Inauguration of the heritage house of Vietnam's revolutionary press

At the inauguration and handover ceremony, the Organizing Committee respectfully welcomed Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Thanh; Deputy Head of the Central Propaganda Department Phan Xuan Thuy; President of the Vietnam Journalists Association, Editor-in-Chief of Nhan Dan Newspaper, Deputy Head of the Central Propaganda Department Le Quoc Minh; Permanent Vice President of the Vietnam Journalists Association Nguyen Duc Loi ..., along with leaders of ministries, branches, cities and relatives of lecturers and students of the former journalism school.

75 years ago (April 4, 1949), in the middle of the mountains and forests of ATK Viet Bac, Huynh Thuc Khang Journalism School was born. Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Le Quoc Minh expressed: “This is an important cultural and historical project to honor the great journalism legacy that President Ho Chi Minh and previous revolutionary journalists left for the generations of journalists today and tomorrow. The name of the school was personally chosen by President Ho Chi Minh. He was especially interested and spent time twice writing letters to encourage the teaching and learning spirit of the teachers and students of the school at that time.

With the desire to continue to preserve and promote the historical value and stature of the Relic on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the School's founding and towards the 100th anniversary of Vietnam Revolutionary Press Day, the Vietnam Journalists Association has directed the Vietnam Press Museum to establish a project to restore and embellish the Relic of the location where the Huynh Thuc Khang Journalism School was founded.

According to the Organizing Committee, on March 28, 2019, the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism issued Decision No. 1182/QD-BVHTTDL to rank the Huynh Thuc Khang Journalism School as a National Monument in the area demarcated as a Monument on plot 32, map sheet 47, Tan Thai commune, Dai Tu district, Thai Nguyen province.

On that basis, on April 4, 2019, the Vietnam Journalists Association coordinated with Thai Nguyen province to solemnly organize the inauguration ceremony of the Monument on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the founding of Huynh Thuc Khang Journalism School.

In 2024, the Vietnam Journalists Association, in coordination with the People's Committee and functional agencies of Thai Nguyen province, implemented the project of Restoring and embellishing the National Monument of Huynh Thuc Khang Journalism School in Tan Thai commune, Dai Tu district, Thai Nguyen province.

After 7 months of construction, the Huynh Thuc Khang Journalism School Relic has basically completed the main items. With the effort to not only recreate history but also ensure high aesthetics as well as add necessary functions.

Ms. Dao Thi Ngoc Dung (92 years old) - wife of comrade Pham Van Thai (alias Tran Kien), former class monitor of the Huynh Thuc Khang Journalism School, former Editor-in-Chief of Nhan Dan Newspaper, traveled from Hanoi to the relic site to attend the inauguration ceremony and handover of the project.

She expressed her surprise when witnessing the completion of the project. “Five years ago (2019), I represented my family to attend the landmark planting and monument stele installation ceremony, and called my husband to inform him. At that time, he was over 90 years old and quite weak, so he could not go in person. However, when people showed interest in the address of the arduous but also glorious journalists, he was very happy. Unfortunately, he passed away last year and could not witness the completion of the project.” Ms. Dung said that her family donated many photos taken during that period to the Vietnam Revolutionary Journalism Museum, including a photo of the Board of Directors, lecturers and more than 40 students of that class that was carved into a bas-relief displayed in the relic space.

After restoration and embellishment, the relic is expected to be exploited and organized to welcome delegations of visitors, journalists, students and pupils to study and experience the history of journalism; at the same time, it will be a place to organize conferences and seminars on journalism, organize short-term training programs, issue membership cards of the Vietnam Journalists Association, award ceremonies for regional and local journalism awards, etc. In particular, the Vietnam Journalists Association hopes that when it comes into operation, the exhibitions on the Huynh Thuc Khang Journalism School and the Viet Bac War Zone Press here will not only contribute to preserving and introducing valuable journalistic documents and artifacts from the period 1946-1954 but also affirm the great achievements of the Vietnamese Revolutionary Press in the struggles to defend the country and in the journey of national construction.

Speaking at the ceremony, Vice President of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Thanh expressed: “I propose that the provincial authorities, after receiving the handover of the Relic, closely and regularly coordinate with the Vietnam Journalists Association to carry out useful activities, exploit and effectively use the functions of the restored and embellished items to continue to preserve, conserve and promote the sustainable value of a national relic of great stature and sacred significance, which is a place connecting the history, present and future of the Vietnamese revolutionary press, meeting the needs of research, learning, sightseeing and “returning to the source” tourism of the people.

I also hope that, after this event, which is the opening of a series of activities towards the 100th anniversary of the birth and development of the Vietnamese revolutionary press (June 21, 1925 - June 21, 2025), all levels and sectors at the Central level and Thai Nguyen province will continue to implement practical programs and plans to honor the glorious tradition, achievements and great contributions of the press throughout the revolutionary career; encourage, motivate and show gratitude to exemplary journalists and press agencies with outstanding achievements; foster pride in the professional mission and love for the profession among today's journalists, contributing to building a " professional, humane and modern " press and media in the spirit of the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress".