Hanoi (VNA) – A large number of researchers, theorists and scholars from Vietnam and abroad gathered at an international seminar held in Hanoi on June 1 to look into the enduring values of President Ho Chi Minh's ideological legacy in the country's development journey.
The event was jointly organised by the President Ho Chi Minh Relic Site under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Institute of Ho Chi Minh and Party Leaders under the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, and the Ho Chi Minh Institute at the Saint Petersburg State University of Russia. It formed part of activities marking the 115th anniversary of Nguyen Tat Thanh (a name of Ho Chi Minh during his youth)’s departure to seek a path for national salvation (June 5, 1911–2026) and ahead of the centenary of the publication of Duong Kach Menh (The Revolutionary Path) (1927–2027).
Among President Ho Chi Minh’s ideological legacy, Duong Kach Menh, published in 1927, holds special significance. The work laid the theoretical, ideological and organisational foundations for Vietnam’s revolutionary movement, helping prepare the fundamental conditions for the establishment of the Communist Party of Vietnam. Its teachings continue to hold profound relevance for the country’s development today.
Addressing the seminar, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Dao Cuong said the hybrid event, organised alongside a series of commemorative activities, represented a practical step in implementing the Party Central Committee Secretariat’s Conclusion No. 85-KL/TW, dated August 19, 2020, on continuing activities to honour President Ho Chi Minh abroad.
He noted that the seminar was not merely a one-off academic activity. Its research findings would serve as valuable material for future projects marking the 100th anniversary of Duong Kach Menh next year. The approach reflects efforts to transform theoretical research into practical products, helping to promote the enduring value of Ho Chi Minh’s thought in contemporary society.
In her keynote remarks, Le Thi Phuong, Director of the President Ho Chi Minh Relic Site, recalled that 115 years ago, Nguyen Tat Thanh left Nha Rong Wharf in search of a path to national liberation. During his journey, Duong Kach Menh marked a new stage in Nguyen Ai Quoc (another name of Ho Chi Minh)’s theory development, helping to creatively advance many issues of Marxism-Leninism and lay the ideological prerequisite for the establishment of the Communist Party of Vietnam in the spring of 1930.
She stressed that the seminar not only carried academic significance but also reaffirmed the lasting vitality, contemporary relevance and international influence of Ho Chi Minh’s legacy. The intellectual journey from Duong Kach Menh in 1927 to the strategic vision outlined by the Party at its 14th National Congress demonstrates a rich process of creatively applying and developing Marxism-Leninism in Vietnam’s specific conditions.
Assoc. Prof. Dr Duong Trung Y, Editor-in-Chief of the Communist Review, said that Duong Kach Menh occupies a special place in Vietnam’s revolutionary theoretical heritage. It marked a fundamental shift in political thinking about the nation’s revolutionary path in the early decades of the 20th century.
He noted that the book was not only the first theoretical work introducing Marxism-Leninism to Vietnam and identifying the correct path to national liberation, but also laid the political, ideological and organisational stepping stones for the foundation of the Communist Party of Vietnam.
Participants presented papers examining the role of theory in the revolutionary movement as seen through Duong Kach Menh and its relevance today, the mission of the Communist Party of Vietnam viewed through the work, lessons on the Party building in terms of ethics derived from the publication, and its implications for the implementation of the 14th National Party Congress's Resolution.
The presentations affirmed that the journey from Duong Kach Menh in 1927 to the nation’s new era of development represents a consistent dialectical process combining steadfastness and innovation. The core values highlighted by President Ho Chi Minh – the Party’s leadership role, the strength of the people, and the spirit of self-reliance and self-strengthening – continue to serve as a guiding torch for Vietnam as it strives to enhance its position on the international stage./.
