These breakthrough changes establish a modern governance mindset, shifting the focus towards proactive, creative conservation, closely linked to sustainable development goals, while also requiring unified and decisive implementation across the entire sector.
A reporter from Nhan Dan Newspaper spoke with Associate Professor, Doctor Le Thi Thu Hien, Head of the Cultural Heritage Department (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism), to clarify key orientations and tasks in the Law’s implementation phase.
Q: On November 23, 2024, the National Assembly adopted the 2024 Law on Cultural Heritage, replacing the 2001 Law and the 2009 Amended Law, marking a major shift in State management of heritage. During implementation, which areas will the Cultural Heritage Department prioritise to ensure the Law quickly comes into practice and meets conservation requirements in the new context?
A: The Law on Cultural Heritage consists of nine chapters and 95 articles, an increase of two chapters and 22 articles compared with the current Law (seven chapters, 73 articles). It fully institutionalises the Party’s and the State’s guidelines and policies on culture and cultural heritage, and addresses institutional bottlenecks with new, breakthrough changes that have far-reaching impacts on all aspects of the country’s cultural, social and economic life. It creates a fundamental shift in the position and strength of the cause of managing, safeguarding and promoting the value of cultural heritage nationwide and in localities, in line with practical requirements.
The 2024 Law on Cultural Heritage is considered an important turning point in the process of reforming and shifting the mindset from “doing culture” to “managing culture”, and from “passive conservation” to “proactive, creative conservation and sustainable development”. Following the directions of the leadership of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and in our role as an advisory body assisting State management of cultural heritage, the Cultural Heritage Department has identified that the adoption of the Law by the National Assembly not only contributes to improving the legal framework for managing, safeguarding and promoting cultural heritage, but also places an urgent requirement on us to swiftly and decisively organise the implementation of tasks so that the Law can be carried out in reality in a coherent and effective manner, meeting the demands of safeguarding and promoting cultural heritage values in the new context.
First of all, we will focus on drafting and synchronously implementing guiding documents for the implementation of the 2024 Law on Cultural Heritage, including three Decrees and three Circulars, to concretise provisions on the management, safeguarding and promotion of heritage values; on decentralisation and delegation of powers; and on simplification of administrative procedures, while ensuring the consistency, feasibility and coherence of the legal system from central to local levels. In parallel, the Department will continue to study and advise on the improvement of mechanisms and policies to create a comprehensive and favourable legal corridor for the management, inventory, repair, restoration and promotion of heritage values, and to encourage active participation of society in the safeguarding and promotion of cultural heritage values, ensuring consistency and harmony with other relevant laws.
We will strengthen inspection and guidance in the work of inventorying, ranking, recognising and inscribing cultural heritage in national and international lists; step up the conservation and restoration of cultural heritages at risk of fading or loss; and also implement policies to honour, support and provide incentives to artisans and those who preserve and transmit cultural heritage values. In the implementation process, the community is always identified as the central subject in the safeguarding and promotion of cultural heritage values; we always respect cultural diversity, promote dialogue among communities, and ensure regional, local and ethnic specificities, in line with Viet Nam’s fine customs and laws, thereby enriching national cultural identity and strengthening great national unity, while creating stable livelihoods for communities living with heritage.
Improving the quality of human resources is defined as a core task. The Cultural Heritage Department will focus on enhancing training and professional development to raise the expertise and skills of civil servants and public employees, while renewing thinking in State management and cultural governance. The goal is to build a corps of staff with sufficient capacity and deep understanding of the law, management science and conservation practice, thereby comprehensively advancing the cause of managing, safeguarding and promoting cultural heritage values in the new period.
Communication and dissemination of the law will also be carried out widely on digital platforms and mass media to raise awareness and responsibility across society for safeguarding and promoting cultural heritage values. Along with this is the strengthening of international cooperation and the robust application of digital technology in building a national database, digitising artefacts and monuments, and exhibiting heritage in the electronic environment.
Q: Alongside the 2024 Law on Cultural Heritage, there are many important documents such as Decree No. 39/2024/ND-CP dated April 16, 2024, on measures for managing, safeguarding and promoting the value of intangible cultural heritage in UNESCO lists and in the national list of intangible cultural heritage, and Decree No. 67/2022/ND-CP dated September 21, 2022, on jurisdiction, procedures and processes for preparing, appraising and approving planning and projects for the conservation, repair and restoration of historical-cultural relics and scenic landscapes. In your view, which points need to be prioritised to ensure coherence among these legal documents?
A: In the process of advising on the development of the 2024 Law on Cultural Heritage and its guiding documents, ensuring the consistency and coherence of the legal system has been our top priority. This coherence is reflected at two levels:
Coherence in the law-making process: We identified that revising and improving the legal system must be based on inheriting appropriate provisions that have been stably implemented for many years, to thoroughly resolve “bottlenecks” and ensure consistency and synchronisation between the Law on Cultural Heritage and other relevant laws. At the same time, we have updated and domesticated international provisions on the safeguarding and promotion of cultural heritage values to ensure coherence between regulations on the protection and promotion of relics and world heritage, and those on the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage, artefacts, antiques, documentary heritage and so on.
Coherence in communication and law enforcement: We promptly organise the communication and dissemination of legal documents in the field of cultural heritage in general and relics in particular; and have advised the issuance of Official Letter No. 4058/BVHTTDL-DSVH dated August 12, 2025, by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to People’s Committees of centrally run provinces and cities, guiding the implementation of projects on the conservation, repair and restoration of relics and related construction and investment projects in accordance with Government Decree No. 208/2025/ND-CP.
We regularly organise professional training and capacity-building programmes to improve legal awareness and law-enforcement capability for cultural heritage officials and public employees at central and local levels.
Thanks to these approaches, the legal system on cultural heritage in general and relics in particular is basically consistent, coherent, constitutional and lawful, thereby facilitating the safeguarding and promotion of cultural heritage values, enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of State management, promoting information technology application and digital transformation, as well as activities in services and public-private partnerships in the heritage field, while ensuring harmony between conservation and development.
Q: One of the core principles of the 2024 Law on Cultural Heritage is strengthening the role of communities as the main subjects in safeguarding, preserving and transmitting heritage. In your opinion, what solutions are needed to effectively mobilise community participation, especially in remote areas and among ethnic minority communities?
A: The 2024 Law on Cultural Heritage significantly strengthens the role of bearers of intangible cultural heritage in safeguarding and promoting its value. This is reflected in provisions on ownership, as well as the inventory, identification, practice and transmission of intangible cultural heritage. The Law also clearly defines the exercise of rights and responsibilities of holders of intangible cultural heritage in implementing principles of practising, managing, safeguarding and promoting the value of intangible cultural heritage.
For example, principles in the management, safeguarding and promotion of intangible cultural heritage values include: “Respecting the rights of holders of intangible cultural heritage and intangible cultural heritage artisans in deciding which elements need to be safeguarded and the forms and level at which heritage is to be promoted; identifying threats and impacts on its existence and selecting appropriate safeguarding measures” (Article 6). Likewise, Article 7 on State policies stipulates: “Safeguarding and promoting the value of cultural heritage in ethnic minority and mountainous areas, border regions and islands, with special priority given to the safeguarding and promotion of cultural heritage of very small ethnic minorities and ethnic minorities whose cultural identity is at risk of disappearing.”
In the spirit of the Law’s provisions relating to the role of heritage bearers, the safeguarding and promotion of intangible cultural heritage of ethnic minority communities, linked with their participation, is reflected in all activities and measures for managing, safeguarding and promoting intangible cultural heritage values, focusing on tasks and solutions such as: strengthening the inventory, identification and inscription of intangible cultural heritage with community participation; organising classes for the transmission of intangible cultural heritage within and outside communities with the involvement of artisans and practitioners; implementing activities to honour artisans and practitioners of intangible cultural heritage; organising festivals, performances and practice spaces for intangible cultural heritage; and linking the management, safeguarding and promotion of intangible cultural heritage with local socio-economic development programmes, plans, schemes and projects. These efforts help improve the spiritual and material life and livelihoods of heritage bearers.
Q: In the context of many heritages being under pressure from urbanisation, climate change and changes in contemporary life, how does the Cultural Heritage Department orient the safeguarding of heritage so that it harmonises the need to preserve original values with the requirements of socio-economic development in localities?
A: In the context of cultural heritage facing multiple pressures from urbanisation, climate change and profound changes in contemporary life, we are always aware that conservation and development are not opposing poles, but mutually supportive elements working towards the goal of sustainable development. Therefore, as the advisory body assisting the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in State management of cultural heritage, the Cultural Heritage Department has implemented several solutions as follows:
– Improving the system of legal normative documents on cultural heritage, removing “bottlenecks” and creating institutional breakthroughs and favourable mechanisms for safeguarding and promoting cultural heritage values in association with socio-economic development and sustainable tourism development. The 2024 Law on Cultural Heritage (Articles 28, 29, and 30) and Government Decree No. 208/2025/ND-CP dated July 17, 2025 (Articles 43, 44, and 45) ensure consistency and coherence with laws on investment, public investment, construction and other relevant legal provisions, on the basis of clearly defining the jurisdiction and procedures for giving opinions on investment projects, construction works and individual housing inside and outside relic protection zones and buffer zones of world heritage sites.
Notably, based on recommendations of ICOMOS and UNESCO on improving the integration of heritage impact assessment mechanisms, the Cultural Heritage Department has advised the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to proactively domesticate and complete legal documents related to world heritage impact assessment in the Law on Cultural Heritage (Point b, Clause 1, Article 29) and Government Decree No. 208/2025/ND-CP dated July 17, 2025 (Article 42). These provisions aim to ensure that investment projects, construction works and activities using marine areas for resource exploitation and socio-economic activities in world heritage sites and buffer zones comply with environmental protection requirements, and that factors affecting world heritage are prevented, controlled and assessed consistent with UNESCO regulations and guidelines.
– Improving the quality of appraisal of planning schemes and projects for the conservation, repair, restoration and promotion of relic values.
– Strengthening inspection and monitoring of law enforcement in the management, safeguarding and promotion of cultural heritage values; promptly detecting and preventing acts that infringe upon relics; and handling or recommending strict handling of organisations and individuals that violate regulations.
By tightly combining a clear legal framework, the appropriate application of UNESCO’s toolkits and guidance on world heritage impact assessment, and regular inspection and supervision mechanisms, the Cultural Heritage Department believes that, in the future, the issue will gradually be resolved. This includes harmonising the safeguarding and promotion of cultural heritage values with the sustainable socio-economic development needs of localities with relics and world heritage sites.
Q: Looking back on more than 20 years of implementing the 2001 Law on Cultural Heritage and the 2009 Amended Law, what do you consider the most important lesson in building cultural heritage policy in the new period, to unlock the power of culture and make tangible contributions to national development?
A: Looking back over more than two decades of implementing the 2001 Law on Cultural Heritage and the 2009 Amended Law, we can affirm that cultural heritage has always been one of the sustainable pillars of national identity and spiritual strength. However, in the new development stage, with deep international integration, rapid digital transformation and the requirement to enhance national internal strength, we need a new mindset on cultural heritage. That is why the 2024 Law on Cultural Heritage was built on the most important lesson:
Cultural heritage must be regarded as a national development resource – to be governed with modern thinking, through policies based on Viet Nam’s system of values, and through mechanisms that mobilise the participation of the whole society.
From this core lesson, several key orientations in cultural heritage policy for the new period – which are also the spirit of the 2024 Law on Cultural Heritage – have been identified as follows:
First, placing communities at the centre: The new Law emphasises the role of communities as main subjects in preserving and promoting cultural heritage; it regards communities not only as “beneficiaries” but as “co-creators”. Policies must awaken cultural energy among the people and create an environment in which every citizen is proud to participate and create on the foundation of cultural heritage.
Second, adopting a heritage governance approach aligned with international standards: The 2024 Law on Cultural Heritage adopts a comprehensive approach within a modern governance framework: making processes more transparent, standardising databases, increasing accountability of managing entities and enhancing professional capacity. This is a necessary shift to ensure heritage is safeguarded sustainably and in line with UNESCO conventions to which Viet Nam is a party.
Third, linking conservation with sustainable development: A key focus of the 2024 Law on Cultural Heritage is to turn heritage into a resource for socio-economic development, particularly in cultural tourism, cultural industries and the creative economy, but always under the principle of not harming original values. Development must be controlled, planned and based on full impact assessments.
Fourth, promoting digital transformation and science-technology: The 2024 Law on Cultural Heritage provides clearer provisions on digitising heritage, creating electronic records, applying artificial intelligence in value identification and managing the national cultural heritage database. These are tools that help us safeguard heritage more effectively and, at the same time, expand public access, especially for young people.
Fifth, expanding international cooperation and enhancing Viet Nam’s position: Experience over 20 years shows that international cooperation is the shortest path to new knowledge, technology and advanced standards. The 2024 Law on Cultural Heritage establishes a legal corridor for deeper participation in global cultural heritage networks, while contributing to projecting Viet Nam’s image as a responsible, proactive and creative nation in safeguarding cultural heritage.
In summary, the most important lesson for building cultural heritage policy in the new period is to shift from a management mindset to one of creation and development; from an administrative approach to a value-based approach; and from isolated conservation to the governance of a cultural heritage ecosystem.
With that spirit, the 2024 Law on Cultural Heritage is a strategic step that reflects the Government’s determination to awaken cultural strength and promote cultural heritage values as a soft power resource of the nation, contributing to building an advanced Vietnamese culture imbued with national identity and fostering the sustainable development of the country.
Reporter: Thank you very much!
