Over the past 15 years of thorough grasp and implementation of the fifth Resolution of the Party’s Central Committee (Tenure VIII) “On building and development of the Vietnamese culture advanced and imbued with the national identity”, cultural, literary and artistic activities in the VPA have directly contributed to enhancing and nurturing noble qualities of “Uncle Ho's soldier”, building a good and wholesome military cultural environment, enabling the soldiers to strive for, to train and to accomplish their missions.

An art performance marking the 40th anniversary of "Hanoi-Dien Bien Phu in the air" victory (Photo: qdnd.vn)

In the cause to lead  the Vietnam revolution, our Party’s consistent guideline is that culture, literature and arts are an integral part that serves the revolutionary cause in general and each historical period in particular;  and has always been closely linked with the people's lives. After the introduction of Vietnam Cultural Outline 1943 - a political document that has been considered as the Party’s manifesto on culture – perspectives and strategies on culture have been constantly replenished and developed.

The critical landmark in the Party's innovative thinking of culture is reflected in the fifth Resolution of the Party’s Central Committee (Tenure VIII) “On building and development of Vietnam culture advanced and imbued with the national identity” – a Party’s creed-like document of culture in the stage our country is gearing up the  cause of industrialization and modernization. Over the past 15 years of implementation of the Resolution, our country has made important cultural and social achievements. In the VPA, thorough grasp and implementation of the fifth Resolution has been carried out strictly and synchronously. Executive committees, commanders, political organs and organizations of the mass at all levels have taken the cultural cultivation content into their leadership resolutions, action plans and work plans; to actively disseminate and educate to enhance the awareness of the position and role of culture, thus generating a positive shift in political ideology, ethics and lifestyle of all military personnel. The campaign "Building a good, healthy and diverse cultural environment" in the VPA has been increasingly deepened, closely attached with the movement "All people unite to build a cultural life", creating a healthy cultural environment in organs and units. Every year, within organs, review of the title "the Cultural Unit" has been closely associated with titles of emulation and with quality assessment on Party organizations, organizations of the mass, cadres and Party’s members, Youth League’s members and members of other associations. Since 2008 to now only, there have been hundreds of groups, thousands of individuals commended and rewarded for their cultural, literary and artistic activities; the professional and semi-professional forces have created thousands of literary, artistic works with a high aesthetic and practical value in which many authors, and works were recognized with noble titles and awards. The VPA has built and fulfilled the project “Planning and establishment of professional artistic units within Vietnam People's Army in the period of 2011 – 2015” and the project “Planning and organizing  screening activities within Vietnam People's Army”, at the same time, it has gradually strengthened, upgraded and perfected cultural institutions in every level, ... To date, the fifth Resolution  has really penetrated into the military personnel’s life, contributing to the development of ethnic culture, military culture, to preservation and enhancement of traditional cultural values, and to the selective absorption of the man-kind’s cultural quintessence. Simultaneously, negative impacts of obsolete, reactionary and noxious culture must be effectively prevented and encountered, then creating cultural values that convey deep characteristics of military operations and national defense in the course of international integration and development of the country.

However, there are still mistakes and shortcomings  in the implementation of the fifth Resolution in the VPA. A number of officers and soldiers’ awareness of culture is still incomplete and incomprehensive, with a viewpoint that culture is just cultural and recreational activities which are costly and energy-consuming; that building and development of culture is the job of relevant authorities. Some executive committees and commanders have not taken their proper interest in the construction and development of culture, literature and arts ... Therefore, in the VPA there have been signs of degradation of political ideology, ethics and lifestyle; embezzlement, corruption, dissipation, breach of the military discipline and of the state laws...are still apparent in different degrees. Meanwhile, grasp of situations and formulation of preventive and controlling measures in units have been passive and low in efficiency. Advisory and propositional capability of a number of officers and relevant authorities is still limited, lack of initiative, sensitivity, with the attitude of expecting and relying on the superior, on the circumstances. Consequently, they have not yet brought their pivotal role into full play, not generated a breakthrough in cultivation and development of culture, literature and arts. Outcome of the struggle  against negative influences of toxic and reactionary culture and soldiers’ ability of "immunity" to the anti-cultural phenomenon have not yet been powerful. In recent years, the VPA has been still home to not many great authors and absent of highly valuable works of ideology and arts, etc.

Currently, the need for cultivating and developing Vietnamese culture advanced and imbued with national identity, under conditions that the country is accelerating the cause of industrialization, modernization and, international integration, is still a fundamental and urgent issue. At the Eleventh Party National Congress, our Party affirmed "Building culture advanced and imbued with national identity, cultivating people, improving people's lives, realizing  social progress and justice" is one of the eight basic directions, is the "characteristic" and an organic element of the socialism in Vietnam. Thus, alongside with summary of 15 years of implementation of the fifth Resolution, the editors board of the Party’s Central Committee is rushing up to complete the project "On continuing to build and develop Vietnamese culture advanced, imbued with national identity" to submit to the upcoming ninth Meeting of the Party’s Central Committee (Tenure XI). Accordingly, guidelines, tasks and measures were expected to be replenished and perfected so as to continue to build and develop Vietnamese culture to meet the requirements of construction and protection of  Vietnam socialist Fatherland  in the course of further enhancement of industrialization, modernization and international integration. For the VPA, implementing the fifth Resolution means to continually enhance the cultural and spiritual life of the soldiers, at the same time, to hold up cultural, literary and artistic activities to a new height. To achieve that goal, organs need to synchronously address the basic issues as follows:

Firstly, to continue to thoroughly grasp the Party's guidelines, the State’s policies and laws on construction and development of cultural, literary and artistic activities in the new period, creating a profound shift in  officers and soldiers’ awareness. Through the thorough grasp to help the  soldiers fully understand that cultural field is truly broad, extremely rich and diverse, both tangible and deeply penetrated in social and human life; it is values yielded by human spiritual activities, in which ideology, ethics, lifestyle and cultural life are the special ingredients. Culture also helps  “... provide people with the ability to think about themselves”. Simultaneously, officers, soldiers and people are offered dissemination and education to be acutely aware of the new culture that our Party advocated building, namely “Vietnamese culture advanced and imbued with national identity, developed comprehensively, unified in diversity, deeply impregnated with the spirit of humanism, democracy and progress, making our  culture cohesive and penetrate into the whole social life to become a solidified spiritual foundation and an important endogenous strength for development”. In the VPA, “Culture and arts are an organic, inseparable part and have a direct and powerful effect on the army building mission and the revolutionary armed forces in general and on improving the effectiveness of ideological work in particular”. To promote cultural, literary and artistic activities in the VPA, it is necessary to focus on cultivating personnel and human resources in terms of  brainpower and soul, capability and tactical skills, science and technology, talent and moral, personalities, personal and collective lifestyle, of which the highest and most focal manifestation is nurturing and promoting the nature “Uncle Ho's soldiers” in the new era. Thereby, the responsibility of all levels, sectors and forces must be upheld during execution of the issue, overcoming the incorrect manifestation in cultural, literary and artistic activities.

Secondly, to improve the quality of education on patriotism associated with the effective implementation of the Emulation and Resolute to Win Movement to intensify the campaign “Building a good, healthy and diverse cultural environment in the military” associated with the movement “All people unite to build cultural life”. In undertaking the movements, and campaigns of the whole country, of  the VPA of  all levels and branches, organs should pay their attention to a close combination to create a high synchronization with the implementation of the Fourth Resolution of the Party’s Central Committee (Tenure XI), namely “ Some Urgent Issues on Current Party building”, Directive 03-CT/TW of the Politburo (Tenure XI) on “Continuing to promote learning and following Ho Chi Minh’s moral example” and Resolution 23-NQ/TW of the Politburo (Tenure X) on “Continuing to build and develop literature and arts in the new period.” On the other hand, it is essential to proactively nurture, build and expand advanced symbolic figures in working scopes; to specify criteria, standards and value norms of dignity of Vietnamese people in the military in the Ho Chi Minh time, so that the image of “Uncle Ho's soldiers”, the revolutionary nature and glorious tradition of the VPA keep shining in the new era. Through the VPA, each cadre and  soldier would make their very efforts to become a new typical Vietnamese representative, each VPA unit  would be a bright cultural spot, a venue for friendship, comradeship, companionship, thus shaping the human personality for new people and new culture.

Thirdly, to actively disseminate, educate and clarify goals, directions, missions and solutions to the development of culture, literature and arts in the process of building the VPA “revolutionary, regular, seasoned  and gradually modernized”. Accordingly, organs in the military must frequently review, supplement, study, plan and build projects and schemes to develop culture, literature and arts to the year 2015, the goals to the year 2020, and the vision to the year 2030. At the same time, the system of organs, offices, units, task forces of culture, literature and arts and cultural institutions in the VPA should be gradually planned and unified. Efforts should be taken in order to basically fulfill the contents and the works of the project “Planning and building professional arts units in the People's Army of Vietnam in  the period from 2011 to 2015” by the year 2014; to amend and supplement contents of Circular 24/2009/TT-BQP of the Ministry of Defense on “Rules and Guidance of Norms on the Spiritual and Cultural Life within the Vietnam People's Army”; to amend and supplement regulations and standards to approve the title  “the Cultural Unit” in accordance with the military specific characteristics and with provisions of the State. With regard to the cultural institutions in service, they should make full use of their functions so as to serve the military men and people more effectively; more efforts are taken, so that by 2015, adequate cultural institutions will have been established in 100% of the organs in accordance with the provisions; by 2020 it is necessary to basically re-build the projects on planning and building the cultural, literary and artistic units in service that have not been planned. On the other hand, a close coordination should be done in between regular operations with focal operations, between the potential exploitation of the VPA with implementation of the programs, of the national objectives in culture, literature and arts; to gradually build and complete strategies of collection, reconstruction, preservation and development of traditional cultural values of the ethnic groups in the VPA’s arts organs.

Fourthly, to innovatively, flexibly apply the State’s policies for the cultural, literary and artistic activities and activists in the field. Appropriate authorities are proposed to study and promulgate policies and regulations suitable to environmental characteristics, to national defense and military missions, thus creating favorable conditions and environment for the development of culture, literature and arts in the VPA. Simultaneously, there are appropriate mechanisms  and incentives in the orientation of both improving the physical and mental life and creating opportunities for artists and writers to be creative, advanced in  artistic activities  and to win the noble professional titles. The organs that work in the field of culture, literature and arts should actively exploit additional resources for activities and perform investment policies commensurate with requirements for the VPA’s development of culture, literature and arts in the new period. Initially, investments should be focused on the people and the focal and key activities and on the cultural institutions; investments in creation, composition of literary and artistic works whose themes are armed forces and revolutionary wars should actively be taken into account; to strive to create works of high artistic and ideological value about wars of national liberation as well as about the cause of national construction and national defense today.

Fifthly, to strengthen international exchanges and cooperation in the field of culture, literature and arts. In the current stage, this mission has an important role to play in the cultural development policy of the country and the military. So, expansion of exchange and cooperation not only significantly popularizes the military culture of Vietnam abroad, but also creates opportunities for learning other countries’ experiences on organization and management of military culture and to absorb quintessence of man-kind culture. During the implementation process, exchanges and interactions of military cultures with other countries in the region and the countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) should be prioritized first, then gradually expanding into other countries  on the continent; to accelerate international cooperation in training cultural and artistic talents, in highly-qualified professional staff and in majors that have not been trained domestically, or have been still lagging behind. On the other hand, it is necessary to take advantage of potentials to associate training, popularize the VPA and the country’s cultural, literary and artistic works overseas; at the same time, to selectively acquire foreign works and products of high cultural values in order for troops to get access, study and improve their standards of enjoyment and creativity.

Continuing to properly execute the fifth Resolution of the Party’s Central Committee (Tenure VIII), enhancing the cultural, literary and artistic activities in the VPA is the political responsibility of all officers and soldiers; first of all, that responsibility is of executive committees, commissars and junior commissars, commanders and political institutions and political cadres at all levels in the VPA; therefore, making contribution to enhance the cultural and spirit life of the troops, generating motivation for the VPA to fulfill its missions.

Colonel Nguyen Phuong Dien

Deputy Director,  Department of Propaganda and Training