At the 13th Party Congress, our Party has identified: "Promoting the role of culture as the spiritual foundation of society, as the goal and driving force for development." In the concluding speech of the National Culture Conference in 2021, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong emphasized: "Culture is the soul of the nation, representing the essence of the people. As long as there is culture, there is a nation..." According to the General Secretary, our Party's understanding of building and developing culture in the period of renewal has gradually been supplemented, developed, and become increasingly comprehensive and profound.

Based on that theoretical foundation, Can Tho City has been and is focusing on developing culture through investing in cultural infrastructure, preserving and promoting the value of heritage, and activating cultural industry resources. However, in the context of innovation and integration, many challenges arise in harnessing the inherent strength of culture.

The achievements in building cultural life in Can Tho have greatly contributed to the transformation of the city's landscape. In particular, a distinct new cultural lifestyle has emerged among the people of Can Tho. However, the process of urbanization and technological advancement has had a significant impact on the grassroots cultural life - the very foundation of culture, which is considered a "Solid foundation for a durable house".

Imprints

"Many people who used to live far from their hometowns and have now returned to Thoi Dong commune, Co Do district, have remarked: 'Co Do and Thoi Dong have developed rapidly, with significant innovations!' " Mr. Nguyen Ngoc He, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Can Tho City, shared this sentiment on the day Thoi Dong commune recently received the title of "Advanced New Rural Area." According to him, this is the achievement resulting from substantial efforts in implementing the Program for Building New Rural Areas and Advanced New Rural Areas. From being one of the poorest communes in Can Tho City in the past, Thoi Dong has made remarkable progress, both in terms of the rural landscape and the material and spiritual lives of its residents. As described by the local residents, "What can be found in the big market can also be found in Thoi Dong!"

Up to now, 100% of communes in Can Tho City have achieved the standards of the new rural areas, with many of them reaching the standards of advanced new rural areas and exemplary new rural areas. Dinh Mon commune (Thoi Lai district) has recently been recognized as an exemplary new rural area. In addition to meeting the "hard" criteria as required, the local authorities have also implemented various distinctive models, such as the "Smart Hamlet" (piloted in Dinh Phuoc and Dinh Hoa hamlets) and the "Model New Rural Residential Area" (piloted in Dinh Yen hamlet). Ms. Le Thi Thanh Truc, a resident of Dinh Yen Hamlet, said, "My homeland becomes more beautiful every day, and the exemplary new rural area brings about truly significant changes."

Alongside the program for building new rural areas, currently, all 47 wards and towns of Can Tho City have achieved the title of "Civilized Urban Ward/Town," and 599 "Cultural Hamlets/Areas." These figures demonstrate that the grassroots cultural life movement has been urgently and systematically implemented, yielding positive outcomes.

The system of cultural infrastructure is also a noteworthy aspect of Can Tho City, as all commune-level administrative units have well-invested and fully-equipped Cultural and Sports Centers. Cultural houses and sports areas in hamlets and areas are also constructed according to regulations, creating a new impetus for residential areas. The Cultural, Sports and Radio Broadcasting Centers, gradually affirm their role as "hubs" in guiding the development of grassroots culture in the locality. Mr. Dang Ngoc Nhan, Director of the Cultural, Sports and Radio Broadcasting Center in Cai Rang District, stated that besides fulfilling local political tasks, the center also establishes hobby clubs to gather and involve residents and provides professional guidance to grassroots organizations. As a result, the mass cultural and sports movement is enhanced.

Join hands to improve quality

Recent realities have shown that many localities have shown laxity in improving the quality of cultural titles after being recognized. Particularly, the utilization of cultural facilities that have been invested in remains limited. A typical example is the frequent closure of commune-level Cultural and Sports Centers, while the investment in village-level libraries is substantial but lacks readership and operates with limited activities. Many clubs are established on paper, but in practice, their activities are sluggish.

In recent years, the merging of district-level Cultural and Sports Centers and district-level Radio Broadcasting Stations into Cultural, Sports and Radio Broadcasting Centers has encountered several shortcomings. Despite the merger, each entity still operates separately, and coordination in organizing activities has not been smooth. In particular, the leadership of these centers, lacking expertise in other fields after the merger, results in a situation where "the director with expertise in broadcasting excels in broadcasting, while the director with cultural expertise excels in culture."

The long-standing challenge in the development of the cultural sector lies in human resources at the grassroots level. The reality shows that when a capable and dedicated person is in charge of a commune-level Cultural and Sports Center, the movement becomes strong, and vice versa. This is evident in exemplary activities of commune-level Cultural and Sports Centers in recent times, such as An Phu, An Khanh (Ninh Kieu District), Dong Hiep (Co Do District), Long Hoa (Binh Thuy District). Mr. Pham Van Thao, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Dong Hiep Commune, shared: "It can be affirmed that the leadership of the commune-level Cultural and Sports Center plays a crucial role in promoting cultural and artistic movements, physical education and sports, providing motivation, and attracting people's participation."

Another typical example is the development of Don Ca Tai Tu (a genre of traditional music) in Ninh Kieu District in recent times. The "torchbearer" and "keeper of the flame" of this movement is Ms. Tran Thi Phuoc (stage name Ly Phuong Phuong), a specialist at the district-level Cultural, Sports and Radio Broadcasting Center. Thanks to her enthusiasm and dedication, the Don Ca Tai Tu clubs and district-level stages have been consistently active and of high quality. "If they need a master musician, a composer, or a vocal instructor, I am ready to meet their demands. And it is only through active participation that we can create motivation for the members. Besides responsibility, enthusiasm, willingness to visit grassroots levels, and love for the profession are crucial in this work," emphasized Ly Phuong Phuong.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Anh Le, Director of the city-level Cultural Center, observed that in the recent period, the activities of the district-level and commune-level Cultural and Sports Centers have been somewhat sluggish, failing to fully utilize the invested physical facilities. Based on this reality, the city-level Cultural Center has identified the breakthrough step for 2023 as "Improving the quality of public cultural activities with a focus on grassroots levels." Accordingly, the organization will deploy personnel to guide the operations "hands-on." The two neighboring district-level Cultural, Sports and Radio Broadcasting Centers will collaborate in designing programs and inviting the city-level center to perform, bringing a fresh atmosphere to the program and attracting audiences. "Our goal is to help the Don Ca Tai Tu clubs at the commune-level Cultural and Sports Centers to operate more consistently and be able to independently organize cultural performances to serve the local political tasks," said Nguyen Thi Anh Le.

In particular, in recent times, at city-level competitions, festivals, and performances, there is still a practice of hiring actors to participate, but once the event is over, there is no force to sustain the movement. Based on this reality, the city-level Cultural and Sports Center are gradually moving towards building and cultivating local artistic personnel, gradually eliminating the temporary hiring practice. At the Don Ca Tai Tu Festival in Can Tho City in 2023, the city-level center will limit the participation of people from outside the districts and neighboring areas in the competing teams to no more than 30%, and this ratio is expected to be even lower in the coming years.

Mr. Nguyen Minh Tuan, Director of the Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism of Can Tho City, stated that in order to enhance the quality of grassroots cultural life, the department focuses on information dissemination and propaganda to the entire political system and all segments of the population about the significance and importance of the Mass Movement for Unity in Building Cultural Life. The organization of registration, evaluation, and recognition of cultural titles will be carried out even more rigorously. In addition, the Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism will organize training courses to improve knowledge about the management and organization of cultural and sports facilities for cultural officials at the commune level, to be applied in practical activities at the local level.

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In recent times, the Party Committee, People's Council, and People's Committee of Can Tho City have issued numerous directives and policies to enhance the spiritual and cultural life of the people in a comprehensive and harmonious manner, in line with economic and urban development, contributing to the construction of a new cultural and civilized urban lifestyle. This is considered a sustainable approach because the core of cultural life lies in cultivating cultural consciousness in every individual. With the right consciousness, correct actions gradually follow, so that every action and thought of the people of Can Tho City are directed towards building a cultured, civilized, modern, and meaningful city, based on the foundation of local cultural identity.