Int’l seminar on preservation of gong culture

An international seminar on the changes of socio-economic life and gong culture preservation in Vietnam and Southeast Asia was held in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai on Nov. 14.
The seminar was the first of its kind and one of 15 major events within the International Gong Festival 2009 lasting from Nov. 12-15 in Pleiku town of Gia Lai.
More than 70 reports presented by foreign and local scientists introduced researches into the gong culture in the Central Highlands and Vietnam in particular and the Southeast Asian region in general, the role of the gong culture, socio-economic impacts on the gong culture, and the preservation of the gong values.
Vietnam’s Central Highlands gong culture was recognised by the UNESCO as a masterpiece of the oral and intangible heritage of the mankind in 2005.
Scientists put out solutions for the preservation and promotion of the gong culture. Some of them suggested that the gong culture should be taught in schools, particularly in ethnic minority groups’ areas.
They also stressed the need to strengthen the State management in the gong culture preservation and the implementation of the Law on Cultural Heritage.
Prof. and Dr. Hiroshi Hoshino from Japan introduced his country’s experiences in implementing the law on cultural property preservation, saying over the past 50 years the law has helped protect and develop all kinds of folk arts.