The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MoCST) will continue speeding up projects on preserving and developing the ethnic minority culture in 2014. MoCST Deputy Minister Huynh Vinh Ai said the ministry plans to build a set of cultural development indicators for ethnic minority groups by 2020, take an inventory of ethnic minority cultural heritage, support cultural development of at least 16 ethnic minority groups and repair 300 relics. It will strive to develop a healthy cultural environment, comprehensively upgrade grassroots-level culture and sports institutions, and raise the ‘Cultural Family’ rate to 87% and the ‘Cultural Village’ rate to 68%. Most ethnic minority groups have devised plans to preserve and develop their culture till 2020 and have already set up a steering committee to oversee it. Ethnic minority festivals have been organized in line with the Party’s guidelines and State laws. People are fully aware of their cultural identities, and are actively getting involved in creating new cultural values and preserving others. In 2013, the ministry successfully organized Vietnam Ethnic Minority Cultural Day on April 19 and implemented three projects on preserving villages, hamlets and communes of ethnic minority groups. It also built entertainment sites for children in remote, mountainous and island areas in Lai Chau, Dak Nong, Lao Cai, Quang Nam and Dien Bien. (vov.vn Jan 15)
