The Culture Push
Government officials are discussing the proposed US$10.3 billion National Target Programme for Cultural Development.
According to Việt Nam News, the program “will be implemented both at home and abroad, focusing on countries with long-standing cultural ties with Việt Nam and large Vietnamese communities.”
It has two phases with detailed outputs: If approved, US$4.9 billion would be spent through 2030 to build Cultural and Sport Centres in at least 80% of districts, restore and preserve at least 95% of special heritage sites, and digitalize all arts and culture agencies.
A further US$5.4 billion through 2035 would restore 100% of special heritage sites while producing 15 “nationally significant works on Việt Nam’s history and growth,” plus other goals
Other articles on the topic note that the program is “designed around ten component functions, 153 detailed criteria, 42 specific tasks, and 186 detailed activities…”
Boosting culture is great and Vietnam certainly needs more creative outlets, but there’s a problem: culture (a vague term, to be sure) and creativity don’t flow from 10-year programs with criteria, tasks, and activities.
Top-down ‘cultural’ efforts like the various night streets set up in HCMC recently have largely failed. The Thảo Điền Night Street, open on Friday and Saturday evenings, is a ghost town. I don’t know what kind of consultation with local businesses took place before these opened, but the results are underwhelming.
You can tell that officials are flummoxed by things that grow organically like Hanoi’s ‘train street,’ a phenomenon among foreign tourists. (This isn’t to say that all official efforts are poor: the weekend pedestrian area around Hoàn Kiếm Lake is amazing.)
In any case, the National Target Programme for Cultural Development will likely be on the docket during the upcoming National Assembly session.