The opening ceremony of the 2024-2025 academic year at Da Hop Inter-Level School in Huu Nghi ward, Hoa Binh city, featured a special gong performance by students.
The school has established a Muong gong team, where students learn how to play gongs and other musical instruments of the Muong ethnic group under the instruction of Meritorious Artisan Bui Tien Xo from Vinh Tien commune, Kim Boi district.
This is just one of the many schools in Hoa Binh province making dedicated efforts, each with its own approach, to preserve and promote traditional cultural traits.
A performance by students from Mai Chau B Boarding Secondary and High School for Ethnic Minority Groups at 2024 Cultural and Sports Competition for Boarding and Semi-Boarding Schools for Ethnic Minorities in Hoa Binh province.
In early October, the provincial Department of Education and Training held the 2024 Cultural and Sports Competition for Boarding and Semi-Boarding Schools for Ethnic Minority Groups, attracting the participation of 24 schools with nearly 400 students competing in the cultural category. This event truly provided a platform for students to improve their understanding of cultural heritage.
Over the past years, apart from providing knowledge and moral education for students, the department has consistently focused on fostering their patriotism. Special emphasis has been placed on educating them about preserving and promoting the cultural identities of local ethnic groups.
Department Deputy Director Nguyen Quang Minh said such educational activities are tailored to the psychological and developmental characteristics of students as well as schools’ conditions. They are integrated into major lessons and extracurricular activities. Some schools have also stablished spaces showcasing.
Hoa Binh’s Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism on December 18, hosted a conference to present the outcomes of a research study on the traditional costumes of the Muong ethnic group.
Along with the activities of Project 6 - the national target programme for socio-economic development in ethnic minority-inhabited and mountainous areas for the 2021 – 2026 period, efforts to preserve and promote the traditional cultural values of ethnic minorities in Lac Son district have received additional momentum.
In the context of globalisation and deeper integration, preserving and promoting the national cultural identity is of utmost importance. Aware of their pioneering and proactive role on all fronts, over the years, the youth organisations at all levels in Hoa Binh province have implemented various concrete and practical activities to preserve and promote the cultural identities of ethnic groups in the locality.
Mai Chau district of Hoa Binh province is home to seven ethnic groups, six of which are minorities. The cultural identities of the ethnic minority groups have been preserved well. One of the district’s effective preservation efforts is the establishment of a cultural preservation club at the Mai Chau Boarding Secondary and High School for Ethnic Minority Groups.
Within the framework of Project 6 on preserving and promoting the fine traditional cultural values of ethnic minorities associated with tourism development, Lac Son district of Hoa Binh province organised a training programme and experimental competition of "danh mang” – a folk game played by the Muong ethnic group during their festivals – on November 26-27.
The Muong ethnic minority community, with a nationwide population of over 1.4 million, are primarily concentrated in Hoa Binh province, which is home to more than 500,000 Muong people who make up over 63% of the locality's total population. The promotion of the Muong language and script is crucial for preserving and promoting the rich cultural heritage of the Muong people, as well as bolstering socio-economic development, thus contributing to the effective implementation of the national target programme on boosting the socio-economic development of ethnic minority-inhabited and mountainous regions.
