To mark the 80th anniversary of the traditional day of the state management agency for ethnic affairs, May 3, 1946 - May 3, 2026, VietNamNet held an online discussion titled “80 years of ethnic affairs - A journey of great national unity and the aspiration to rise.”

The discussion was joined by Hoang Xuan Luong, former Deputy Minister and Vice Chairman of the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs; Be Trung Anh, a full-time National Assembly deputy at the Committee for Deputy Affairs of the 16th National Assembly and standing member of the Ethnic Council of the 15th National Assembly; and Ha Van Sang, Deputy Director of the Department of Ethnic and Religious Affairs under the Central Commission for Propaganda and Mass Mobilization.

Mr. Sang has just mentioned Facebookers, which shows the impact of the digital age and digital transformation. So, Mr. Be Trung Anh, digital transformation opens many opportunities for ethnic minority areas in accessing public services, education, healthcare and policy information. In your view, what is the greatest challenge in ensuring that digital transformation truly becomes part of everyday life for ethnic communities?

Be Trung Anh: Before the term digital transformation existed, we spoke a great deal about the internet. The internet was once seen as the greatest opportunity to leave no one behind, at least in terms of access to information. If remote and isolated areas had internet access, people there could also access information like the rest of us.

At that time, there was the term “digital divide,” meaning places without signal or electricity would naturally have no internet. The gap between places with internet and those without it created the digital divide.

Today, the internet has become more common, although many villages still lack information infrastructure. But since the term digital transformation appeared, our understanding of it still differs greatly from place to place. Digital transformation is not simply about applications; it is about how transformation is carried out.

For officials, especially those working in ethnic minority areas, understanding the concept of digital transformation remains relatively difficult. Now, we no longer speak only about the digital divide, but also about “digital capacity.” Officials need digital capacity.

First of all, they must understand what digital transformation means. Is it merely putting old procedures online so they can run faster, or does it require changing the entire working process? This is where a service-oriented administration is closely tied to digital transformation. People’s needs are immediate; they are no longer just plans implemented through administrative orders as in the past. That is adaptive government. Without digital transformation, adaptive government is difficult to achieve.

When officials understand digital transformation and carry it out well, people’s digital capacity will also improve. If people have suitable digital capacity, they will not be misled by false information about ethnic and religious policies.

Therefore, we must not stop at information management. We must build “digital trust.” This is an important matter, especially in ethnic minority areas where people follow many different beliefs and religions. There must be standards to deliver the Party’s guidelines, legal documents and policies to people in a timely way, preventing toxic and harmful information from distracting them or weakening their focus on the policies of the Party and the State.

In the digital environment, how should ethnic and religious affairs be renewed so they can both serve people better and identify and handle risks in cyberspace, including risks that may affect religious security or incite division within the great national unity bloc?

Be Trung Anh: At present, we are acting in a way that I consider rather mechanical, meaning we try to block harmful and toxic information online, but some technological issues cannot be stopped simply because we want to stop them.

So, what matters more is that we must provide more information from our side, more practical lessons, in ways that are easier to understand and easier for people to absorb. Blocking alone is not enough. I consider it a necessary condition. The sufficient condition is that our information must be more abundant, more accurate and more timely.

We need to approach this in a fair and systematic way. Our advantage is that local authorities are close to the people. If information infrastructure and content technology allow us to make information richer, easier to understand and more accessible to ethnic communities, then we can absolutely achieve the goal.

As ethnic and religious affairs enter a new stage with higher and more comprehensive demands, if you were to send one message or identify one priority for action over the next 10 years, what would you emphasize most? Mr. Hoang Xuan Luong, please.

Hoang Xuan Luong: This is a difficult and highly general question. But it reminds me of a point made 60 years ago by the late Prime Minister Pham Van Dong. He once said: When speaking of ethnic minorities, we are speaking of culture. Do not look for the issue of ethnic minorities anywhere else.

The more I reflect on it, the more clearly I see two core elements in culture from the perspective of the late Prime Minister Pham Van Dong: building a contingent of ethnic minority officials and preserving and developing the cultural identity of each ethnic group.

I consider these two elements crucial to ethnic and religious affairs in the coming period. In the next 10 years, of course, we must implement ethnic policies comprehensively, but their core is human resources, including ethnic minority officials, and the promotion of each group’s cultural identity.

I want to emphasize that cultural identity should not be understood from an old perspective. Culture is not only spiritual. Culture must be elevated under a new understanding: culture is an economy of emotions. We must turn the cultural identities of ethnic groups into an economy, into products that can be sold and generate income. Only then can culture truly become a driving force.

Ha Van Sang: I have only two words: “accompany” and “create.” Did we accompany people before? Yes, but we spoke more about support and investment under difficult conditions. If it is truly accompaniment, then the whole system stands with ethnic communities, moves alongside them and shares with them in solving problems.

Creation means the state must create when needed, what is needed and where it is needed, in the right and precise way. For me, the two words “accompany” and “create” are enough. From there, if different aspects are opened up, I believe we will achieve success in the next 10 years.

Be Trung Anh: Through this discussion, we can see that developing ethnic minority regions is not a question of support, but a question of unlocking potential.

If that is the case, the story is not only about support or investment. It must be about empowering people and creating space for ethnic communities to develop through their own inner strength.

So my concluding sentence is that our policy must shift from “policy for ethnic communities” to “policy with ethnic communities.” From now on, it must be “policy with ethnic communities.” As Mr. Sang said, that means accompaniment. Creation is the state’s role, while people have the right to autonomy in their activities within the space and ecosystem created by the state.

Thai An