Dak Lak is home to a diverse cultural space shaped by the cultural heritage of 45 ethnic groups living together. Amid globalisation and rapid advances of digital technology, the challenge is not only to preserve cultural identity, but also to ensure that traditional values continue flourishing in modern life.

Culture between two “currents”

According to the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, several forms of folk art as well as traditional crafts are gradually fading away due to shortage of successors and impact of market economy. Traditional cultural values are undergoing strong interaction alongside exchange with foreign cultural influences.

Given this situation, developing proactive solutions to preserve and promote cultural values in the new context has become increasingly urgent. Dak Lak consistently identifies comprehensive human development combined with construction of an advanced culture imbued with national identity as essential to turning culture into an endogenous strength and a driving force for development. At present, technological advances, particularly AI, are opening up many opportunities to promote cultural values. This not only contributes to educating younger generations about ethnic heritage, but also generates economic benefits, while offering more accessible and engaging cultural experiences.

Villages celebrating the new rice festival.

Simultaneously, passing on cultural values to younger generations remains great importance. Comrade Nguyen The Anh, Chairman of the People’s Committee of Cu Pong commune, said that ethnic minority communities such as the Ede, Tay, Nung, Muong, Dao, J’rai and Xe Dang account for nearly 68% of the commune’s population. The locality has widely implemented movements encouraging civilised lifestyles in residential areas, while encouraging residents to preserve their distinctive cultural values. The commune has also organised gong performance and ethnic musical instrument classes, together with cultural education programmes for children and youth to raise awareness along with inspire passion for preserving and promoting traditional culture.

Developing culture-based community tourism

One of the effective approaches pursued by Dak Lak is linking cultural preservation with sustainable community tourism development. Ako Dhong village, in Buon Ma Thuot ward, was recognised as the provincial first community tourism village in 2023. This is a long-established Ede village located within the urban area. Visitors can stay in traditional long houses and enjoy gong performances, wood-roasted coffee as well as Ede cuisine.

At Tong Ju village, in Ea Kao ward, visitors can immerse themselves in local life by staying in stilt houses, drinking rice wine through bamboo straws, listening to stories by the firelight and enjoying distinctive local cuisine. Traditional crafts such as weaving, rice wine brewing along with handicraft making are also maintained. H Yam Bkrong, head of the Tong Ju community tourism group, said: “Becoming a community tourism destination not only helps the village attract visitors, but also provides opportunities for local residents to introduce and promote natural landscape coupled with distinctive culture of the Ede ethnic group. To professionalise operations and better serve visitors, the village has established performance, culinary, while weaving teams operating in an organised manner”.

According to comrade Tran Hong Tien, Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, ethnic communities in villages together with hamlets have joined hands to preserve, promote and popularise distinctive traditional cultural values associated with community tourism development. The province also identifies culture as a means to improve incomes as well as living standards, while building Dak Lak into a locality with an advanced culture imbued with national identity. In the coming period, the cultural sector will further promote heritage spaces and, through State investment, support villages along with hamlets in ethnic minority areas in preserving and promoting cultural values associated with community tourism development.

Translated by KHUONG THAO