The reality as well as the solutions to the protection and upholding ofspecial cultural identities of ethnic groups in the Central Highlands,especially the space of Gong culture, were among topics discussed at aseminar in Kon Tum city on August 2.

The event was jointly heldby the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Popularisation andEducation and the Steering Committee for the Central Highlands.

Delegates also focused on discussing policies to develop education, andthe dialectic relationship between culture and education in the region.

Former Deputy Minister of Education and Training Dr. DangHuynh Mai suggested regional provinces consider education a politicaltask in order to ensure human resources to develop themselves.

The region should continue renovating education management, encouragingteaching and learning among the ethnic minorities, and paying attentionto the education of ethnic groups in remote areas through policies tosupport the training of officials in these areas to increase the qualityof human resources.

Regarding the preservation and upholdingof Central Highlands culture, participants agreed on the need toaccelerate information work through various activities, particularlytargeting young people.

They proposed that the region shouldadd the traditional culture of ethnic groups to the curriculum atschools, and establish a specific cultural preservation strategy, withthe focus on the space of Gong culture, which was recognised by UNESCOas a world cultural heritage in 2005.

Localities also need tointensify the preservation and restoration of communal houses as well asthe typical festivals and practices of ethnic minority groups in theregion.-VNA