Int’l seminar on Uncle Ho opens in Hanoi

An international seminar on “President Ho Chi Minh’s heritage” opened Hanoi on 12 to mark the 120 th birthday of the President, who is known both as a hero of national liberation and a prominent cultural celebrity (May 19, 1890-2010).
The opening ceremony was attended by National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong, UNESCO Chief Representative in Vietnam Katherine Muller Marin and delegations from Laos, Cambodia, Bangladesh and India as well as representatives from foreign embassies in Vietnam.
Fifty-five scientists and socio-political activists from 19 foreign countries, including China, Cuba, Russia, France, the US and the UK, are participating in the seminar together with nearly 400 researchers and lecturers from Vietnam’s institutes and universities.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, NA Chairman Trong affirmed that President Ho Chi Minh is a genius leader and great teacher of Vietnam ’s revolution as well as an unyielding revolutionary and a close friend of all nations throughout the world.
“He left us a huge legacy and an invaluable heritage. They are the Ho Chi Minh Thoughts, the Ho Chi Minh Era and the Ho Chi Minh Moral Example,” he said.
The seminar is also a chance for the participants to examine more thorough the life, thoughts and career of Uncle Ho and to further confirm his heritage’s theoretical and practical values in the present era, he added.
The NA leader expressed his belief that the results of the seminar will contribute to the theoretical research, laying the foundation for successfully addressing the issues of the current national construction.
UNESCO Chief Representative in Vietnam Katherine Muller Marin highlighted President Ho Chi Minh’s great contributions to culture, cultural heritage preservation, communications, gender equality, environment, afforestation and forest protection.
In the cultural field, President Ho Chi Minh himself is a poet, and he also paid special attention to protecting and preserving cultural heritages including many forms of traditional arts throughout the country, she said.
Women’s issues also received his attention, as he wrote in his testament that the Party and Government should have plans to ensure women’s greater participation in all fields of life, including management.
Director of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics and Public Administration Le Huu Nghia stated that Uncle Ho’s great thoughts and revolutionary career have importantly contributed to the cause of liberation of society and human.
The UNESCO’s recognition of him as a hero of national liberation and an outstanding cultural celebrity was a double honour for President Ho Chi Minh for his ability to combine culture and morals with the cause of national liberation and raising personal dignity, he said.
The two-day seminar, hosted by the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics and Public Administration, focuses on three main topics, namely Ho Chi Minh heritage on national independence and socialism, his heritage on peace, friendship and cooperation amongst nations and the lessons on cultural, moral and dignity.