Twenty-one provinces which are home to don ca tai tu Nam Bo (Southern amateur folk music) are asked at a June 7 meeting to step up their promotion of the genre to boost its chances of earning the UNESCO’s recognition as an Intangible Cultural Heritages of Humankind.

The application was submitted to the UNESCO in 2007 and promotion activities must be enhanced as the organization is looking to make its decision, heard the meeting held by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The Southern Amateur Folk Music troupe will give  performances at the 2013 Quang Nam Festival, set to run from June 21-26, and at exchanges with France late this year.

In addition, the DVD titled “Don ca tai tu Nam Bo, Viet Nam” and its English version called “The art of Don ca tai tu music and songs of southern Vietnam” are also being worked on and are expected to be released soon.

The Ministry also instructed the provinces’ leaders to launch prints of leaflets and booklets introducing the history, cultural traits and tunes of the don ca tai tu in Vietnamese, English and French.

Bac Lieu province, the art’s cradle, is expected to host the Southern Amateur Folk Music Festival in April, 2014, before it’s held once every three years in other provinces in the following years.