On the morning of May 31, in Hanoi, the People's Committee of Quang Tri province coordinated with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to hold a press conference to introduce the 2024 Peace Festival with the theme "Joining hands to build a peaceful world".

Attending the event were comrades: Dinh Nhu Hoan, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Nhan Dan Newspaper; Ta Quang Dong, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism; Ha Kim Ngoc, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs.

On the side of Quang Tri province, there were comrades Vo Van Hung, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the People's Committee of Quang Tri province; Hoang Nam, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Quang Tri province, Head of the festival organizing committee.

5 YEARS OF PREPARATION FOR THE PEACE FESTIVAL

Speaking at the event, Mr. Vo Van Hung, Chairman of the Quang Tri Provincial People's Committee, said: Vietnam is a peace-loving country. Having gone through long and arduous wars, enduring countless losses and sacrifices, more than anyone else, the Vietnamese people clearly recognize the value of peace.

Quang Tri is a land rich in cultural and historical traditions, with an important strategic position in the cause of building and defending the country of the Vietnamese people. This place was once considered a "battlefield", "border town", "fence" and was chosen three times as the capital of the country.

The Chairman of the People's Committee of Quang Tri province emphasized that during the resistance wars for national independence, Quang Tri was the place that suffered much pain, sacrifice and loss, and witnessed many cruel and destructive scenes of war. But today, this "sacred land has bloomed the flower of peace", Quang Tri has revived and grown up, flourishing on the ashes of war, in a world of peace and integration.

"For that reason, Quang Tri is the most suitable choice, the place of connecting bridges, the place of deep touches in people's hearts to organize a festival for the first time in Vietnam on a national and international scale - a festival carrying the message of Peace", Comrade Vo Van Hung emphasized.

Based on that meaning, comrade Vo Van Hung said that Quang Tri province has cherished and conceived the Project to organize the Festival for Peace since 5 years ago with the great humanitarian purpose of honoring the value of peace; paying tribute to the heroic martyrs who heroically sacrificed for the survival of the Fatherland, commemorating the victims of war; contributing to enhancing the position and image of the country and people of Vietnam; building Quang Tri step by step to become a cultural space for peace, a destination for peace, conveying the message of the love for peace of the Vietnamese people, calling on humanity to join hands to build sustainable peace in the world.

The first Peace Festival was held on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the signing of the Geneva Agreement on the cessation of war and the restoration of peace in Indochina (July 20, 1954 - July 20, 2024), the 77th anniversary of War Invalids and Martyrs Day (July 27, 1947 - July 27, 2024), towards the 50th anniversary of the complete liberation of the South and national reunification (April 30, 1975 - April 30, 2025).

This is also a national and international cultural, sports and tourism event and activity in the 2024-2025 period according to Decision No. 3032/QD-BVHTTDL dated October 16, 2023 of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

"Especially, in the context of the world today still having conflicts, the Festival for Peace held in Quang Tri land that has experienced much pain, loss, and destruction due to war, where 'the sacred land blooms the flower of peace' will convey the message about the strong vitality of the peace-loving Vietnamese people, calling on humanity to join hands to build sustainable peace in the world, contributing to enhancing the position and image of the Vietnamese people and country", comrade Vo Van Hung emphasized.

The representative of the Organizing Committee informed that the festival will open on the evening of July 6, 2024, at the Hien Luong-Ben Hai Special National Monument with a series of meaningful activities and unique art programs with the hope that the festival's mark will create emotional highlights "bringing the whole world of peace to Quang Tri" - the land that has become a symbol of the desire for peace, healing and revival.

The 2024 Festival for Peace will be a living testament to that aspiration, as Quang Tri welcomes international friends, together building a future of peace, solidarity and development, turning the painful past into a strong driving force for new steps forward.

IMPORTANT DRIVING POWER OF QUANG TRI PROVINCE IN THE FUTURE

Speaking at the event, Deputy Foreign Minister Ha Kim Ngoc emphasized 5 meanings of the event, including:

Firstly, the Festival meets the common concerns of the international community today. Peace has always been a burning desire of mankind, especially in the context of today's complex world.

Second, the Festival also conveys the message: Vietnam loves peace, tolerance and humanity. Vietnam wishes to contribute to the most pressing issue of our time: creating and maintaining peace.

Third, the Festival contributes to promoting the typical cultural and artistic colors of Quang Tri; is a lively combination of tradition and modernity, spreading the beauty of Vietnamese culture with strong identity, rich in humanity and full of attraction.

Fourth, the Festival contributes to honoring and absorbing the quintessence of human culture, creating opportunities for cultures of countries to meet, thereby promoting mutual understanding, mutually beneficial cooperation, connecting people, making culture a strong driving force for development, joining hands to build a world of peace, solidarity and prosperity.

"In addition, through promoting the unique cultural values ​​of Quang Tri in particular and Vietnam in general, the event also helps to honor and enrich the world's cultural treasures," Deputy Minister Ha Kim Ngoc emphasized.

Finally, the Deputy Foreign Minister believes that the festival will create an important driving force for Quang Tri to not only become a cultural space for peace, a red address for peace, a meeting place for peace-loving friends from all over the world, but also contribute to promoting potential, attracting tourism, international cooperation, contributing to the sustainable socio-economic development of the locality.

Providing more information at the event, Deputy Minister Ha Kim Ngoc said that he personally met UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay in Paris to introduce the event. The head of UNESCO highly appreciated and welcomed Vietnam's humanitarian initiative: "Because war originates in the human mind, we must build a fortress of peace from within the human mind..." Ms. Audrey Azoulay also affirmed that she would send a message to the Festival.

Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Ta Quang Dong hopes that the 2024 Festival for Peace will be a vivid demonstration of the aspiration when Quang Tri welcomes international friends, together building a peaceful, united and developed future, turning the painful past into a strong driving force for new steps forward.

MANY DIVERSE AND UNIQUE ACTIVITIES AT THE FESTIVAL

At the event, Vice Chairman of Quang Tri Provincial People's Committee Hoang Nam briefly informed about the activities within the framework of the 2024 Peace Festival.

Accordingly, along with gratitude and memorial activities, the Festival program is designed with many cultural, artistic, musical, entertainment, sports and culinary activities held in many different spaces, with many different levels, targeting many different audiences, especially young people.

The 2024 Peace Festival will have main activities including: Cycling for Peace Day (June 29-30), expected to have about 1,000 domestic and international amateur athletes participating; Special art program Opening the Peace Festival with the theme Connecting Bridges (evening of July 6); Cultural and culinary festival Flavors of the sunny flower land (July 12-14). In addition, the public will also be able to attend many special music exchange programs throughout the Festival...

Notably, the Organizing Committee has invited 7 countries to agree to send art troupes to attend the Festival, including many world-famous artists from Korea, Japan and the United States.

Another main program at the Peace Festival is "Peace Wish" on the evening of July 26 at the Flower Wharf on the North Bank of Thach Han River and the Quang Tri Ancient Citadel National Monument with activities such as: Flower offering ceremony, incense offering, flower lantern releasing, praying. In particular, the bell ringing for peace will take place simultaneously with gratitude activities at all cemeteries, memorial steles, and churches of heroic martyrs.

In addition to the above activities, during the Festival, there will be many meaningful activities responding to the Festival for Peace, especially the political art program "Parallel 17 - Aspiration for Peace" organized by Nhan Dan Newspaper taking place on the evening of July 19 at the Northern Flag Tower area of ​​the Hien Luong-Ben Hai National Special Relic Site. The "Journey to the Land of Fire" Marathon of Quang Tri province will take place from June 15-16; the Cultural Festival of Vietnamese Ethnic Groups; national sports competitions, the "Trans-Asia Bridge" International Trade Fair...

"In particular, all activities are held on weekends, creating conditions for tourists from near and far to attend," the Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Quang Tri province added.

In addition, the Festival for Peace will be organized in an "open" way, with only a starting date and no... closing date. This is also the way the Organizing Committee sends a message: At any time, the public can come and enjoy the festival atmosphere, the atmosphere for peace in Quang Tri.

"We expect the Festival for Peace to become a completely new tourism product in Vietnam and unique to Quang Tri, attracting tourists to come and return many times in the future," the Vice Chairman of the Quang Tri Provincial People's Committee emphasized.

Providing more information about the preparation of infrastructure to serve tourists participating in the festival, he said that Quang Tri province is currently taking inventory of all accommodation facilities in the area, and is also calculating plans to mobilize qualified dormitories, homestays, and private homes. In addition, the locality is also making a backup plan to share tourists with the two neighboring provinces of Quang Binh and Thua Thien-Hue.

"After the Festival, Quang Tri province will focus on developing tourism based on regional linkages, with the spearhead being spiritual and cultural tourism and tourism to old battlefields. This is a very big strategy of Quang Tri province," Vice Chairman Hoang Nam informed.

The Festival for Peace is held in July as a season of gratitude and honoring the value of peace in the "land of fire" Quang Tri. Every July, people from all over the country return to Quang Tri, the land that suffered much pain and loss, witnessed many cruel and destructive scenes of war, to remember and pay tribute to the nation's outstanding sons who fell for peace, independence, freedom and national unity.

Quang Tri province currently has 72 martyrs' cemeteries, including two National Martyrs' Cemeteries, Road 9 and Truong Son - the resting place of nearly 60,000 heroic martyrs from all over the country. With nearly 500 revolutionary historical relics, Quang Tri is considered a vivid museum of Vietnam's revolutionary war relics; including relic systems associated with the war to defend the Fatherland such as: Hien Luong - Ben Hai banks, Ho Chi Minh Trail, Vinh Moc Tunnels and Vinh Linh Tunnel Village System, Quang Tri Ancient Citadel and memorial sites of the 81 Days and Nights of 1972...