According to a VNA reporter in Paris, on August 22, at the headquarters of the United Nations Educational , Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris (France), an international conference was held with the theme "Preserving Heritage and Developing Cultural and Creative Industries."
This is the first time the Vietnam Federation of UNESCO Associations (VFUA) has coordinated to organize an international event right at the world's largest cultural, scientific and educational coordination center, once again affirming Vietnam's position and proactive role in the global cultural cooperation space, and at the same time demonstrating Vietnam's strong commitment to preserving cultural and natural heritage and developing cultural industries in a sustainable manner.
The workshop is part of a series of activities to celebrate the 80th anniversary of UNESCO (November 16, 1945 - November 16, 2025), towards the 50th anniversary of Vietnam's official accession to this agency (1976-2026), attracting the attention and participation of many experts, scholars, researchers, managers and businesses operating in the field of heritage conservation and cultural industry.
At the workshop, Mr. Lianggeng Dong - Permanent Member of the Secretariat of the World Federation of UNESCO Associations (WFUCA), read the welcome message of WFUCA President Bolat Akchulakov. In which, Mr. Bolat Akchulakov highly appreciated the contributions of Vietnam, as one of the most active and dedicated members of WFUCA.
Vietnam’s initiatives are a model of commitment and innovation within the WFUCA framework. Mr. Bolat Akchulakov also affirmed the importance of the workshop in strengthening international cooperation in the field of heritage conservation, contributing to creating incentives for innovation and sustainable development, and promoting practical solutions to protect the cultural and natural heritage of humanity.
In his opening speech, Mr. Tran Van Manh - Permanent Vice President and General Secretary of VFUA, and Vice President of the Federation of UNESCO Associations in the Asia-Pacific region, emphasized that the Ha Long Declaration is the "lighthouse" illuminating the spirit of the conference.
This document is also part of a joint effort to move Vietnam from a participating role to a leading position, through creating strategic alliances and promoting cross-sectoral and cross-regional cooperation in the creative industry sector.
In the context of climate change, increasing inequality and the risk of identity loss in the face of globalization, the Ha Long Declaration emphasizes key principles: protecting heritage as a common asset of humanity, honoring cultural diversity as a condition for peace building and inclusive development, encouraging fair, sustainable and environmentally responsible creative industry models, and increasing cross-border cultural and educational exchanges.
This document does not stop at theory but also proposes a specific roadmap to balance between preserving and exploiting cultural industries as a resource for economic development and social innovation.
Also at the workshop, through their presentations, delegates collectively recognized and discussed topical and strategic issues that are urgent not only in Vietnam but also globally, including the role of the UNESCO spirit in preserving cultural heritage; protecting the vitality of heritage in the context of urbanization, climate change and lifestyle changes; digital transformation with new technologies of artificial intelligence, big data and augmented reality, towards comprehensive digitalization of tangible and intangible heritage; developing cultural industries as a driving force for creative growth, from handicrafts to digital content, through educational reform; supporting startups and public-private partnership models; challenges in protecting intangible cultural heritage in resource-poor communities... Delegates also pointed out new challenges and opportunities for the creative cultural industry, and ways to make practical contributions to the implementation of the United Nations' global Sustainable Development Goals.
Speaking to VNA reporters in France, Mr. Dinh Duc Hoang, Deputy Director General of the UNESCO Information Center - one of the co-organizers of the workshop, shared: “Organizing a workshop on cultural industry and heritage conservation in Paris is not only for communication purposes, but in fact, attending today's discussion are international experts, representatives of the Vietnamese community abroad, and representatives of Vietnamese businesses abroad. Vietnam's cultural heritage is not only the subject of internal discussions, we need international resources, global resources to be able to complete the difficult mission of protecting cultural heritage, especially intangible heritage which is relatively abstract and requires different resources and approaches. Secondly, we also want to share the experience of Vietnam - a country with 4,000 years of history, with many tangible and intangible heritages, as well as painful lessons love and pride in preserving heritage, thereby helping international friends in the work of preserving intangible heritage globally."
The highlight of the workshop was a performance imbued with the uniqueness of Vietnamese culture with the Ao Dai collection named “Rice” - a creation by designer Le Thanh Danh, inspired by childhood memories and deep affection for the homeland of Vietnam through the performance of members of the Vietnamese Women's Association in Europe.
On traditional silk material, the image of ripe golden rice flowers is delicately hand-embroidered, combined with stylized conical hat motifs, creating a harmonious, rustic, yet emotional whole about cultural values associated with Vietnamese life.
On this occasion, to recognize the efforts of those who have silently contributed to preserving human memory, fueling creativity and creating lasting vitality for heritage in contemporary life, VFUA has awarded special titles to organizations and individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the conservation of heritage and the development of cultural industries, both in Vietnam and internationally.
This is not simply a ceremony of honor, but an affirmation of the strength of the community - people who have chosen to act instead of indifferently, to create instead of just admiring, and to preserve not with nostalgia but with innovation, with responsibility and belief in the lasting value of human heritage.
Assessing the significance and results of the workshop, Mr. Nguyen Tien Thanh - Chairman of the Board of Members, General Director of Vietnam Education Publishing House, a guest attending the workshop, said that this workshop is a cultural event, but also raises the issue of the current era: the relationship between heritage and development. In the age of technology, culture also needs to be considered an industry and protect the sustainable value of culture.
In addition to the technical discussions, the conference program also expanded into a series of sideline activities lasting several days, including field trips to world heritage sites in Europe, meetings with international organizations, cultural exchanges and honoring individuals and organizations with outstanding achievements in heritage conservation and cultural industry development in Vietnam. These activities contributed to spreading UNESCO's core values: peace, creativity and sustainable development./.
Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/viet-nam-khang-dinh-tinh-than-hop-tac-vi-gia-tri-chung-cua-nhan-loai-tai-phap-post1057455.vnp
![[Photo] General Secretary To Lam attends the 80th anniversary of Vietnam's diplomacy](https://vphoto.vietnam.vn/thumb/1200x675/vietnam/resource/IMAGE/2025/8/25/3dc715efdbf74937b6fe8072bac5cb30)
Comment (0)