The legal framework for public-private partnerships in culture needs to be improved.

VHO - The second seminar on the city's cultural industry, themed "CultureTech and Public-Private Partnership in the Preservation and Dissemination of Cultural Heritage," recently took place at the Ho Chi Minh City Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center (SIHUB). It brought together numerous experts, researchers, creative businesses, artists, and representatives from government agencies, aiming to find practical solutions to bring Vietnamese heritage to life and make it more accessible to young people and the international community.

Children experience traditional folk games in the "Colors of Heritage" project series.

Sharing her views at the seminar, director Nguyet Que, CEO of SANTANI and founder of the "Colors of Heritage" project, argued that Vietnam is fully capable of successfully implementing digital cultural models like many other countries, but the generation gap is a major obstacle. The older generation possesses a wealth of knowledge and resources, while younger generations use different languages, technologies, and methods of information. According to Ms. Que, the media is a bottleneck hindering the transfer of cultural content from traditional spaces to digital platforms.

Solving the "communication without understanding" problem in the digital transformation of culture.

Based on this reality, the "Colors of Heritage" project was formed with the support of SIHUB and is part of Ho Chi Minh City's cultural industry acceleration group. The project aims to develop a platform based on real-world experiences, connecting heritage with young people through technology. Ms. Que stated that even the project's communication materials have applied AI, considering it an inevitable trend; however, "no matter how powerful technology is, it cannot replace identity." Therefore, the crucial task is to create a mechanism for young people's creative thinking to be systematically inherited from previous generations.

“Colors of Heritage” developed from the “Delicious Vietnamese Cuisine” series of culinary activities, considering food as the most accessible touchpoint to attract young people and families to offline events. From there, the project integrates cultural content, such as the Cho Lon Food Story, traditional art performances, artist interactions, and folk games to foster interest in heritage.

Director Nguyet Que said that the second version of "Colors of Heritage" is a digital platform scheduled to be launched on November 22nd, coinciding with Vietnam Cultural Heritage Day. This platform will allow businesses and young people to showcase products, connect heritage sites, and experience culture. The project collaborates with the University of Science to develop technology for displaying Hoi An lanterns using handcrafted paintings in a digital space, while also continuing to digitize exhibition spaces, including the "Vietnamese Currency, a Journey Through History" exhibition at the State Bank of Vietnam.

According to Ms. Que, "color" represents each person's individuality, "hue" represents the sophistication cultivated through creativity, and "heritage" is the foundation for development. The "Colors of Heritage" project aims to bring Vietnamese heritage to the world through 3D applications, performance technology, and interactive activities. It is hoped to become an "extension" for museums and cultural destinations, contributing to the commercialization of cultural products to reinvest in conservation.

Experts shared their insights at the seminar.

Museums and the pressure of digital transformation

According to Dr. Pham Ngoc Uyen, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Museum of Fine Arts, the city currently has 24 museums, including 13 public and 11 private museums, with functions ranging from history and fine arts to specialized themes. This is an important institutional system, both preserving heritage and serving as a space for academic study, education, and cultural exchange. However, museums still face many challenges regarding infrastructure, human resources, management mechanisms, and public accessibility in the context of digital transformation.

Cultural heritage is under immense pressure from natural degradation, the risk of losing intangible values, and changes in public reception behavior. Meanwhile, digital technologies such as AI, VR/AR, blockchain, and big data open up new opportunities for cultural preservation and communication. The combination of culture and technology forms the CultureTech approach, enabling preservation using modern tools and wider dissemination of heritage. However, the development of CultureTech cannot rely solely on state budget. Public-private partnership (PPP) models are considered a viable mechanism to mobilize capital, technology, and management expertise from the private sector, while the state maintains its role in guiding and ensuring cultural values.

The experience in Ho Chi Minh City shows that the digitalization process of museums is still in its early stages, with limited investment resources; a lack of skilled technology personnel; simple digital content; unstandardized data; low ability to attract the public on digital platforms; and a lack of a clear legal framework for the PPP model. These are obstacles that prevent many projects from achieving comprehensive "digital transformation" rather than "technology application."

CultureTech, if implemented correctly, will become an effective conservation tool, from 3D digitization of artifacts to the preservation of intangible heritage, while also creating a powerful dissemination channel through VR/AR, online platforms, and virtual museums. The PPP model plays a key role, where the state, businesses, researchers, and the community all participate in the process of preserving, creating, and exploiting the value of heritage.

For sustainable development, it is necessary to perfect the legal framework for cultural PPPs, build a national heritage database, invest in digital infrastructure, develop interdisciplinary human resources, and strengthen international cooperation. CultureTech not only helps heritage "live" in the digital space but also paves the way for a heritage economy, contributing to Vietnam's cultural and knowledge industries.

Lack of a "conductor" in the cultural and technological ecosystem.

Dr. Trinh Dang Khoa, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Ho Chi Minh City University of Culture, emphasized that to develop the cultural industry, it is necessary to correctly understand the industry's ecosystem. This ecosystem comprises three main groups: creators of artistic works; those who organize production and business to bring the works into life; and those in charge of consumer management, communication, marketing, stimulating demand, shaping tastes, and building a cultural audience. Vietnam currently trains people in these areas, but the departments are fragmented and lack coordination.

According to experts, the major drawback is the lack of a "coordinating" force—cultural and artistic administrators who understand national identity, grasp the market, and connect creativity, production, and consumption. This is a crucial position for operating the ecosystem and transforming culture into a genuine economic sector. Art schools provide excellent training in creative skills; economics schools train in marketing and management; and cultural and social science schools train in management skills. However, students are often only proficient in their specific field, lacking a "conductor" to coordinate and create a complete value chain.

Dr. Khoa emphasized: "We are lacking cultural and artistic administrators, people who can activate creativity, promote consumption, coordinate production, and turn culture into a source of revenue." Dr. Trinh Dang Khoa informed that the Ministry of Education and Training currently has an open policy, allowing educational institutions to propose new majors that suit social needs. The Ho Chi Minh City University of Culture is developing a project to open a major in Cultural and Artistic Management, training personnel who integrate knowledge of culture, art, market, business, and communication—core elements of the cultural industry.

While awaiting the procedures for opening the new program, experts proposed solutions for collaborative training, such as organizing "inter-university creative camps" to help art, technology, and management students experience, cooperate, and develop interdisciplinary thinking. Innoculture 2025 affirms that heritage is not only a repository of the past but also a foundation for developing the cultural industry, promoting creativity, connecting the younger generation, and exploiting economic value. CultureTech and public-private partnerships are important tools to help Vietnamese heritage "live" on digital platforms, creating new, intimate, and vibrant experiences, while laying the foundation for a dynamic and professional cultural creative community in Ho Chi Minh City.

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/van-hoa/can-hoan-thien-khung-phap-ly-cho-hop-tac-cong-tu-van-hoa-181932.html