Circular No. 23/2007/TT-BVHTT guiding the awarding of Ho Chi Minh Prize and State Prize for Literature and Art

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for awarding the Ho Chi Minh Prize and the State Prize for Literature and Arts

Based on the Law on Competition and Reward dated November 26, 2003 and the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Law on Competition and Reward dated June 14, 2005,
Based on Decree No. 121/2005/NĐ-CP dated September 30, 2005 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Competition and Reward and the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Law on Competition and Reward,
After reaching consensus with the Central Steering Committee for Competition and Reward, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism guides the process of awarding the Ho Chi Minh Prize and the State Prize for Literature and Arts as follows:

This technical regulation sets out technical requirements, testing methods, sampling procedures; management requirements; responsibilities of organizations and individuals producing, trading, and importing cigarettes.

1. Scope of regulation and applicable subjects:

This Circular provides guidelines for awarding the Ho Chi Minh Prize and the State Prize for Literature and Arts to the following subjects:

a) Authors who are Vietnamese citizens having one or more works, projects in literature and arts published and used in Vietnam from September 2, 1945 to the present;

b) Foreign authors having works, research projects about Vietnam.

2. Benefits for recipients of the Ho Chi Minh Prize and the State Prize for Literature and Arts

a) Receiving the Certificate of the Ho Chi Minh Prize or the State Prize for Literature and Arts issued by the President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam;

b) Receiving monetary awards as stipulated by the Prime Minister.

3. Explanation of terms

The terms in this Circular are understood as follows:

a) Literary and artistic work is a creative product in literary and artistic activities including: literary and artistic works and research, theoretical and critical works;

b) Literary and artistic project is a product of activities in the field of research, theory, criticism, and collection of literary and artistic works, making significant contributions to understanding, having a large and positive influence on cultural, scientific, economic, and social life of the country;

c) Group of works is a collection of works belonging to a specific field of literature and arts of an author or co-authors;

d) Group of projects is a collection of projects belonging to a specific field of literature and arts of an author or co-authors;

e) Author is the person who directly creates the work or project through their labor;

g) Co-author is multiple persons who directly create the work or project through their labor.

- Those who only provide technical, material, or financial support to the author or co-authors without participating in the creation of the work or project shall not be considered as the author or co-author of that work or project.

II. CONDITIONS FOR AWARDING

Works, groups of works; projects, groups of projects proposed for awarding the Prizes must meet the following conditions:

1. Already created, researched, and used in various forms such as publication, construction, exhibition, performance, screen, broadcasting, teaching, audio recordings, including:

- Literature: various genres of prose, poetry, research and theoretical-critical works on literature.

- Music: various genres of music, research and theoretical-critical works on music.

- Theater: theatrical scripts staged and performed for the public, plays of various theater types, research and theoretical-critical works on theater.

- Fine Arts: various genres of painting, graphics, sculpture, decorative art, research and theoretical-critical works on fine arts.

- Photography: various genres of photographs (photographs taken), research and theoretical-critical works on photography.

- Dance: dance scripts staged and performed for the public, dance performances and research, theoretical-critical works on dance.

- Cinema: films of various types: feature films, documentary films, scientific films, animated films, television series, and research, theoretical-critical works on cinema.

- Folk Literature and Arts: works and research, theoretical-critical works on folk literature and arts.

- Architecture: architectural projects, groups of architectural projects constructed and research, theoretical-critical works on architecture.

- Culture: works and research, theoretical-critical works on culture.

2. One work, group of works; project, group of projects can only be proposed for awarding the Ho Chi Minh Prize or the State Prize for one specific field of literature and arts.

3. A work, group of works; project, group of projects proposed for awarding the State Prize for Literature and Arts must have been published or applied in practice for at least five years for the Ho Chi Minh Prize and three years for the State Prize up to the time of submitting the application for awarding the Prize.

4. There must be no disputes over copyright, no complaints about the content and results of the work, group of works; project, group of projects from the time of publication, release until the time of awarding the Prize which have not been clarified by competent authorities.

5. Foreign authors having works, groups of works; projects, groups of projects researching Vietnam, proposed for awarding the Ho Chi Minh Prize or the State Prize for Literature and Arts must meet the following requirements:

- Having extraordinary excellence, high value in content and form, praising the beautiful image of the country and nation, Vietnamese people, contributing to good relations with Vietnam, contributing to building Vietnamese literature and arts, not violating the regulations of the Vietnamese state.

III. CRITERIA FOR AWARDING

1. Ho Chi Minh Prize:

Works, groups of works; projects, groups of projects meeting the following criteria:

a) Extraordinarily excellent, having very high value in literature and arts, having a great impact on serving the revolutionary cause, having a wide and long-lasting influence on people's lives, making important contributions to the cause of national defense, economic and social development, and literature and arts of the country.

b) Already published and announced in specialized journals or widely disseminated among the public in various forms: architecture, exhibitions, theater, cinema, radio, television, teaching, audio recordings, or other forms.

c) Has been officially awarded a prize (first prize, A prize, Gold prize) at national or international art festivals and central specialized literary and artistic associations.

2. State Prize

Works, groups of works; projects, groups of projects meeting the following criteria:

a) Outstanding, with high value in ideological content and artistic form, having a good effect on education, building new individuals, enhancing the aesthetic level of the people, making significant contributions to the development of Vietnamese literature and arts.

b) Has been published and announced in specialized magazines or widely disseminated among the public in various forms such as architecture, exhibitions, stage performances, cinema, radio, television, teaching, music discs or other forms.

c) Has been officially awarded a prize (second prize, B prize, Silver prize) at national or international art festivals and central specialized literary and artistic associations.

IV. PROCEDURE AND FORMALITIES

1. Procedure for awarding the Prize

a) Authors or co-authors with works or clusters of works; projects or clusters of projects meeting the conditions and criteria may only apply for the Ho Chi Minh Prize or the State Prize in one specialized field of literature and arts and register for the Prize at the following levels:

- Authors residing in localities shall register with the Association of Literature and Arts of the province or centrally-administered city.

- Authors working in central agencies and members of central specialized literary and artistic associations shall register with the Central Specialized Association of Literature and Arts.

- Foreign authors shall register with the Central Specialized Association of Literature and Arts (with comments from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam regarding their background).

b) The awarding process will be reviewed through three levels as follows:

- Review and recommend at the provincial or centrally-administered city Association of Literature and Arts Council or the Central Specialized Association of Literature and Arts Council where the author is a member.

- Review and recommend at the Specialized Council.

- Review and recommend at the National Council.

2. Principles for Reviewing

a) Meetings of the Councils at all levels to consider awarding the Prize must have at least 3/4 of the Council members present, including the Chairman or a Deputy Chairman authorized by the Chairman.

b) The Council operates on the principle of democratic discussion and secret ballot. Works or clusters of works; projects or clusters of projects must receive at least 3/4 of the votes from the total number of Council members to be listed for review by the higher-level Council.

c) The Councils at all levels shall only consider:

- Works or clusters of works; projects or clusters of projects registered by the author or family (if the author has passed away) and recommended by the lower-level Council.

- Not considering works or clusters of works; projects or clusters of projects that the author or family (if the author has passed away) has not registered.

- Not considering works or projects that have already received the State Prize when combined with other works or projects to apply for the Ho Chi Minh Prize.

d) Cases where the application form is filled out incorrectly, the file is incomplete according to regulations, or submitted beyond the deadline shall not be considered by the Councils at all levels.

e) Authors or co-authors with works or clusters of works; projects or clusters of projects applying for the Prize shall not participate in the Councils at all levels.

g) The Councils at all levels are responsible for publicly announcing the results of the Prize consideration within the agency or unit and management scope (within ten days) and notifying in writing those authors who do not meet the conditions and criteria (specifying the reasons); handling and concluding any objections or complaints (if any) before submitting the files of those meeting the conditions and criteria for the higher-level Council's consideration.

3. Composition of the Councils at all levels

The provincial or centrally-administered city Council and the Central Specialized Association of Literature and Arts (hereinafter referred to as the grassroots level) consist of representatives from professionals in each specialized field of literature and arts; reputable managers with relevant expertise and understanding of the literary and artistic field of the works or clusters of works; projects or clusters of projects being considered for the Prize, and some authors who have received the Ho Chi Minh Prize or the State Prize in literature and arts.

a) The provincial or centrally-administered city Association of Literature and Arts Council shall have from seven to nine members, including:

- Chairman of the Association of Literature and Arts: Chairman

- Representative of the Propaganda Department.

- Representative of the leadership of the Mobilization and Reward Board.

- Person in charge of artistic work of the Association of Literature and Arts.

- Representative of outstanding artists.

b) The Central Specialized Association of Literature and Arts Council shall have from eleven to thirteen members, including:

- Chairman of the Central Specialized Association of Literature and Arts: Chairman.

- Person in charge of the Art Council of the Association.

- Some authors who have received the Ho Chi Minh Prize or the State Prize in literature and arts in the field of the Association.

4. Authority to establish Councils:

a) Heads of competent authorities at points a, b Clause 3 Section IV above decide to establish Councils under their management.

b) The Specialized Council includes fields such as Literature, Music, Theater, Fine Arts, Photography, Dance, Cinema, Architecture, Folk Literature and Art, decided to establish by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

- The Specialized Council shall have from thirteen to fifteen members including: Members of the National Council, experts in the same field as the Specialized Council, some authors who have received the Ho Chi Minh Prize or the State Prize in literature and arts in the same field, and some reputable managers who understand the field.

The Specialized Council appoints a Secretary for the Council.

c) The National Council is established by the Prime Minister upon the proposal of the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

d) The permanent office assisting the National Council is established by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism and is responsible for:

- Checking the validity of the application files for the Prize sent up by the lower-level Councils and not accepting files that do not comply with procedures and deadlines as stipulated.

||| Submit the dossier for consideration of the State Council to examine the awarding of the Prize.

||| 5. Dossier for Consideration of the Awarding of the Prize

||| a) Individual Dossier (to be sent to the Basic Level Council): 4 copies, including:

||| - The registration form for works, clusters of works; projects, clusters of projects proposed for consideration of the Ho Chi Minh Prize or the State Prize in a specific field of literature and art by the author or the author's family (if the author has passed away) or co-authors (with attached photographs): (Form 1)

||| - Copies of the works, clusters of works; projects, clusters of projects proposed for consideration of each prize in the following formats: Paintings, photos (size 21cm x 29.7cm), tapes, discs, books, summaries of the content of the works, projects.

||| b) Basic Level Council (to be sent to the Professional Level Council): 3 copies, including:

||| - The proposal letter from the Basic Level Council.

||| - The individual dossier for consideration of the awarding of the Prize.

||| - The evaluation form for the awarding of the Prize: (Forms 2a, 2b)

||| - The minutes of the meeting of the Council for the awarding of the Prize: (Form 3)

||| - The minutes of the voting process for the evaluation of the awarding of the Prize: (Form 4)

||| - The list of proposals for the awarding of the Ho Chi Minh Prize: (Form 5a)

||| - The list of proposals for the awarding of the State Prize: (Form 5b)

||| - The decision establishing the Basic Level Council.

||| c) Professional Level Council (to be sent to the State Council): 2 copies, including:

||| - The individual dossier for consideration of the awarding of the Prize.

||| - The evaluation form for the awarding of the Prize: (Forms A, B)

||| - The minutes of the meeting of the Council for the awarding of the Prize: (Form 3)

||| - The minutes of the voting process for the evaluation of the awarding of the Prize: (Form 4)

||| - The list of proposals for the awarding of the Ho Chi Minh Prize: (Form 5a)

||| - The list of proposals for the awarding of the State Prize: (Form 5b)

||| - The decision establishing the Professional Level Council.

||| d) State Council, including:

||| - The proposal letter from the provincial and centrally-run city Literature and Art Associations and the Central Literature and Art Association.

||| - The dossier of the Professional Level Council.

||| e) The State Council's dossier submitted to the Prime Minister (through the Central Department of Propaganda and Rewards):

||| - The report of the State Council.

||| - A summary of the achievements of the author regarding the project, work; cluster of works, cluster of projects with confirmation from the competent authority.

||| - The minutes and results of the secret ballot of the Professional Level Council and the State Council.

||| 6. Procedure for Sending the Dossier:

||| a) The provincial and centrally-run city Literature and Art Associations and the Central Literature and Art Association send the dossier for consideration of the awarding of the Prize to the Professional Level Council.

||| b) For the Professional Level Council:

||| - To receive the dossiers from the Basic Level Councils.

||| - To submit the Professional Level Council's dossier to the State Council for consideration of the awarding of the Prize.

||| 7. Organization of the State Council for the Awarding of the Prize:

||| Based on the evaluation results of the Professional Level Council and the conditions and criteria of the Ho Chi Minh Prize and the State Prize, the State Council will review, evaluate, conduct a vote, and prepare the dossier and list of proposals for the awarding of the Ho Chi Minh Prize and the State Prize in literature and art to be submitted to the Prime Minister (through the Central Department of Propaganda and Rewards) for examination and decision.

||| 8. Time for Awarding the Prize:

||| a) The Ho Chi Minh Prize is considered and announced every five years on National Day, September 2.

||| b) The State Prize is considered and announced every two years on National Day, September 2.

||| c) The organization of the awarding of the Ho Chi Minh Prize and the State Prize in literature and art at each session shall be carried out according to the guidance documents of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the State Council for the awarding of the Prize.

||| 9. Handling Complaints:

||| a) Organizations and individuals have the right to complain about the results of the awarding of the Prize and violations of the procedures, processes, and procedures for the awarding of the Prize.

||| - The complaint must clearly state the name, address (individuals must sign directly on the complaint and not print their signature), reasons for the complaint, and send it to the head of the agency that established the Council for the awarding of the Prize at the corresponding level.

||| b) The head of the agency that established the Council for the awarding of the Prize is responsible for reviewing and responding to complaints and will not consider complaints without clear names and addresses or those made under false pretenses.

||| 10. Provisions on Responsibilities:

||| a) The heads of agencies, organizations, and units are responsible for the accuracy of the dossiers and reports of achievements proposed for the awarding of the Prize for their collective and individual units.

||| b) Individuals proposed for the awarding of the Prize are responsible for the accuracy in the declaration and reporting of achievements for the awarding of the Prize at various levels.

||| c) Individuals who falsely declare or forge dossiers and documents for others to propose for the awarding of the Ho Chi Minh Prize and the State Prize will be subject to disciplinary action, administrative penalties, or criminal prosecution depending on the nature and severity of the violation.

V. IMPLEMENTATION

||| 1. This Circular takes effect 15 days after its publication in the Official Gazette, all previous regulations contrary to this Circular are abolished.

||| 2. Heads of relevant agencies and units are responsible for organizing the dissemination, promulgation, and implementation of this Circular for the knowledge and compliance of the relevant parties. During the implementation, if there are arising issues or difficulties, agencies, organizations, and individuals should reflect them to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for timely review, amendment, and supplementation./.