In celebration of the Vietnam Book and Reading Culture Day (April 21), the World Book and Copyright Day (April 23) and other upcoming big anniversaries of the country and military, the General Department of Political Affairs opened the Book and Reading Culture Week in the military at the Military Library on April 19.
The program is to encourage and develop the reading movement in the whole military, raising soldiers’ awareness of the great importance of reading books; building reading habits in families, schools, agencies, organizations and communities. Meanwhile, it also aims to honor groups and individuals with great contribution to the development of reading culture and raise the responsibility of functional agencies and social organizations for the construction and development of reading culture in the military in particular and in the country in general.
Addressing the opening ceremony, Major General Do Thanh Phong, Deputy Director of the Department of Information and Education under the General Department of Political Affairs, affirmed that the Party committees and chains-of-command at all levels have always paid much attention to the cultural institutions, especially library and publishing affairs to meet all the need for spiritual culture, information, research, study, and improve comprehensive knowledge for troops. The libraries and reading rooms in units helped officers and soldiers improve their knowledge in all fields, contributing to meeting their task requirements. Many activities to promote reading culture were also applied and implemented by agencies and units.
It is clear to say that books are an important and essential heritage and documents. Books are considered human knowledge, valuable experiences that left by the history and generations. For the military, books are also an invaluable treasure. Nowadays, books become indispensable for troops because books make great contribution to providing people with knowledge in all fields of life.
Within the framework of the Vietnam Book and Reading Culture Day, the Military Library held a seminar, themed “preservation and development of reading culture in the fourth industrial revolution.” After 36 years of renewal, the country is accelerating industrialization, modernization and international integration with stable political and social condition. Meanwhile, the people’s life has been increasingly improving. In addition to the strong development of information technology, reading culture has been affected. The seminar discussed the current issues about the preservation and development of reading culture amid Industry 4.0.
Speaking at the seminar, poet Dang Vuong Hung held that books were indispensable accompanies for him in life. Since he was a teenager, books have contributed to forming and nurturing his soul. In particular, the deep memories with the Military Arts and Letters Magazine gave him more passion for reading and paved the way for him to become a poet.
Answering the question about the importance of books for youths, writer Le Thi Bich Hong noted that each person has their own reading skills. They can read on computers or mobile phones. What people should do is to introduce and encourage youths to read more.
Reading culture is facing many opportunities and challenges. Nowadays people are able to access a huge amount of knowledge. However, it may overshadow reading culture, which has been occupied by increasingly-developing media.
The talks has made contribution to raising the importance of reading culture among youths, especially those in the military. Moreover, it has also highlighted reading culture, authors, and works and honored the library, publishing, and releasing sectors.
Translated by Minh Anh
VNQD