THE PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government of December 25, 2001;

Pursuant to the Law on Cultural Heritage of June 29, 2001;

Pursuant to the Prime Minister's Decision No. 19/2003/QD-TTg of January 28, 2001 approving the national target program on culture till the year 2005;

Pursuant to the Prime Minister's Decision No. 168/2001/QD-TTg of October 30, 2001 on long-term orientations for, the 2001-2005 five-year plan on, and basic solutions to, socio-economic development of the Central Highlands;

At the proposal of the Minister of Culture and Information,

DECIDES:

Article 1.- To approve the scheme on "development of cultural and information activities in the Central Highlands till the year 2010" with the following principal contents:

1. The scheme's name: "Development of cultural and information activities in the Central Highlands till the year 2010."

2. The scheme managers: The Ministry of Culture and Information and the People's Committees of the Central Highlands provinces.

3. The objectives of the scheme:

a/ To conserve, selectively inherit, preserve and promote the traditional cultural values and typical cultural values, to gradually do away with obsolete and backward things; to build up and develop new cultural and artistic values; to shape a civilized lifestyle and a new type of cultured families in the Central Highlands;

b/ To unify and promote the integrated strength of the entire nation, thus improving the cultural life in all economic, political and social activities; to contribute to repelling the "peaceful evolution" ploys of hostile forces, to prevent and eliminate the deceptive and distorting allegations, thus contributing to the socio-economic stability and development.

c/ To discover and foster a contingent of cultural and artistic authors being ethnic minority people;

d/ To organize surveys, collection, study and popularization of cultural and artistic values; to conserve and promote the traditional crafts of various ethnic groups in the Central Highlands.

4. Contents of development of cultural and information activities in the Central Highlands:

a/ Enhancing the propagation of political, economic and socio-cultural tasks and mobilizing the population to participate in the movement for protection of the Fatherland's security:

- Organizing the implementation of the Resolution of the 5th plenum of the Party Central Committee (the VIIIth Congress) on building and development of an advanced Vietnamese culture deeply imbued with national identity;

- Promoting the operation efficiency of mobile information teams, mobilizing cultural, artistic, communication and agitation forces to concentrate on the propagation on political security, social order and safety in the Central Highlands provinces in regions where exist complicated religious sects, regions of free migrants and key regions;

- Compiling and distributing programs and documents for professional training in culture and information as well as program contents suitable to ethnic minority people in each area.

b/ Organizing cultural and information activities in the Central Highlands:

- Organizing theatrical festivals, contests, folk rituals, cultural and sport festivals of ethnic minority groups; stepping up the movement "the entire population unites to build a cultured life";

- Building the system of museums; putting up stelae for the already classified monuments; working out solutions to conserve and promote the value of tangible and intangible culture;

- Building and improving clusters of propaganda panels and exemplary cultural spots in the border regions.

c/ Building the synchronous system of cultural and information institutions from provinces to districts, communes, wards, district townships, villages, hamlets and street quarters.

- Formulating the planning on land for building cultural and information institutions from the provinces to grassroots levels; attaching importance to the building of centers for communal cultural activities and entertainment and recreation quarters for children;

- Restoring traditional communal houses (Rong houses, Guol houses and long houses) and building and investing furniture and equipment for cultural Rong houses and communal culture houses;

- Upgrading the system of libraries; expanding and building book centers and bookshops;

- Building theaters and literary and art composition camps.

d/ Working out plans on investment in material foundations for development of cultural and information activities

- Working out plans on investment in the system of cultural institutions from provinces to grassroots levels; investing equipment for mobile information teams; building radio and/or public-addressing stations; commune cultural post offices; and playgrounds for sport and cultural activities; supplying some cultural products to communes;

- Intensifying the supply of means for cultural and information activities for border-guard stations in the border regions;

- Striving to have 90% of communes covered by television broadcasting by 2005, installing satellite antennas in concave areas or investing other means and equipment to transmit the signals of the Radio Voice of Vietnam and Vietnam Television Station as well as local television stations to deep-lying and remote areas.

e/ Developing human resource for cultural and information activities

Consolidating the apparatuses and cadres in charge of cultural and information management from provinces to grassroots levels; politically and professionally fostering cultural and information cadres; prioritizing the training of cadres being ethnic minority people; investing in and compiling the teaching programs with practical contents for the grassroots and areas inhabited by ethnic minority people.

f/ Building models of cultural and information activities

- Continuing investment in building models of cultural and information activities available in each province; raising the quality and contents of activities, selecting good models for dissemination in the whole province; efficiently using the models of film projection teams and itinerant culture and information vehicles; building models of cultural and sport activities at culture houses and entertainment and recreation centers;

- Maintaining the model of cultural and information activities at the grassroots levels such as cultured villages or hamlets, cultural Rong houses, Guol houses and communal culture houses.

- Building the model of traditional cultural and art festivals for efficient activities.

g/ Stepping up the inspection and examination in cultural and information activities

Consolidating specialized inspection teams, working out annual inspection plans; detecting and promptly handling violations; selecting and training inspectors possessing good ethical quality and professional qualifications.

h/ Formulating the regime of budget expenditures for cultural and information activities

Working out plans suitable to the local revenue sources and local socio-economic development; working out financial plans in compatibility with action plans; getting access to the cultural development assistance fund sources; mobilizing supports of the levels and branches.

5. Implementation solutions:

On the basis of the actual conditions of localities in each period, the following solutions shall be applied in a synchronous and effective manner:

a/ Unifying and raising the awareness and responsibility of the culture and information service and the concerned administrations and branches in the realization of the scheme;

b/ Enhancing the work of State management at all levels, branches and localities;

c/ Stepping up the work of organization and personnel;

d/ Consolidating material foundations and facilities for cultural and information activities;

e/ Mobilizing social resources for the development of cultural and information activities;

f/ Stepping up the socialization in appropriate forms of cultural and information activities in the Central Highlands in order to mobilize the available potentials of grassroots localities, branches and population so as to improve the spiritual life of the population;

g/ Stepping up the information and communication work with a view to raising the awareness of all levels, branches and population in the Central Highlands.

6. The duration for realization of the scheme: From 2004 to 2010.

a/ Stage 1: From 2004 to 2005;

b/ Stage 2: From 2006 to 2010.

7. Funding and capital sources:

a/ Funding:

The total funding is estimated at around VND 1,400 billion.

b/ Capital sources:

- The source allocated from the State budget for the culture and information service (for capital construction, non-business activities and national target programs on culture);

- The State budget source allocated to the localities (the five provinces of the Central Highlands), including budget allocations for cultural and information activities;

- Local budgets;

- Budget sources reserved by the ministries and branches for cultural and information activities;

- Contributions of the people;

- Contributions of socio-political organizations;

- Financial aids of foreign organizations and individuals.

Article 2.- Organization of implementation

1. The Ministry of Culture and Information shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the relevant agencies in, working out specific plans for, and direct the implementation of, this scheme; and together with the People's Committees of the provinces in the Central Highlands organize the implementation of the scheme in a specific manner according to the set objectives, targets, tasks and solutions; guide and integrate the implementation of this scheme with the socio-cultural and economic schemes as well as national target program on culture till 2010.

2. The ministries, ministerial-level agencies, the Government-attached agencies and the relevant agencies shall, within the ambit of their functions and tasks, coordinate with the Ministry of Culture and Information in organizing the implementation of this scheme.

3. The People's Committees of the provinces in the Central Highlands shall base themselves on the scheme's contents and the guidance of the Ministry of Culture and Information to work out annual implementation plans and allocate fundings therefor.

1. This Decision takes effect 15 days after its publication in the Official Gazette.

2. The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the heads of the Government-attached agencies and the presidents of the People's Committees of the Gia Lai, Kon Tum, Dak Lak, Dak Nong and Lam Dong provinces shall have to implement this Decision.

For the Prime Minister
Deputy Prime Minister
PHAM GIA KHIEM