Ethnic Minority Cultural Preservation in Vietnam: International Cooperation and the Challenges of Globalization

Abstract

Globalization, modernization, and expanding international development cooperation have significantly transformed ethnic minority regions in Vietnam since the 1990s. Economic integration, migration, tourism, urbanization, and digital media expansion have reshaped cultural practices, communal identity, and intergenerational relationships within many ethnic minority communities. At the same time, international organizations, NGOs, and bilateral development programs increasingly promoted cultural preservation, bilingual education, indigenous knowledge protection, and community-based cultural initiatives as part of sustainable development strategies. This article analyzes the impacts of globalization and international development cooperation on cultural preservation among ethnic minority communities in Vietnam between 1995 and 2025. Using qualitative analysis, literature review, and a cultural-development approach, the study examines how globalization influences language use, rituals, indigenous knowledge, and communal identity while evaluating the role of development cooperation in supporting cultural sustainability. The findings indicate that international cooperation contributed positively to bilingual education, oral heritage documentation, cultural tourism, community participation, and NGO-supported preservation projects. However, important challenges remain, including language loss, cultural homogenization, commercialization through tourism, and weakened intergenerational transmission of traditional knowledge. The study argues that development cooperation may simultaneously preserve and commodify culture depending on the level of local participation and community control.