On the morning of October 28, 2022, Lang Son Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism held a provincial-level scientific workshop "Solutions to preserve and promote the of intangible cultural heritages associated with sustainable tourism development in Lang Son Geopark" within the framework of the research "Researching, conserving and promoting ​​of some types of intangible cultural heritages in Lang Son Geopark ".

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pham Lan Oanh, Deputy Director of the Vietnam National Institute of Culture and Arts and Mr. Nguyen Phuc Ha, Director of Lang Son Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism co-chaired the workshop. Attending the workshop were leaders of provincial departments, committees and agencies; leaders of the People's Committees and Culture and Information Divisions of Bac Son, Binh Gia, Chi Lang, Huu Lung, Van Quan districts; central and local scientific researchers; artisans in Lang Son Geopark; some businesses and reporters of Lang Son Newspaper, Lang Son Radio and Television Station.

Mr. Nguyen Phuc Ha, Director of Lang Son Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Chairman of the Research delivered the opening speech at  the Workshop

Overview of the Conference

Lang Son Geopark belongs to the administrative scope of five districts: Bac Son, Binh Gia, Chi Lang, Huu Lung, Van Quan with a total area of ​​3,845.8 km2, population of 375,656 respectively accounting for 46.3%  of the area and 48.1% of the population in the province. Along with tangible cultural heritages, typical ​​of geology - geomorphology, space - landscape, biodiversity... basically meeting the criteria as prescribed by UNESCO, Lang Son Geopark also fully converges seven types of intangible cultural heritages including traditional festivals, social practices and beliefs, traditional crafts, folk performing arts, folk language, written language, folk knowledge. All create a Geopark area that is both diverse and unified and has its own characteristics and identity in Xu Lang’s cultural space.

Prof. Dr. Le Hong Ly, Chairman of the Vietnam Folk Arts Association spoke at the workshop

Through the preparation, the Organizing Committee of the workshop received nine presentations experts, scientists and researchers of cultural history inside and outside the province, including the following topics: Exploiting intangible cultural heritages for economic and social development in Lang Son Geopark; problems posed for the preservation and promotion of the ​​of ethnic groups’ social practices and beliefs in Lang Son Geopark; preserving and promoting the of ethnic groups’ intangible cultural heritages in Lang Son Geopark in association with sustainable tourism development; solutions to preserve and promote the value of some types of intangible cultural heritages associated with sustainable tourism development in Lang Son Geopark; a number of solutions to preserve and promote the value of folk singing performance in the Geopark; measures to preserve and promote the language and writing of folklore in association with sustainable tourism development in Lang Son Geopark; learning the system of Han Nom heritage in Lang Son Geopark; folk performing arts – an important element in the development of community tourism; orientations, solutions for management and conservation of some types of intangible cultural heritages in Lang Son Geopark (of which six articles were presented at the workshop).

Dr. Tran Thi Thu Huong, Deputy Head of the Department of Literature, Institute of Han Nom Studies spoke at the workshop

Some recommendations and solutions were given by experts and researchers at the workshop: It is necessary to promote propaganda to raise the sense of respect for ethnic traditional cultural so that ethnic minorities are responsible for preserving traditional cultural and selectively receiving the quintessence of modern culture; conduct surveys and statistics on the potential of tangible and intangible cultural heritages of the Geopark in detail and meticulously, with various methods maps, digitization of data to collect and record all intangible cultural heritages according to the inventory method prescribed by UNESCO; conduct research on intangible cultural heritages in parallel with studies related to the preparation of dossiers to submit to UNESCO for recognition of a Global Geopark; create a living environment and practice cultural heritages of ethnic minorities; strengthen the application of information technology and digital technology in building a database for management, conservation, exploitation and promotion of the values of historical relics, intangible cultural heritages, forming products attractive cultural tourism products, contributing to promoting growth and sustainable socio-economic development; encourage and support artisans and cultural subjects who preserve and teach cultural heritage values; closely link the development of tourism with the conservation and promotion of the ​​of natural resources, cultural and historical heritages and cultural identities of the ethnic groups; connect Lang Son province with neighboring provinces such as Cao Bang, Bac Kan, Thai Nguyen and Bac Giang in a common strategy for regional development including Geoparks, especially Cao Bang has a Global UNESCO Geopark; set up tours to promote and exploit the tangible and intangible ​​of the Geopark in the coming time (research, combination of culture and tourism people); cooperate with relevant central agencies, especially tourism organizations, businesses and economic groups with strengths in this field.

Mr. Vi Quang Trung, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Chi Lang district spoke  at the workshop

Participants focused on discussing a number of main contents such as solutions to preserve and promote the value of ethnic groups’ intangible cultural heritages in the Geopark in association with sustainable tourism development; learning the system of Han Nom heritage in Lang Son Geopark; exploiting intangible cultural heritages for economic and social development in Lang Son Geopark and so on.

Participants took souvenir photos

The contents discussed at the workshop serve as a basis for completing the research "Researching, conservating and promoting the value of some types of intangible cultural heritages in Lang Son Geopark". This is also the scientific basis to complete the dossier to meet one of UNESCO’s criteria for recognition of the Global Geopark.

Pham Huong