Former  Minister of Culture and Information Le Doan Hop (right) and Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Tuan Anh.

Nhan Dan- Nhan Dan newspaper has selected ten top ten cultural events of 2007. They are as follows:

1 - The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism was established under the Resolution No 1/2007/QH12 dated July 31, 2007 by the 12th National Assembly. This is a strong evidence of the national administrative reform, ushering in a new development of the sector during the country’s integration into the world.

2 - A first ever national conference to honour outstanding cultural families was held in Hanoi from September 28-30. The conference was to honour the traditional cultural beauty of Vietnamese families. The movement to build up cultural families has been carried out for 45 years. At present, 13 million families have been recognised as Families of Culture.

3- A collection of the epics of the Central Highlands was published. The biggest ever collection of epics of ethnic groups inhabiting the Tay Nguyen Central Highlands was launched in Ho Chi Minh City on December 5. The collection comprising 62 volumes with 75 works is part of a 17.3 billion VND project to survey, collect, translate and publish the wealth of epics in Tay Nguyen. The publication of the collection will add weight to efforts to compile an application for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO)’s recognition of Central Highlands epics as a masterpiece of oral and intangible heritage of humanity.

Muong ethnic girls in Muong Ethnic Minority Culture Festival 2007 in Hoa Binh province

4- The first Muong ethnic people’s festival was held in Hoa Binh from December 14-17. The event aims to enrich the traditional values of the Muong ethnic group and acted as a contribution to strengthening the unity in the great family of ethnic Vietnamese nationalities.

5- The first national ca tru (chamber music singing) clubs’ festival was held from October 18-20 in Hai Duong province. The festival had the attendance of 200 artisans from 13 cities and provinces. This was a chance for researchers to complete their profiles to submit to UNESCO for recognition as a human heritage.

6 – Hanoi authorities have approved the project “Pottery Road along the Red River”. This is a project to use colourful pieces of ceramic to make around 6,000 metre long river banks in Hanoi more beautiful.

6,000 m of river banks in Hanoi will be decorated with colorful pieces of ceramics (a photoshop picture)

This is also one of the activities to celebrate the 1000th birthday of Thang Long – Hanoi.

7 - The first ever national contest in Ho Chi Minh City attracted 18 young stage directors. The contest aimed at encouraging the creativity of young directors while preserving the national theatre art genres.

 8 -  The 15th Vietnam Film Festival was successfully organised in the northern province of Nam Dinh. The festival saw the competition of 113 films in all genres, including 25 documentaries, nine scientific films, and 17 animated films by 28 film companies.

9 – Traditional then singing and tinh instruments festival was held in the northern mountainous province of Cao Bang. The festival was aimed at honouring and preserving the cultural values of ethnic minorities.

10 – Many external cultural activities were held in 2007 including the Smithsonian Festival with the theme “Mekong River: Connecting Cultures” from June 27 to July 8. Vietnam Cultural Weeks in Laos and the Republic of Korea introducing Vietnam’s cultural characteristics and the promotion of the country’s image and position in the international arena.