From preserving and passing on heritage to promoting educational coupled with cultural exchanges, Dak Lak is harnessing its cultural identity to build bridges of friendship and deepen international integration.

Culture, a bridge of friendship

For numerous years, People’s Artist Thanh Hai of the Sao Bien Folk Song and Dance Theatre has worked with colleagues to showcase lithophones alongside stone trumpets at cultural exchange and performance programmes in Laos, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, China combined with elsewhere. Each trip provides an opportunity to share the richness and diversity of Vietnamese culture with international audiences.

Comrade Luong Nguyen Minh Triet, Member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Head of the provincial National Assembly Delegation, together with the Dak Lak provincial delegation presenting flowers to leaders of Mondulkiri province, Cambodia, during a working visit to Mondulkiri province.

While lithophones evoke stories of the passage of time, gongs embody stories of community vitality. In Trap village (Krong Ana Commune), E de Bih women are preserving Dak Lak’s only active women’s gong troupe. Krong Ana has been among four localities in the province to receive more than 25,000 USD in funding from the Jeollabuk-do Center for International Affairs (JBKCIA) in the Republic of Korea to implement the project “Preserving and Promoting the Cultural Values of Gongs” since 2022.

PPC Vice Chairwoman, comrade Dao My said that, in implementing Politburo Resolution No. 59 on international integration in the novel situation, Dak Lak is harnessing the power of culture and bringing the Central Highlands heritage closer to the world. The province regularly organises cultural along with artistic exchange activities with neighbouring countries and international partners, including the “Friendship Bridge” programme with Mondulkiri province (Cambodia) and “Songs of Friendship” programmes in Laos.

In particular, after nine editions, the Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Festival has attracted growing numbers of visitors together with international delegations, emerging as a prominent platform for promoting local culture, the coffee brand and the image of Dak Lak.

Alongside these efforts, photographer Nguyen Khac Hao’s image of the Phu My basket boat village (Tuy An Bac commune) won the Special Prize at the “Heritage Photography Awards - Heritage Journey 2025”, helping spread the beauty of Dak Lak’s culture, daily life and landscapes to domestic coupled with international audiences.

“Diplomatic ambassadors” from schools

Jangama Veerashaiva Ankitha is one of 173 Indian students studying at Buon Ma Thuot University of Medicine and Pharmacy. During her two years in Dak Lak, she has actively participated in cultural exchange alongside experiential activities and hopes to introduce the beauty of the Central Highlands, coffee culture, unique traditions and the image of Dak Lak’s friendly together with hospitable people.

Indian along with Vietnamese students at Buon Ma Thuot University of Medicine and Pharmacy participating in International Volunteer Students’ Day held in the border commune of Buon Don.

According to Prof. Dr Cao Tien Duc, Rector of the university, alongside professional training, the university organises numerous cultural exchange activities, including the Holi Festival, Celestia’26 and International Volunteer Students’ Day, as well as has established the Vietnam - India Friendship Association, creating a space for exchange and connection among students from the two countries.

International educational cooperation is likewise expanding across higher education institutions province-wide. Phu Yen University along with the University of Civil Engineering of the Central Region have previously hosted numerous Lao students. Foreign volunteers also participate in teaching English at several universities. This gives students more opportunities to engage in multicultural exchanges locally.

For Dak Lak, each international student comes not only to study but also to experience the culture, people and land of the Central Highlands, alongside may later become a “bridge” introducing Dak Lak to the wider world.

Translated by KHUONG THAO