Need for 'Creative Coordination Center' model for Hoi An and Da Lat

Hoi An and Da Lat are official members of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, but how can they keep their titles when they are moving from city level to ward level?

Hoi An is part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network - Photo: THAI BA DUNG

This is the story raised by Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Thi Thu Phuong - Director of the Vietnam Institute of Culture, Arts, Sports and Tourism - attracting attention at the scientific conference Theoretical basis and international experience in perfecting the institutional development of cultural industries to contribute to creating momentum for rapid and sustainable development of the country in new conditions.

The workshop was organized by the Vietnam Institute of Culture, Arts, Sports and Tourism in coordination with the People's Committee of Cua Nam Ward (Hanoi City) on November 4.

What solutions for creative cities Hoi An and Da Lat?

Ms. Thu Phuong said that since Vietnam implemented the two-tier government model, Hoi An - which used to be a city under Quang Nam province - has now become 3 wards and 1 commune under Da Nang city, fundamentally changing the legal status of a "creative city".

According to the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN), a creative city is an urban entity with a clear legal personality, capable of planning and implementing creative policies, and maintaining an official representation mechanism with UNESCO.

When Hoi An no longer has administrative legal status, we will have to answer the question: Who is the representative of Hoi An in the UCCN network? Who has the right to report, sign and receive international resources on behalf of Hoi An?

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thi Thu Phuong (left) shares at the conference - Photo: T.DIEU

Thus, at the international level, Hoi An is still recognized as a creative city and is responsible for maintaining its operations under the UNESCO mechanism. But at the national level, if it is no longer a "city", Hoi An will no longer be an independent administrative legal entity, leading to the inability to sign, approve or implement international initiatives.

As a result, Hoi An as a recognized creative entity with a global identity is in a precarious state: internationally recognized but without a corresponding administrative framework to protect and promote its creative capacity.

According to Ms. Phuong, this situation not only affects the effectiveness of implementing UCCN initiatives, but can also affect efforts to position Vietnam in UCCN's creative networks, when there is no legal precedent for maintaining the legal status of a creative city after administrative merger.

The solution Ms. Phuong proposed is to form an intermediate institutional model so that creative cities like Hoi An or Da Lat can both comply with the two-tier administrative structure and maintain their representative status and independent action capacity in the creative field.

For Hoi An, that intermediary institutional model could take the form of a "Hoi An Creative Coordination Center".

Administratively, this unit may be under the People's Committee of Da Nang City or a specialized agency in the cultural field. Creatively, it operates on a semi-autonomous mechanism, similar to the creative coordination centers in Jeonju (South Korea).

Along with forming an intermediate institutional model, Vietnam needs to propose that UNESCO expand the scope of recognition from "Creative City" to "Urban Creative Entity".

It allows UNESCO to continue to recognize and work with cases like Hoi An and Da Lat even when they no longer have the status of independent administrative cities.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/can-mo-hinh-trung-tam-dieu-phoi-sang-tao-cho-hoi-an-da-lat-20251104195728449.htm