A ceremony was held at the Marble Mountains Tourist Area on Wednesday morning to mark the handover of a certificate recognising ‘ma nhai’ (Inscriptions) as a documentary heritage under the UNESCO Memory of the World for the Asia-Pacific Region Programme.

Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Dao Cuong (2nd, right) awarded a certificate recognising ‘ma nhai’ (Inscriptions) as a documentary heritage under the UNESCO Memory of the World for the Asia-Pacific Region Programme to Da Nang People's Committee Chairman Le Trung Chinh. Photo: XUAN DUNG

In attendance at the ceremony were Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs cum Chairwoman of the Viet Nam National Commission for UNESCO Ha Kim Ngoc, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Dao Cuong, Head of Education Department of UNESCO Representative Office in Viet Nam Miki Nozawa, and some leaders of the city.

In her speech delivered at the ceremony, municipal People’s Committee Vice Chairwoman Ngo Thi Kim Yen emphasised that it was a honour and pride of Da Nang in particular and Viet Nam in general as ‘ma nhai’ was recognised as a documentary heritage under the UNESCO Memory of the World for the Asia-Pacific Region Programme.

She highlighted the importance of the ceremony of recognition of ‘ma nhai’ (Inscriptions) in introducing and promoting local cultural values and tourist spots to domestic and international visitors.

Vice Chairwoman Yen thanked the central government, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the UNESCO Office in Viet Nam, relevant agencies, experts and researchers for their wisdom and effort contribution to successfully building and protecting the ‘ma nhai’ nomination dossier.

She pledged that the municipal authorities will do their utmost to preserve and promote the value of ‘ma nhai’ to deserve the title of a documentary heritage under the UNESCO Memory of the World for the Asia-Pacific Region Programme.

Municipal People’s Committee Vice Chairwoman Ngo Thi Kim Yen speaking at the ceremony

Mrs. Yen took the opportunity to ask the municipal Department of Culture and Sports, the Ngu Hanh Son District authorities and relevant units to implement solutions and plans to manage and preserve the Marble Mountains in general and ‘ma nhai’ in particular with a sustainable, long-term and effective orientation.

Special attention should be paid to training human resources, improving the professional qualifications of staff working in conservation work, strictly supervising and protecting ‘ma nhai’, and applying new scientific and technological achievements to serve the management and conservation of ‘ma nhai’ in a sustainable, scientific and effective manner, she added.

Mrs. Yen added importance should be attached to strengthening the publicity and promotion of the value of ‘ma nhai’ regularly and widely through various activities and methods in order to raise the awareness among locals and visitors. Heed should be on introducing these precious materials into schools for traditional education, and raising awareness among the young generation about the value and consciousness of preserving and promoting the value of the national cultural heritage.

The city leader asked for relevant units to promote international cooperation with countries nationwide and worldwide to learn and exchange experience on preserving and promoting the value of ‘ma nhai’ documentary heritage.

Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Dao Cuong affirmed ‘ma nhai’ at the Marble Mountains Tourist Area are extremely valuable, authentic and unique documents, clearly showing the interference and harmony of nature, economy, culture and society between Japan and China and Viet Nam in Viet Nam from the 17^th - the 19^th centuries.

He added these are unique and impressive works carved on stones. This type of documentary heritage has a modest number of entries in regional and world documentary heritage lists and is the first in Viet Nam. The recognition starts to explore the potential of a particularly valuable documentary heritage in the treasure of Vietnamese cultural heritage and to spread the hidden Vietnamese values to friends and colleagues in the region and the world.

He proposed the Da Nang government develop a project to manage and promote the heritage, and uphold the responsibility of the community in protecting and promoting the value of ‘ma nhai’ at the Marble Mountains Tourist Area in particular, and cultural heritage in general, thereby contributing to boost the sustainable development and international integration.

Head of the municipal Party Committee's Publicity and Training Department Doan Ngoc Hung Anh at the 'ma nhai' exhibition at the Marble Mountains Tourist Area. Photo: XUAN DUNG

Also speaking at the ceremony, Head of Education Department of UNESCO Representative Office in Viet Nam Miki Nozawa said that Viet Nam currently has 9 documentary heritages inscribed in the list of the Memory of the World Committee for Asia and the Pacific (MOWCAP), including 3 World Heritage Sites and 6 Asia-Pacific Heritage Sites.

He added the listing of ‘ma nhai’ at the Marble Mountains Tourist Area in MOWCAP aimed to recognise the significance and regional stature of the collection according to many criteria such as historical significance, originality and authenticity.

Reporting by XUAN DUNG - Translating by M.DUNG