Tuesday, 19 May 2026

I am someone who has studied, worked, and travelled to nearly 50 countries around the world. I have participated in most of the world’s largest book fairs and attended numerous conferences, seminars, and discussions on books, publishing, and libraries across many nations. I have listened, observed, and learned a great deal. For the past 20 years, I have constantly reflected on one question: What should Vietnam do? What must we do now, especially in light of Resolution 80 and Directive 04?

A strong nation is not defined by its economy alone. Powerful people are not built solely on infrastructure, technology, or towering buildings. True strength lies in people – and people grow through knowledge, through a culture of reading, and through lifelong learning. This is the truth.

I have not only thought about this, I have felt a deep, persistent concern. And from that comes a simple yet urgent belief: every commune should have a library; every hospital, organisation, and business should have a bookshelf. This is not only necessary, it is even urgent.

A library is not merely a place to store books. It is a home of knowledge. It is where children plant the seeds of their dreams. It is where adults continue learning. It is where the elderly find joy and meaning. A small library in a commune can change countless lives.

A bookshelf in a hospital, an organisation, or a business is not simply a few shelves of books. It is a space for healing, a silent teacher, and a lifelong companion.

In hospitals, where people face illness, anxiety, and fear, books can become a special kind of medicine. A good book can ease a patient’s stress, bring hope to families, and inspire doctors and healthcare workers with empathy and positive energy in their life-saving journeys.

I have witnessed many organisations, schools, companies, and hospitals around the world with beautiful libraries and deeply humane reading spaces. They do not merely ensure equal access to knowledge; they create spaces of peace and reflection. In hospitals, they do not only heal the body, they care for the soul.

On the occasion of International Children’s Day this year (1 June), I feel immense joy that Thai Ha Books, together with colleagues, students, and friends, continues this journey of planting seeds of knowledge by donating more bookshelves. The 133rd bookshelf has been given and perhaps only when we reach the 300th, 500th, or even the 1,000th will the full ripple effect truly begin.

Today, as I sit quietly in my own reading space surrounded by thousands of books, I recall beautiful recent memories, especially in April, Reading Month, when new bookshelves were donated to Hanoi Medical University and its hospital. The joy of students, lecturers, and professors filled us with happiness. The smiles of patients, their families, and even night-shift doctors strengthened our belief in what we are doing, our mission to bring books everywhere, to every place.

The National Children’s Hospital, which tirelessly cares for millions of Vietnamese, is a place we deeply care about. Conversations with Prof Tran Minh Dien, its Director, helped us better understand its needs. Likewise, discussions with Prof Nguyen Huu Tu, President of Hanoi Medical University, revealed the students’ strong desire to read.

I firmly believe that the books we give will not remain closed. They will be opened, read, reflected upon, and shared. Perhaps one book from those shelves will change the mindset of a medical student, inspire a doctor, or uplift the spirit of a child patient or a family member waiting in a hospital corridor.

One hundred and thirty-three bookshelves is a meaningful number. But what matters more is the spirit behind it: a spirit of service, of sharing knowledge, and of spreading a reading culture.

I dream of a Vietnam where people read more. Vietnam where every commune library is lit every evening. Where every hospital has a healing reading corner. Where every organisation has a bookshelf for personal development. Where every business embraces learning as a core culture.

When one person reads, that person changes. When many people read, the community changes. And when an entire nation reads, the future of the country will transform.

Every library built today is a seed for tomorrow. Every bookshelf given today is a promise to the future.

We build houses, roads, and hospitals and that is necessary. But we must also build homes for the soul.

Sometimes, a small bookshelf is the beginning of something great.

I would like to share a few thoughts, here and now: if we truly want a strong and prosperous nation, we must not only build more skyscrapers, we must build more libraries. We must not only expand hospitals, we must expand knowledge. Because while the body’s illnesses need doctors to heal, the poverty of the soul can only be healed by books.

I want to emphasise this: a commune without a library is a land without light. A hospital without a bookshelf is a place that treats the body but neglects the mind.

I sincerely hope that one day, the measure of development will not lie solely in GDP or the height of buildings, but in how many people read in each commune, and how many people in each hospital find hope in a single page of a book.

We must think about social responsibility. If we can invest trillions in concrete structures, we must also invest our hearts in building structures of knowledge. Because concrete builds cities, but books build people.

I have always believed that giving a bookshelf is not merely giving a few dozen books. It is giving an opportunity to change a life. It is giving the ability to learn independently. It is planting the seeds of wisdom. And one day, those seeds will grow into the future of an entire nation.

Let us pause for a moment and reflect: perhaps the most frightening thing is not that a country is poor, but that it stops reading. Isn’t that true?

Let us come together, support hospitals in healing the body, and let books help heal ignorance. Together.

Let us open our hearts to build quality libraries, filled with meaningful and valuable books across all provinces and cities, so that one day every commune has a library, every hospital has a bookshelf, and every organisation fosters a reading culture. On that day, we will not only have a more developed Vietnam, we will have an awakened Vietnam.

I would like to conclude with a simple message: “We need to build houses, roads, and hospitals. But we must also build homes for the soul. Hospitals heal the body today, but books heal the future of an entire nation.”

Dr Nguyen Manh Hung
Chairman, Thai Ha Books
Deputy Head of International Cooperation, Vietnam Publishing Association

May 19, 2026