A festival is taking place in Ha Noi where ethnic people from across the country gather together and exchange their cultures as well as introduce them to local people and tourists. The activities aim to celebrate Viet Nam Ethnic Groups’ Culture Day on 19 April.

Village elders, artisans and people from ethnic minority groups across the country are flocking to the Viet Nam National Village for Ethnic Culture and Tourism in Son Tay District in Ha Noi to participate in the event. By attending the festival, they hope to preserve and promote their distinctive cultural values.

“I am happy to be here. Visitors always ask us to give our ethnic group’s distinctive performances,” said artisan Chama Le Dap, a Raglai ethnic from Ninh Thuan Province. “This is a chance for us to preserve the group’s cultural values,” he added.

The annual event is an occasion for ethnic minorities to gather and perform traditional activities. During the past 10 years, the celebration has attracted more and more visitors to the village, helping promote the diverse cultural values of ethnic groups in Viet Nam.

Nguyen Thi Thu Uyen, a visitor from Ha Noi, said: “Every ethnic group boasts its own beauty. As a young person, we would like to promote ethnic groups’ cultural heritage.”

According to her, promoting cultural values should be done in cooperation with tourism activities as youngsters like travelling.

There still remain challenges in preserving their culture as some youngsters may turn their back on their communities’ traditional values. Authorities have to come up with appropriate policies to sustain the diversity of Viet Nam’s ethnic culture.

Ho Van Hanh, a village patriarch of the Ta Oi ethnic group in Thua Thien-Hue Province said it’s difficult to preserve cultural values among youngsters as they have to study. “The point is to integrate ethnic cultural values in their curricula to raise their awareness of preserving and promoting their cultural heritages,” he noted.

Such activities are expected to draw people’s attention, especially youngsters.

Viet Nam is a multi-nationality country with 54 ethnic groups. The Kinh people account for 87% of the population and mainly inhabit the Red River Delta, the central coastal region, the Mekong Delta, and major cities. The 53 other ethnic minority groups, totaling over 8 million people, are scattered around mountain areas (which cover two-thirds of the country’s territory) from the north to the south.

(Source: VNA)