The Central Highlands of Dak Nong has launched a project to preserve and promote the gong cultural heritage of the province for the 2016-2020 period with an investment of nearly 16 billion VND (720,000 USD).

The Cultural Space of Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) Gong has been recognised by the UNESCO as a masterpiece of the oral and intangible heritage of the humanity in 2005.

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The conservation and promotion of the heritage is of urgent need of Dak Nong to prevent the risk of oblivion amidst the current speedy urbanisation.

The project aims to popularise the unique identity of ethnic minority groups in the locality such as E-de, M’Nong and Ma, promote the heritage’s cultural value in the community, and making gong culture a symbolic feature of Dak Nong, and attract tourists.

The provincial Department of Culture, Sport and Tourism has been tasked to check the quantity and quality as well as origin and owners of gongs across the locality to make profile for each set of gongs for better management.

The Department will also make a collection of gong tunes for protection and promotion, while giving financial support to local gong players and organising gong classes for M’Nong, E-de and Ma people.

According to the department, over the past 10 years, the province has paid attention to preserving traditional cultures of local ethnic minority groups. It has restored about 50 traditional festivals, while holding annual cultural festival days for the groups.

Source: VNA