Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on March 30 approved the submission of a dossier on Dong Ho folk paintings to UNESCO for consideration and inclusion in the list of intangible cultural heritages in need of urgent safeguarding.

Dong Ho folk paintings and woodblock printing. (Photo: Cong Thuong Newspaper)

The prime minister assigned the Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO to take the prime responsibility and cooperate with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to carry out necessary procedures and send the dossier to UNESCO before March 31.

The dossier was prepared by Bac Ninh province's Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Vietnam National Institute of Culture and Arts (under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism), according to the regulation and the guideline of the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritages in 2003. 

The dossier was completed on March 3 as regulated and submitted to the Standing Committee of the National Cultural Heritage Council.

The application for being included in the list of UNESCO intangible cultural heritages is important to continue preserving and promoting values of craft village culture and raising the awareness of the community of the protection of traditional cultural values.

Dong Ho folk paintings were firstly included in the list of national intangible cultural heritages by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in December 2012. 

The centuries-old handicraft originated in Dong Ho village, Song Ho commune, Thuan Thanh district, Bac Ninh province and has been a livelihood for generations of villagers.