Despite the negative impacts caused by the harsh pandemic, the sectors of culture, sport, tourism, and education have made great efforts to overcome challenges and gain remarkable achievements in the past year.

The National Cultural Conference 

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong talked with local artists at the National Cultural Conference held on November 24, 2021. Photo: Tuoi tre Newspaper

The National Cultural Conference was held on November 24 to review cultural strategies 35 years after Doi moi (renewal) and set missions for the culture and arts sector in the 2021-2026 period and vision to 2045.

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong chaired the conference and delivered an important speech, giving guidance to the country's cultural development in the coming time.

Featuring an on-site meeting of some 600 delegates and a virtual conference connected to all 63 cities and provinces nationwide, the conference is the largest cultural event after 75 years since the first one, which was held in 1946.

The conference set the mission to initiate the culture-based national prosperity with Vietnamese people being patriotic, righteous, compassionate, and creative in developing the country.

UNESCO honors poets Ho Xuan Huong and Nguyen Dinh Chieu and Xoe Thai dance

The performance of Xoe Thai Dance. Photo: TL/ Dan tri

UNESCO highly evaluated the dossiers nominating Ho Xuan Huong (1772-1822) and Nguyen Dinh Chieu (1822 – 1888), the two Vietnamese great poets, submitted by the Southeast Asian country at its 41st General Conference held on November 24 in Paris (France).

These two Vietnamese renowned personalities’ birth and death anniversaries will be celebrated in 2022 by the prestigious cultural world organization.

Meanwhile, the joyful Xoe Thai Dance was also inscribed by UNSECO on the List of Intangible Heritage of the World. The announcement was made after the conclusion of the 16th session of UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage on December 15.

These inscriptions of UNESCO affirm the appreciation of Vietnamese cultural values by the international community and experts.

World Expo 2020 Dubai: Vietnam Pavilion showcases the rich culture of Vietnam

Vietnam Pavillon in World EXPO 2020, Dubai. Photo: Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism

The World EXPO 2020 Dubai taking place from October 1, 2021, until March 31, 2022, in Dubai (UAE) has become one of the world's highlights in which the Vietnam Exhibition House is an outstanding feature.

The Vietnam Pavilion at Expo 2020 is themed ‘Distilling the Past, Shaping the Future’ to highlight the nation’s history as a cultural and trade crossroads, and that Vietnam now is more than willing to embrace cooperation and connection on a global scale. 

Spanning an area of 850 squared-meters, the Vietnamese pavilion impresses with 800 conical hats hanging at the entrance, and miniatures of 18 artworks created by renowned Vietnamese contemporary artists.

The Vietnam National Day was officially opened on December 30 with a flag-raising ceremony at Al Wasl Plaza. On the occasion, senior officials of Vietnam and the United Arab Emirates witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding on cooperation between the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the UAE Ministry of Culture and Youth, and another MoU on promoting Vietnam’s culture and tourism in the Middle East.

Local pupils win international awards

President Nguyen Xuan Phuc commended students who won prizes at the International Olympic and Science and Technology Competitions on December 18, 2021

The Covid-19 pandemic hit hard and altered many dimensions of Vietnamese lives, particularly education. Students from many localities had to attend an online opening ceremony of the new school year via television for the first time in 2021. Most of the 22 million students nationwide, among them the first graders were unable to go to school.

When schools nationwide have to close to contain coronavirus, online schooling is seen as a new poke promoting Vietnam’s education sector with its effectiveness in sustaining IT skills for both teachers and students during school closures.

Despite difficulties, Vietnamese students won many great prizes at international competitions in the past year. All 37 students who participated in the 2021 International Olympiads won prizes, including 12 gold medals, 13 silver medals, 10 bronze medals, and two consolation prizes. Vietnam is among the top 10 countries with the highest results at these International Olympiads.

The 22nd Vietnam Film Festival in Hue city

The film “Blue Eyes” by Director Victor Vu won the Golden Lotus Award at Vietnam Film Festival 2021

Under the motto “Building a Vietnamese Film Industry - Rich in National Identity, Modernity and Humanity”, the festival was organized in November, featuring 128 films from 42 units, including 26 motion pictures, 56 documentaries, 15 scientific films, and 31 animated films.

Compared to the previous edition of the festival, the number of motion pictures increased. In addition to dealing with the resistance wars and historical figures, many documentaries highlighted the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic in Vietnam.

The organizers presented 18 awards for excellent works, 26 excellent individual awards, of which the Golden Lotus award went to the best feature film “Blue Eyes” by director Victor Vu.

Reading culture

Little children joined a book reading event at Hanoi Library. Photo courtesy of the library

In five years of implementing the government’s project of “Fostering a reading culture in the community until 2020, with an orientation to 2030”, a wide range of activities for spreading and developing the reading culture has been held nationwide.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism issued guidance for the organization of the 2021 Reading Culture Ambassador Contest, focusing on pupils and students.

The contest has become an annual cultural activity, attracting wide appreciation and interest from the community and gaining positive outcomes. It not only honors the reading culture, contributes to the creation of a ‘learning society’, but also serves as an opportunity for people to improve their understanding of the rich national culture.

Over the years, the cultural sector has also been actively expanding the library network in districts and wards; adding more books to libraries at communities or branches of the Blind People Association; sending library vans to educational institutions in the suburbs to improve people’s access to books.

Performing arts strive to overcome the pandemic

A circus artist from Vietnam Central Circus Federation. Photo courtesy of the Federation

Vietnamese artists were experiencing a tough time amid the outbreak of Covid-19 for the last two years with no show and no audiences.

According to the art sector's authorities, many performance contracts were suspended or canceled, meanwhile investment in big programs was not refunded. “Vietnamese artists are struggling with dire economic problems,” they stated.

Unable to perform in theaters, art troupes turned to television and digital platforms to reach their audiences.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese music composers had also taken part in many performances lately to cheer up the patients’ spirits as well as pay tribute to the doctors and frontline forces in the Covid-19 fight. They also responded to the government’s call for composing inspirational and optimistic songs on the fight against the pandemic.

Vietnam tourism: Change to adapt

Vietnam tourism is striving to overcome Covid-19 ơandemic. Photo: Lux Group

Responding to the government’s request on working out guidelines on safely and flexibly adapting to the Covid-19 pandemic in tourism activities, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism launched a campaign called “Live fully in Vietnam” to welcome international tourists back to five destinations in the country, including the northern province of Quang Ninh, the two central localities - Quang Nam province, Da Nang city, and the southern province of Khanh Hoa’s Nha Trang city as well as Phu Quoc island of the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang.

The campaign shows the determination of the tourism industry in using digital technology as a tool for supporting national tourism development.

Head of Vietnam National Administration of Tourism Nguyen Trung Khanh said that the plan to stimulate demand and restart travel after the Covid-19 pandemic focused on six groups of tasks including ensuring safety at the destinations and for tourists; enhancing tourism promotion and marketing; developing diversified products to meet new market trends; speeding up the digital transformation process in the industry; supporting businesses in accelerating the reactivation of tourism activities; and supporting the development of human resources to meet the requirements of tourism recovery.

Footballer Nguyen Van Hieu voted an excellent player by FIFA

Vietnamese footballer Nguyen Van Hieu. Photo: VFF

A Vietnamese footballer in the list of ‘Five youngsters illuminating Lithuania’ at the 2021 Futsal World Cup by the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA).

The world football governing body described the goal scored by Van Hieu in the match against Panama on September 16, 2021, as an ‘amazing solo effort’ to help Vietnam win 3-2 against Panama in the second game of the group stage, and qualify for the 1/8 round of the FIFA Futsal World Cup 2021.

“Van Hieu thwarted a Panama attack with an excellent tackle inside his own half, whizzed the length of the court, shrugged off two challenges, rounded the goalkeeper, and cut the ball from an acute angle,” it stated.

Also in 2021, for the first time in history, the Vietnam National Football Team was one among the teams to classify for the World Cup final qualification round in Asia.

Vietnamese female boxer wins the world professional boxing championship

boxer Nguyen Thi Thu Nhi (right) in a boxing competition. Photo: 2Sao

Female boxer Nguyen Thi Thu Nhi moved up by one spot to fourth place in the world’s mini-flyweight ranking. She made history for becoming Vietnam’s first World Boxing Organization champion after winning a WBO belt on October 23, 2021, in Ansan, the Republic of Korea.

The Vietnamese boxer took the title on a split decision with two judges giving Nhi  96 points, two points higher than her Japanese rival Etsuko Tada after 10 rounds of the fight. Nhi’s triumph also broke the dominance of Japanese boxers in a mini-flyweight division in seven years.

This is the first time in Vietnamese boxing history that a boxer has won the world professional boxing championship.