Hanoi works to promote creativity from traditional culture

The Hanoi municipal Department of Culture and Sports held a seminar themed ‘Inspiring Hanoi’s creativity’ on December 25, gathering the participation of cultural managers, policy makers and those working in the cultural and creative sectors.

A performance staged on pedestrian streets around Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi at the 2020 Hanoi Dragon Festival.
A performance staged on pedestrian streets around Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi at the 2020 Hanoi Dragon Festival.

Since Hanoi joined the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in 2019, the city has focused on developing cultural and creative industry targeting sustainable development.

The city has also taken actions to promote creative cultural activities, while facilitating the creative development of cultural and community art spaces by hosting street festivals, music festivals, and fashion events.

Participants at the seminar discussed creative ways to promote activities and creative industries throughout Hanoi.

They suggested that Hanoi should focus on promoting creative activities stemming from traditional culture, as the city possesses time-honoured history, rich culture, numerous monuments, cultural heritages, and craft villages.

According to Pham Thi Thanh Huong, head of the UNESCO Office in Vietnam's Cultural Department, heritage and human resources provide great potential for Hanoi to become the creative capital, not only for Vietnam but also within Southeast Asia.

At the seminar, experts emphasised the need to establish a favourable environment through appropriate policy mechanisms for creative activities to further develop.