Hanoi to realize UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network initiatives

From now to 2025, Hanoi will deploy many programs and projects to keep its commitments as one among UNESCO’s Network of creative cities (UNCC), according to the municipal Department of Culture and Sports.

Hanoi Dragon Boat Racing Festival 2020. Photo: Ngoc Tu

Accordingly, Hanoi’s authorities will introduce three initiatives locally and three others internationally.

At the local level, Hanoi’s three initiatives include building Hanoi Creative Design Center, developing and supporting creative spaces, and producing a TV show for creative talents.

In the first phase, Hanoi will open the Hanoi Creative Design Center at the Hanoi Museum, which will be tasked with incubating talents in fields related to creative design, supporting potential creative projects, and promoting international cooperation.

In the second phase, the Department of Culture and Sports will launch a competition on designing a new  “Creative Design Center” to be built in An Khanh Commune in Hanoi’s Hoai Duc District. The department is expected to organize training and capacity-building courses for young designers, assist community projects and encourage the participation of women, children, and vulnerable groups in creative design projects.

At the international level, the city will host the Hanoi creative design festival and a UCCN forum in Southeast Asia, as well as develop a network for young creative designers as part of the international initiatives.

The Hanoi Carnival 2019 was held to mark the 20th anniversary of the city’s recognition as a ‘City for Peace’ by UNESCO. Photo: Ngoc Tu

In particular, the city will hold the “Hanoi creative design festival” on an annual basis to honor the creativity of the people and enterprises, as well as foster cultural exchange domestically and internationally.

Moreover, Hanoi will create favorable conditions to lift the field of creativity and design to new heights, as well as to raise the community’s awareness of how to turn Hanoi into a creative city through step-by-step initiatives. Projects on conservation and restoration of cultural heritage and craft villages as well as activities to support young creative talents in Hanoi will also be built up in the near future.

This is an effort of the city to honor its commitments to UNESCO, according to which once becoming a creative city, Hanoi will carry out long-term programs and action plans in the field in the capital.

On October 31, 2019, Hanoi became the first city of Vietnam to receive an official designation by UNESCO as a Creative City, which coincided with the 20th anniversary of the city’s designation as a UNESCO City for Peace.