"International Scientific Conference on Vietnamese Culture, Language, Literature, and Art in the South"

On March 30, 2024, at Hall A, Tay Do University in collaboration with the University of Social Sciences and Humanities and the Ho Chi Minh City National University organized the International Scientific Conference on Vietnamese Culture, Language, Literature, and Art in the South. The conference was attended by over 200 delegates, including scholars, researchers, professors, associate professors, and doctoral degree holders from both domestic and international institutions. 

In his opening speech, Meritorious Teacher, Prof. Dr. Tran Cong Luan, Rector of Tay Do University, stated that although the South has a shorter history compared to the rest of Vietnam, the region has achieved significant strategic successes that cannot be denied. In terms of culture and history, the South has left behind valuable traditional achievements that are difficult to fade away, such as Tao đàn Chiêu Anh các, Tao đàn Bạch Mai Thi xã và Tao đàn Bình Dương Thi xã. Additionally, there are cultural and religious heritages, as well as traditional music that vividly reflect the Southern dialect.

Meritorious Teacher, Prof. Dr. Tran Cong Luan further mentioned that this was the first time Tay Do University organized an international conference of this scale in the field of social sciences and humanities, an area where the university had limited practical experience. Therefore, over a year of preparation, aiming at the goal of "ôn cố tri tân" had taken place. This initiative intended to pay tribute to the ancestors who opened up the Southern region and to focus on studying and exchanging academic knowledge about the valuable experiences that the previous generations left for their descendants in this region.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Lan Trung, Chairman of the Vietnamese Language Association, commented that this might be the first interdisciplinary conference not only in the Southwestern region but also nationwide. With high-quality reports and discussions, the conference provided a serious academic forum that opened up new approaches and brought fresh vitality to the research community in the Southwestern region and the country as a whole.

According to the sharing of Dr. Nguyen Phuc Tang, Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training in Can Tho City, the vast and distinctive literary treasure of the South still holds many mysteries that call for research. However, due to limitations in resources, many issues are still under discussion. It is worth noting that there are too few books written about the history of this region, and mainstream textbooks barely mention it. This reality has created gaps in perception and even distortions in understanding the entirety of Vietnamese history and culture. Therefore, the outcomes of this conference will contribute valuable scientific evidence and meaningful insights to objectively and fairly perceive the Culture, Language, Literature, and Art of the Southern region in the process of constructing and preserving the values of Vietnamese Culture and Literature.

More than 200 papers related to cultural and artistic fields were presented at the conference. The organizing committee arranged for 30 scientific papers to be presented in a plenary session and 5 parallel sessions. After receiving critical feedback from leading experts in the field, the high-quality papers will be published by a reputable publisher to serve interested readers.

Here are some images from the conference: 

 News and Photos: Thao Ly