To preserve and promote traditional cultural values in festival activities, ensuring festival management and organization under the provisions of law and consistently with pure customs and traditions and traditional cultural values of the nation as well as meeting the needs of enjoying and improving spiritual life of the people; preserving and promoting the values of cultural heritage plus contributing to the socio-economic development and tourism, the Department of Culture and Sports issued the Plan of Managing and Organizing festivals in the Hanoi City in 2020.
Festival activities will be organized to pay tribute to the merits of the national heroes, culture celebrities and predecessors who contributed to building and defending the Fatherland and also to honor traditional cultural values together with preserving, embellishing and promoting the value of cultural heritage. At the same time, quality of festival management and organization before, during and after Lunar New Year – the Year of Mouse will be improved to ensure a healthy cultural environment for people to enjoy this spring and Tet holiday.
For typical festivals, organization units need to have a detailed plan of activities taking place at the festival. Illustration: Internet.
Accordingly, regarding direction, the Festival Organization Plan should clearly state the need to promote the roles and responsibilities of the Party Committee, Government, Fatherland Front and organizations at all levels besides mobilizing involvement of the government and all people classes in organizing and managing local festivals.
It is compulsory to make a detailed plan and program, establish the Steering Committee and Festival Organizing Committee full of components to direct, manage and operate properly to festival scale and nature in advance for localities hosting major festivals.
Besides, festivals held annually need to be reported to the State management agencies on culture and ensure their safety, healthiness, and meaningfulness when taking place.
It is also necessary to strengthen festival management and organization and reduce its frequency and scale. Organizing festivals for commercial purposes is banned. At the same time, regulation violations on implementing the civilized lifestyle or festival organization with offensive content and incite violence that cause public opinion will be subjected to strict sanctions.
The Monuments Management Board and Festival Organizing Committee should have a plan to manage merit box; arrange forces to promptly collect all kinds of change and merit money that are not put in the prescribed places; use merit money publicly, transparently and for the right purposes. Bringing foreign mascots and strange objects that do not conform to Vietnamese pure customs and traditions into relics and worship areas is banned. Following the Law on Cultural Heritage and guiding documents, the status quo of relics needs to be maintained.
For festivals taking place on the river, it is proposed the Festival Organizing Committee to have plans to ensure waterway transport safety for people participating in.
Regarding propaganda, it is expected to continue renewing and diversifying its contents, forms and methods along with campaigning to raise the awareness and responsibility of all levels, sectors, people, and travelers to seriously execute the current regulations of the State on the festival organization. Propagating typical festivals is associated with the introduction and promotion of the city’s cultural heritage potential in the international integration and exchange process.
Regarding management, the People’s Committees of districts and towns should make an organization and management plan for festivals taking place in the locality and direct the specialized departments and divisions according to their functions and tasks to participate in the festival direction and management, in addition.
Regarding organization: Several major festivals need to organize training courses to grasp contents and regulations of the Organizing Committee; to guide service, parking area, vehicle, boat and ferry owners to civilized attitudes and behaviors in compliance with regulations of the Festival Organizing Committee, rules on security and order and environmental sanitation. Businesses and individuals participating in the service must commit the Festival Organizing Committee to make sale price of items and service fees public at the festival.
Inspection and examination at festivals are strengthened to promptly prevent and strictly handle negative acts which take advantage of festivals to operate superstitious activities and illicit business like circulating illegal cultural publications unsuitable with pure customs and traditions; organizing gambling games, electronic services using large-capacity loudspeakers; putting merit money outside the prescribed place.
It is also proposed to closely inspect service activities and service list prices publicly; inspect and prevent commercial frauds on prices, service charges, etc.; and strictly handle organizations and individuals that take advantage of festivals to raise or squeeze prices following the provisions of law.
The Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports in collaboration with the Inspector of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and city departments inspect the festival organization and management in districts and towns.
For typical festivals, organization units need to have a detailed plan of activities taking place at the festival to ensure security and order, traffic safety, fire and explosion prevention, and environmental sanitation, this plan is submitted to the Department of Culture and Sports before festivals take place.
At the same time, districts and towns should coordinate closely with the City Inspectorate when conducting inspections to the festival organization in the locality plus summarizing and reporting on the festival management and organization to the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports to summarize and report to the City People’s Committee in advance of May 30th, 2020.
Kieu Linh