Cultural institutions drive the lifelong learning movement

On the journey to building a learning society, cultural institutions such as libraries, museums, and cultural houses and centers across Dong Nai province have increasingly become “red addresses” that promote lifelong learning movement within the community.

Students from Tan Xuan Secondary School in Binh Phuoc ward, Dong Nai province read books during the 2025 Lifelong Learning Week event. Photo courtesy of the contributor

Through various creative models and effective approaches, localities and units in the province have contributed to spreading the love of learning, nurturing knowledge, and enriching the cultural life of residents.

Diverse forms of learning in community

Dong Nai Library has been recognized as one of the highlights in building a learning society in the province. Over the years, it has regularly organized a wide range of community learning activities such as Reading Festivals, Lifelong Learning Week, Storytelling and Drawing Contests, and the Reading Culture Ambassador Contest. These activities have attracted thousands of participants, particularly students from across the province.

Beyond on-site services, the library has cooperated with various agencies and localities to provide mobile book services at schools, rotate books to grassroots libraries and cultural houses, and help residents in remote areas access diverse sources of knowledge. Notably, the model of Dong Nai Library’s mobile library van has become a true “bridge of knowledge,” reaching students and residents in ethnic minority and border areas. The van is equipped with more than 4,500 book titles, computers, televisions, projectors, management software, and documentary films, providing an engaging and lively reading environment.

Alongside the library system, numerous clubs at cultural institutions have also served as spaces for lifelong learning, exchange, and skill development. Communes and wards across the province currently maintain hundreds of cultural, art, sports, and life-skills clubs that hold regular activities at local cultural houses.

Deputy Director of Dong Nai Center for Culture and Cinema, Do Thi Hong, said that the center currently maintains 10 clubs with nearly 200 members. Every year, the center holds professional training courses and organizes contests and festivals for club members, thereby expanding and fostering a learning movement among all strata of society.

In Phuoc Thai commune, the Book Cafe – Digital Transformation model has become a familiar destination, where residents can enjoy coffee while reading books in an open space. With over 200 book titles covering various topics, the model has brought knowledge closer to the community, encouraged reading habits, and promoted digital transformation in daily life.

In the first nine months of 2025, Dong Nai Library’s online platform recorded more than 4.2 million visits, while in-person services reached nearly 255,000 readers. In addition, the library provided mobile services at 31 locations with more than 12,300 books and rotated nearly 15,000 books to 23 other sites.

Digital transformation promotes lifelong learning

In addition to on-site and mobile services, Dong Nai Library has also taken the lead in digital transformation by developing an electronic library and implementing QR codes that allow readers to access knowledge anytime, anywhere.

According to Vo Xuan Le, Deputy Director of Dong Nai Library, the library has strengthened communication through its website and social media channels to attract readers, particularly young people. Digitization enables residents to search documents, read books and magazines online, and join virtual exchange and learning activities, thereby promoting reading culture and fostering lifelong learning habits.

Alongside the library system, Dong Nai Museum has also become an attractive learning destination for students, residents, and tourists. Since the beginning of the year, the museum has organized multiple outdoor exhibitions, providing the public with opportunities to explore local history and culture. The museum has also advanced its digital applications in exhibitions, digitized artifacts and materials, integrated QR codes at heritage sites, and developed virtual tours of Tran Bien Temple of Literature, Nguyen Huu Canh Temple and Tomb, and Hang Gon Megalithic Tomb, allowing viewers to experience Dong Nai’s history and culture interactively.

To further spread Dong Nai’s cultural values and better serve lifelong learning activities, the Dong Nai Center for Culture and Cinema has developed virtual exhibitions such as Don ca tai tu (Southern folk music) – The Sound of the South, Sea and Islands – The Heart of Vietnam, The Nation in Joy, and Dong Nai – Land, Culture and People. These exhibitions are showcased on the unit’s website as well as Facebook channel of the unit and the localities, enabling the public to visit, learn, and conduct research online.

Under the provincial program to promote lifelong learning activities in libraries, museums, and cultural centers through 2030, Dong Nai aims to increase annual museum visits and library usage by an average of 10-15 percent. The province also strives to ensure that 100 percent of hamlet and neighborhood cultural houses host regular art, sports, and skill-training clubs or classes, attracting residents to participate in community activities and contributing to the advancement of lifelong learning.

By My Ny – Translated by Thu Hien, Thu Ha