Vietnamese Language Honour Day 2026: Joining hands to preserve the mother tongue in the global Vietnamese community
WVR - The closing ceremony of the Vietnamese Language Honour Day in the overseas Vietnamese community in 2026 took place shortly after the Politburo issued Resolution No. 23-NQ/TW on overseas Vietnamese affairs. This marked a year of vibrant efforts to preserve and promote the Vietnamese language across many continents, with increasingly proactive involvement from the community itself.
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| Delegates attending the closing ceremony. (Photo: Thanh Long) |
On August 12, in Hanoi, the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs, under Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in collaboration with various ministries, sectors, localities, and Vietnamese Representative Missions abroad, organized the closing ceremony of the Vietnamese Language Honour Day for the overseas Vietnamese community in 2026.
The event was held in a hybrid format, with about 80 delegates at the Hanoi venue and over 100 locations from localities, Vietnamese Representative Missions abroad, associations, Vietnamese language teaching centers, teachers, and overseas Vietnamese around the world.
The closing ceremony took place shortly after the Politburo issued Resolution No. 23-NQ/TW on August 2, 2026, concerning overseas Vietnamese affairs.
Resolution 23 sets the goal of promoting the role of overseas Vietnamese in preserving the Vietnamese language and national cultural identity, strengthening ties with the homeland, and encouraging each overseas Vietnamese to act as a “Cultural Ambassador” and “Friendship Ambassador” in introducing and promoting Vietnam and its people.
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| Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang delivering the opening speech. (Photo: Thanh Long) |
In her opening remarks, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang affirmed that the Vietnamese language is both a means of preserving and transmitting cultural values and a bond connecting generations of overseas Vietnamese with their homeland.
The Deputy Minister emphasised that Resolution No. 23-NQ/TW calls for innovation in methods and enhanced international cooperation in researching, teaching, and honoring the Vietnamese language; urging countries with large Vietnamese populations to incorporate Vietnamese into their educational programs; supporting teacher training and promoting digital technology applications.
According to Deputy Minister Le Thi Thu Hang, after nearly four years of implementation, the Vietnamese Language Honour Day project for the 2023 to 2030 period is on the right track. However, preserving the Vietnamese language must first become an intrinsic need and pride of every family and community. The state plays a guiding role, creating conditions and accompanying, while the family remains the place where Vietnamese is naturally and sustainably passed down.
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| Deputy Chairwoman of the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs Nguyen Quynh Mai reporting at the ceremony. (Photo: Thanh Long) |
Reporting on the implementation of the project, Nguyen Quynh Mai, Deputy Chairwoman of the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs, stressed that in 2026, the committee organized the Launch Ceremony with 150 locations domestically and internationally, revamped the Vietnamese Language Ambassador Search Program by selecting from 57 applications from 22 countries and territories, built four Vietnamese bookcases in Thailand, Singapore, and Brunei, and supported nearly 5,000 books and materials for the community.
Deputy Chairwoman Nguyen Quynh Mai highlighted three notable achievements: increasingly synchronized advisory, guidance, and coordination efforts; the movement to preserve and promote Vietnamese being implemented consistently from Asia, Europe to North America, the Middle East, and Africa with many initiatives originating from the community's needs; and positive changes in awareness and actions of families, associations, and the younger generation.
However, challenges remain regarding resources, uneven development across regions, and attracting the younger generation. The five key tasks for the future include: enhancing the quality of Vietnamese teaching and learning support, promoting the community's role, socializing resources, paying more attention to the younger generation, and strengthening communication.
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| Delegates presenting discussions at the closing ceremony. (Photo: Thanh Long) |
The discussions at the closing ceremony focused on solutions to improve the quality of Vietnamese teaching and learning for the overseas Vietnamese community, emphasizing three pillars: professional standardization, digital transformation, and promoting the community's role.
Delegates proposed building a synchronized Vietnamese teaching and learning ecosystem, standardizing the curriculum in a unified yet flexible manner, and developing a shared digital learning resource repository and applying artificial intelligence to personalize the learning process.
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| Delegates contributing ideas to spread Vietnamese teaching and learning within the overseas Vietnamese community. (Photo: Thanh Long) |
Many opinions also shared experiences in producing digital learning materials, building platforms to connect teachers, organizing classes and community activities to inspire a love for the Vietnamese language in the younger generation.
Additionally, the discussions affirmed the role of families, schools, and communities in preserving the Vietnamese language, while proposing to expand the network of Vietnamese teachers and ambassadors globally, increase socialization, promote the inclusion of Vietnamese in local schools, and develop creative activities to spread the Vietnamese language and culture within the overseas Vietnamese community worldwide.
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| Deputy Minister Le Thi Thu Hang delivering the concluding remarks. (Photo: Thanh Long) |
Concluding the ceremony, Deputy Minister Le Thi Thu Hang emphasised the need to develop programs and curricula suitable for the specific characteristics of each region, as each area has different needs and conditions for teaching and learning Vietnamese. The Deputy Minister urged overseas Vietnamese teachers to send their self-prepared lesson plans back to Vietnam; the committee will coordinate with the Ministry of Education and Training and universities to standardize them into curricula for each region.
The Deputy Minister also praised the diversification of approaches to learners through media programs, notably Vietnamese teaching programs on VTV4, and the application of modern technologies, including artificial intelligence, to support online teaching.
On this occasion, Deputy Minister Le Thi Thu Hang awarded commemorative medals to three individuals for their outstanding contributions to preserving and promoting the Vietnamese language within the overseas Vietnamese community.
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| Deputy Minister Le Thi Thu Hang awarded commemorative medals to three individuals for their outstanding contributions to preserving and promoting the Vietnamese language within the overseas Vietnamese community. (Photo: Thanh Long) |
