behind continental powerhouses Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, China, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
The event served as a vibrant display of solidarity, promoting peace, cooperation, and development through cultural dialogue, and reaffirmed HCM City's role as a dynamic hub for cultural diplomacy and international friendship.
The Indian Film Festival not only honours the artistic value of cinema but also contributes to strengthening the friendship and enhancing cultural exchange between the people of Son La in particular and Vietnam in general and India.
An art exchange programme between Vietnam and Cambodia was held on the evening of June 13 in the Mekong Delta province of Vinh Long as part of the 2025 Cambodia Culture Week in Vietnam.
Digitalisation does not mean commercialisation or oversimplification of culture. It is a way of selecting, adapting, and spreading traditional values through a modern language.
A shrine dedicated to the holy lady of Mount Sam in An Giang (Photo: VNA) 
