The Meeting was attended by Mr. Khuat Van Quy, Deputy Director of the Family Department (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism); Ms. Tran Thi Van Anh, Deputy Director of Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports; Ms. Le Thi Thien Huong, Vice Chairwoman of the Hanoi Vietnam Women’s Union; Mr. Dao Duc Viet, Deputy Secretary of the Hanoi Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union; Mr. Nguyen The Toan, Permanent Deputy Head of the City’s Representative Board of the Elderly Association; Ms. Dinh Thi Thu Huong, Deputy Chairwoman of Long Bien District People’s Committee; and Ms. Trinh Thi Dung, Deputy Chairwoman of Cau Giay District People’s Committee, alongside representatives from various departments and committees including the Publicity and Education Commission of the City Party Committee, the Mass Mobilization Commission of the City Party Committee, the City People’s Committee Office, the Department of Labour – Invalids and Social Affairs, the Department of Education and Training, the Department of Culture and Sports, the City Women’s Union, and the Hanoi Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union.
Preliminary Outcomes in Implementing the Family Behavior Criteria Set
In her opening speech at the meeting, Ms. Le Thi Thien Huong, Vice Chairwoman of the Hanoi Women’s Union, affirmed the pivotal role families play in Vietnam’s economic, social, and cultural development. Families are the core where relationships between grandparents, parents, spouses, children, and grandchildren coexist harmoniously, bound by emotions and blood relations. The existence and growth of families depend on various factors, notably the interconnectedness between family members. The foundation of family relationships lies in the interactions among its members. In the context of industrialization, modernization, and international integration, family ties have shown signs of loosening. To realize the goal of constructing nourishing, progressive, happy, and civilized Vietnamese families, truly the cornerstone of each individual and a healthy cell of society, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism formulated and executed the “Family Behavior Criteria Set.”
In 2019, Hanoi was among the 12 provinces and municipalities nationwide selected by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to pilot the implementation of the Family Behavior Criteria Set. Over the trial period and expansion throughout the city from 2022, the implementation of the Family Behavior Criteria Set has been integrated by different levels and sectors in conjunction with the “National Solidarity for Cultural Life Construction” movement. This is especially evident in the registration and evaluation for the Cultural Family title, contributing to enhancing the quality of cultural titles at the grassroots level, aligned with the urban civilized life in the era of industrialization, modernization, and the development of the capital. The results evidenced in 2022 depict that among the total households in the city, 2,090,892 in number, 88% have attained the Cultural Family title (a 0.5% increase from 2019), 63% possess the Cultural Village title (a 2% rise from 2019), and 72.5% hold the Cultural Residential Group title (a 1% increase from 2019). Furthermore, through the pilot program and implementation of the Family Behavior Criteria Set throughout the city, various departments and organizations, from city-level to districts, towns, and grassroots levels, have developed effective and innovative approaches in executing and promoting moral education and lifestyle within families, understanding the significance of ethics, lifestyle, and good conduct within families. This extends to the roles of family members in preserving and promoting the admirable cultural values of families and the whole country.
Deputy Chairwoman of the Hanoi Women’s Union, Le Thi Thien Huong’s Opening Remarks at the Conference.
“The purpose of implementing the Family Behavior Criteria Set is to gradually introduce value standards of ethics and the Vietnamese cultural essence into the lives of people during the period of industrialization, modernization, and international integration. It strengthens legal awareness, promotes ethics, conscience, and responsibility towards oneself, the community, society, and the nation, aiming to prevent moral degradation in families and society. It enhances awareness about building and maintaining sustainable happiness in every family, directing them towards stability and civility for the entire society,” emphasized Ms. Le Thi Thien Huong.
Deputy Chairwoman of the People’s Committee of Long Bien District, Ms. Dinh Thi Thu Huong, spoke at the meeting.
Speaking at the meeting, the Deputy Chairwoman of the People’s Committee of Long Bien District, Ms. Dinh Thi Thu Huong, disclosed that to effectively implement the Family Behavior Criteria Set, the People’s Committee of Long Bien District had issued a plan to implement the “Family Behavior Criteria Set in Hanoi City by 2025 within Long Bien District.” This plan primarily focuses on directing and executing the criteria in tandem with the movement of “National Solidarity for Cultural Life” to various wards, considering it a crucial task within the economic and social development strategy. The synchronized family work across the district has significantly improved awareness of family development across various levels and sectors, contributing to enhancing the quality of life and establishing nurturing, equitable, progressive, and happy families. In 2022, the entire district witnessed 66,337 households achieving the title of Cultural Family (at a rate of 93.18%); 202 out of 222 Residential Groups achieved the Cultural Residential Group title (at a rate of 90.9%). “To further improve the quality of family work, in the coming time, Long Bien District will continue to effectively execute the Family Behavior Criteria Set within Hanoi City, ensuring suitability with the local practical situation. This will focus on strengthening leadership, guidance, and executing family development work, gradually introducing value standards of ethics and the Vietnamese cultural essence into people’s lives during the period of industrialization, modernization, and international integration,” affirmed Ms. Dinh Thi Thu Huong.
Sharing his perspective at the meeting, Mr. Nguyen Van Duc, from Residential Group 13, Bo De Ward, Long Bien District, revealed that his family, spanning three generations with eight individuals residing under one roof in Bo De Ward, has a diverse composition. Ranging from the elderly to young children, they exhibit different work, psychologies, cultures, and languages, yet share a common goal: to build a warm, happy, and progressive family. “Understanding the Family Behavior Criteria Set involves practical, intimate content directly affecting families. With the principle of ‘soft and steady rain,’ we commenced with small stories for the children, followed by shared meals and gatherings, as well as more focused activities during holidays, celebrations, and birthdays. During these times, we discussed behaviors, respect, equality, love, and sharing within the family. When we hear news or read articles related to these themes, our family eagerly discusses, provides viewpoints, and specific opinions, and draws experiences. We remind and correct the younger generations if necessary, and we encourage, and praise when appropriate to help disseminate and deeply instill the content of the Criteria Set.”
Mr. Nguyen Van Duc, from Residential Group 13, Bo De Ward, Long Bien District, shared his insights at the meeting.
Acting as a representative organization to protect the legal rights and interests of women, Vice Chairwoman of the Gia Lam District Women’s Union, Ms. Vu Lan Anh, revealed that in recent years, at various levels, the Gia Lam District Women’s Union has persistently prioritized the task of mobilizing and supporting women in constructing civilized and happy families. The union has extensively promoted awareness and implementation of the Family Behavior Criteria Set, supplementing practical support tasks to aid women in building culturally advanced and happy families. Especially, the union aligned its impartation and mobilization work with activities that care for women’s lives. The objective was to enhance the quality of life for union members, beginning with empowering women in economic family development. This would subsequently improve their living standards and regulate family relationships, aiming to construct warm, happy families.
Vice Chairwoman of Gia Lam District Women’s Union, Ms. Vu Lan Anh
During the meeting, the delegates concentrated their discussions on constructing individuals with good personalities and beautiful lifestyles, particularly emphasizing family behaviors as the core of cultural development. All cultural activities should aim toward human development, steering activities for the next stage. They also deliberated on the family’s role and how family relationships’ behaviors contribute to building a cultural family.
Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports, Ms. Tran Thi Van Anh, summed up the meeting.
Summarizing the meeting, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports, Ms. Tran Thi Van Anh, remarked that through the presented reports, one could observe the results of implementing state management regarding family affairs, specifically the outcomes of executing the Family Behavior Criteria Set issued by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism and implemented by the city. Fifteen papers at the meeting affirmed the crucial role of family affairs and the mission to construct a cultural family, contributing significantly to Hanoi’s socio-economic development. Hanoi has been among the pioneering areas nationwide, focusing on the efficient execution of family affairs and constructing cultural families. This involves numerous effective practices and very specific models across various associations, including women’s unions, elderly associations, youth unions, and schools, among others. The meeting also identified the difficulties and limitations encountered during the implementation of the Family Behavior Criteria Set and the establishment of cultural families. To continue leveraging the achieved results and overcome these limitations, Deputy Director Tran Thi Van Anh proposed improving the quality of assessment to ensure that cultural families truly become the political core to complete the community’s tasks in the economic, cultural, and social fields. Furthermore, it was emphasized to enhance collaboration among families, schools, and society in shaping values, ethical education, lifestyle, and cultural behavior for the younger generation.
Thuy Nga