Laos: OVERVIEW: Cultural infrastructure

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OVERVIEW:

Introduction

Cultural policy

Cultural infrastructure

Cultural policy in Laos is implemented on behalf of the Party and government primarily through the Ministry of Information and Culture.

The Ministry of Information and Culture has an overall brief which extends to all aspects of information and culture in Laos, both directly and through liaison and co-operation with other ministries and government agencies and with provincial and district authorities throughout the country.

Located in Vientiane, the Ministry comprises a Cabinet and eight Departments – three administrative ones (Department of Inspection, Department of Organisation and Personnel, Department of Planning and Budgeting) and five specialist ones (Department of Fine Arts, Department of Mass Culture, Department of Mass Media, Department of Museums and Archaeology and Department of Publishing, Printing, Distribution and Libraries).

The Department of Fine Arts is responsible for performing and fine arts development, performing troupes and arts training. It manages the Central Artist Troupe, the Central Circus Troupe, the Central Lao Opera (Lam Luang) Troupe, the Central Puppet Troupe and the Central Spoken Drama Troupe, the National Cultural Hall, the Cultural Production Company, the National Faculty of Fine Arts and the National School of Music and Dance.

The Department of Mass Culture is responsible for organising and implementing mass culture activities throughout the country, disseminating the directives of the government and the Lao People's Revolutionary Party regarding a cultured way of life and encouraging the development of concepts such as the 'family of culture' and 'village of culture'. The Children's Cultural Centre (CCC), Vientiane and its nationwide network fall under the Department’s control.

For Lang Newspaper Office 2 (Tim Doling)

The Department of Mass Media publishes the Pasaxon (People), Van Athit Weekly, Le Rénovateur and Vientiane Times newspapers and also manages the activities of the National Film Archive and Video Centre and National Mass Media Training Centre.

Laos' national news agency Khaosan Pathet Lao (KPL) and the national broadcasters Lao National Radio (LNR) and Lao National Television (LNTV) all operate in accordance with the guidelines of the Department of Mass Media; however they are not directly responsible to the Department, reporting instead directly to the Minister of Information and Culture. In addition to supplying news to all media institutions in Laos, KPL publishes the Pathet Lao Daily Newspaper and KPL Bulletin in Lao, KPL News in English and Le KPL Quotidien in French.

The Department of Museums and Archaeology is responsible for the provision and national co-ordination of technical assistance to museums and exhibition centres with a view to the restoration, preservation, exhibition, protection and security of historical and archaeological monuments and artefacts.

Its activities include studying and planning for excavation work, restoration, development and preservation in connection with ancient sites, artefacts, museums and revolutionary traditions throughout the country; and studying and formulating regulations and laws on the management and preservation of those ancient sites, artefacts, museums and revolutionary traditions. The Department directly manages the Lao National Museum.

The Department of Publishing, Printing, Distribution and Libraries is responsible for the state management of the publishing, printing and distribution sectors and for the state management of the national library network. The National Library, the State Printing Company and the State Publishing and Book Distribution House fall under its control.

The Ministry manages two research institutions – the Institute of Cultural Research (ICR) and the Institute of Linguistic Research (ILR).

It is also responsible for the management of the Lao Fine Artists’ Association, the Lao Journalists’ Association, the Lao Performing Artists' Association and the Lao Writers’ Association. Both the Lao Fine Artists’ Association and the Lao Performing Artists’ Association are responsible to the Department of Fine Arts, while the Lao Journalists’ Association is responsible to the Department of Mass Media.

The Lao Writers’ Association reports directly to the Minister, although it shares an office with Vannasin Magazine, which is published by the Department of Publishing, Printing, Distribution and Libraries but currently edited by the Secretary General of the Lao Writers’ Association. The newly-established Lao Photographers' Association is managed directly by the Khaosan Pathet Lao (KPL) News Agency.

Other government ministries and agencies involved in cultural management in Laos include the Ministry of Industry and Handicrafts, which is responsible for developing and promoting craft production on a national scale; and the Prime Minister's Office, which oversees the activities of the Department of Archives, the Lao National Tourism Administration (LNTA) and the Lao National Internet Committee (LANIC).

Vientiane Prefecture, the 17 provincial governments and the Saysomboun Special Region Government all have their own specialist offices responsible for implementing the work of the various central government ministries in Vientiane. In the cultural field the key regional agencies are the Provincial Services of Information and Culture and the Provincial Services of Industry and Handicrafts - see Cultural policy and infrastructure - regional government departments. Each of these offices is staffed by provincial government employees and forms an integral part of the provincial government system, but is also subject to the overall technical guidance of the Ministry of Information and Culture and Ministry of Industry and Handicrafts in Vientiane and responsible to those agencies for the provincial implementation of national plans and policies.

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