BacNinh (VNA) - A ceremony to honour individuals and organisationsthat have contributed to preserving and upholding the value of Quan Ho (love duet) singing,was held in the Kinh Bac culture centre in Bac Ninh city, the northern provinceof Bac Ninh on February 15.

The event is part of activities to respond to the “Ve mien Quan Ho” (Coming tothe Quan ho region) festival 2019 and to mark the 10 years since Quan Ho BacNinh singing has been recognised by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

Leaders from the provincial Party Committee and People’s Committee presentedcertificates of merit to representatives from 44 villages of Quan Ho singing,19 organisations and 18 individuals in recognition of their efforts in conservingand popularising the art genre in the community.

Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Van Phong said thelocal authorities have devised many policies to preserve and promote the valueof the art form.

Attention has been paid to restoring the performance space of ancient Quan Ho singingvillages and developing new Quan Ho singing villages and clubs, as well as promotingthe practice of Quan Ho singing, he stressed.

He highlighted the important role of Quan Ho artisans in teaching, introducingand popularising the unique cultural heritage.

Phong also mentioned challenges facing the locality in preserving the heritage,stressing the need for local people to have specific actions to preserve anddevelop the art form.

Quan Ho is an art form that combines variouselements, including music, lyrics and costumes, and features the distinctiveculture of people in the region formerly called Kinh Bac.

The art of love duets was inscribed in UNESCO’srepresentative list of intangible cultural heritage in September 2009.

In recent years, Bac Ninh has invested inrenovation and construction of cultural institutions. Of which, the key projectis Bac Ninh Quan Ho folk theatre. The 90-billion-VND project boasts an area of1.9 ha on four floors. It has a unique architectural design in the image of ahouse, dragon boat, a strip of peach silk and a large round hat, bearingcultural features of Bac Ninh – Kinh Bac.

With support provided by authorities at alllevels, the artists have been enthusiastic and motivated in conserving as wellas staging new programmes to introduce Quan Ho to tourists.

Implementing its commitment to UNESCO,throughout the years, Bac Ninh has called for efforts made at agencies at alllevels and people's communities, in jointly implementingthe project "Preserving and promoting the value of intangible culturalheritage, Bac Ninh Quan Ho folk songs and Ca tru in 2013-2020 ”.

In particular, Bac Ninh is the leading provincein developing mechanisms and policies to honour and reward artisans in thefield of intangible cultural heritage. This is a move to nurture passion,enthusiasm, dedication of talents to preserve and promote the cultural heritagevalues of the nation.

With the attention and support of the localgovernment, Quan Ho folk songs have increasingly gained the applause of abroader audience. This has affirmed the strong and persistent vitality of aunique and quintessential art form of a land rich in historical, cultural andrevolutionary traditions.-VNA