From "investing in culture" to "cultural economy
We are entering the stage of preparing for the 14th National Party Congress and Resolution 80 is a strong affirmation that Vietnam will develop by cultural internal strength and human quality, not just by growth rate.
A very noteworthy point of Resolution 80 is the view of resources. The Resolution emphasizes the view: investing in culture is investing in sustainable development, for the future of the nation, and at the same time requires fundamental innovation in resource mobilization thinking, in which the State plays a leading role, society is an important resource. This is a right and accurate message, because for many years, the weakness of the cultural field has not only been lack of money, but also lack of mechanisms to turn money into value, lack of thinking to turn social resources into "cultural strength".
To understand this spirit correctly, it is necessary to get rid of the old way of thinking that culture is "spending". Culture is not "consuming" like administrative expenses. Culture is a long-term investment in human capacity and national brand. When a country invests in aesthetic education, in artistic creation, in a product ecosystem with copyright, that country not only creates spiritual value, but also creates jobs, revenue, tourism, exports, and international position.
We see this very clearly through specific examples in recent life.The explosion of mass art programs, large-scale concerts, and chains of cultural and musical events attracting tens of thousands of spectators is not only a manifestation of taste, but also a sign of a "cultural market" being formed.Spaces such as pedestrian streets, creative complexes, street art festivals, young design products...
have created a new class of cultural consumers, which is a premise for the cultural industry to develop.However, if there is only spontaneous explosion, it is not enough.The cultural industry needs a "creative hand" for the market to operate healthily, for creativity to be protected, so that businesses and artists are not isolated.This is when the State-led viewpoint becomes key.The State does not replace creativity, but must do three things: Designing rules of the game, creating infrastructure, and paving the way for capital flow.
From Vietnamese practice, the most important change is to shift from investing in the style of "building works" to investing in the style of "building ecosystems". A theater cannot just be a building. A museum cannot just be an exhibition place. An exhibition center cannot just be a check-in point. Cultural investment must go hand in hand with professional operating models, associated with digital technology, associated with public education, associated with modern communication and the market.
It is no coincidence that the Resolution sets the goal of forming international-scale creative zones - clusters, applying high technology, and innovative business models. Today's culture exists not only in theaters, museums or books, but also in digital platforms, in design, fashion, games, advertising, and experience technology... A strong culture is a culture that has the ability to reproduce value in a technological environment, capable of telling its own story in a global language.
To make Vietnamese culture reach out to the world
Resolution 80 sets ambitious goals: Forming cultural industry corporations, building international-class creative zones and clusters, striving to have cultural industries contribute about 7% of GDP by 2030 and form many national brands in fields such as cinema, performing arts, cultural tourism, design, fashion... That goal is not far-fetched. Many countries have achieved it and even take culture as a spearhead export industry. The question is: Which way will Vietnam reach the destination?
To achieve that goal, the most important thing is to "lock up" the biggest bottleneck: Management thinking and implementation mechanisms. The Resolution has clearly stated the requirement to innovate cultural management methods in the direction of creation, service, linking the cultural industry, cultural market with building national cultural product brands and cultural tourism. This is the reform soul of the resolution.
We must bravely look back: For a long time, culture has often been governed in the style of "management - control" rather than "creativity - companionship". That approach can create certain safety, but in the era of creative competition, it narrows the creative space. And creativity cannot develop in a cramped space. Creativity needs the right to experiment. Flexible mechanisms are needed. Need to accept controlled risks. And need to trust the team of artists, businesses, and content creators.
From the practice of many countries, what creates a breakthrough in the cultural industry is not the slogan, but the value chain organized professionally: From training - production - distribution - communication - export - copyright protection. In Vietnam, this chain still has many weak links, especially the distribution and protection of intellectual property rights. A good film work, a good piece of music, a creative design... can be copied, illegally exploited, causing creators to lose motivation. If copyright issues cannot be solved, then talking about cultural industry groups is still just a dream.
In the context of moving towards the 14th Congress, cultural governance innovation is also national governance innovation in a very important cross-section. Because culture is directly related to social character, to discipline, to lifestyle, to the ability to combat manifestations of degradation and deviation from standards. Resolution 80, in my opinion, is not only aimed at developing art, heritage or festivals. The Resolution aims to build a culture capable of "self-ajusting society", creating responsible citizens, cultured businesses, and brave communities.
And finally, when it comes to reaching out to the world, we cannot only export products, but must export the whole story. Vietnam has a cultural treasure trove enough to tell the world. But to tell a good story, you must have the ability to tell modern stories, have a global creative language. Cinema, music, fashion, design, experiential travel... are the "new storytellers" of the nation in the digital age.
Resolution 80, therefore, can be considered a "roadmap" for the country's new development stage. It puts culture at the center not to beautify the development strategy, but to create a development with bravery, depth, and resilience. And in the atmosphere towards the 14th National Congress, the Resolution is like a strong reminder: Vietnam's future is not only decided by growth figures, but also decided by the depth of culture and the stature of Vietnamese people.
