The driving force for the development of the Capital

Attending the workshop were: Member of the Standing Committee of the City Party Committee, Permanent Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Le Hong Son; leaders of units of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism; leaders of departments, branches and sectors; a number of districts, towns and cities along with scientists, representatives of craft villages, artisans, artists, residential groups...

Permanent Vice Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee Le Hong Son chaired the workshop. Photo: Ngoc Tu

Awakening the Capital's Aspirations

Speaking at the opening of the workshop, Permanent Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Le Hong Son said that Hanoi is collecting opinions on the drafts of the construction of the Cultural Industry Center (CNVH) and the commercial-cultural development zone to implement the Capital Law (2024), in order to create conditions for the development of the Capital. According to the plan, at the 4th session of the People's Council, the city will consider issuing these two resolutions, creating momentum for the development of the Capital on the basis of taking culture as the driving force for socio-economic development.

Currently, along with the whole country, Hanoi is facing the need for development, double-digit growth and needs to develop further in the coming years. To achieve sustainable growth, green growth, Hanoi needs to maximize its potential and cultural advantages in the spirit of preserving identity and innovation.

Comrade Le Hong Son emphasized: The development of cultural industry is not new, many countries in the region have developed strongly such as China, Korea, Japan, Singapore, Thailand... However, for Vietnam in general and Hanoi in particular, the development of cultural industry still has many issues that need to be studied to ensure feasibility and high practicality.

“Hopefully, Hanoi will have many cultural and information centers to attract all classes, especially young people, to participate in creative activities in many fields. We will do it in a spirit of not being hasty but also not being perfectionist,” comrade Le Hong Son shared.

Contributing to the workshop, Director of the Institute for Socio-Economic Development Research Le Ngoc Anh said that the development of cultural industry (or creative industry) has been and is a global trend, an important, comprehensive, sustainable development strategy, attracting international cooperation, creating competitive advantages and contributing significantly to GDP.

Overview of the conference. Photo: Ngoc Tu

The amended Law on the Capital City has contents promoting cultural development, arousing the aspiration for "Culture - Civilization - Modernity"; effectively exploiting geopolitical and geo-economic advantages, natural conditions and development resources; preserving and promoting tangible and intangible cultural values ​​of Thang Long - Hanoi. The Law on the Capital City also allows Hanoi to develop a cultural industrial center in the middle and floating sandbanks of the Red River; focusing on 5 types of spaces, including: Cultural - creative space (expanding historical relic space, creative space according to the orientation of UNESCO's creative city); public space (especially green space, protecting river and lake space, water landscape).

Mr. Le Ngoc Anh proposed that Hanoi complete mechanisms and policies (land incentives, urban planning, taxes, etc.), create a legal corridor to develop creative spaces and strong cultural and industrial sectors; select key areas and support cultural and creative enterprises; invest in transport infrastructure to serve the centers; diversify public-private organization models; update planning in line with the orientation of cultural and industrial sectors.

Lessons from international models

At the workshop, domestic and foreign experts presented many models of cultural industry development from other countries, drawing lessons for Hanoi.

Mr. Emmanuel Cerise – Chief Representative of the Ile-de-France Region in Hanoi – said: In France, cultural management is linked to economic development. Currently, the cultural industry brings about 110 billion euros to the French economy. In the whole EU, the cultural industry ranks 3rd after Construction and Restaurant and Hotel Business. The cultural industry sector includes art, advertising, television, press, cinema, video games, etc.

Mr. Cerise believes that Hanoi has a large administrative area and great cultural attraction in the suburbs, so it can effectively develop a cultural center. Hanoi should develop both state-run and private centers. To develop cultural centers, it is necessary to invest in transportation infrastructure, build bus routes connecting heritage sites, and provide documents for passengers.

From his experience in organizing cultural events in France, Mr. Emmanuel Cerise suggested that Hanoi should organize regular events such as the Creative Design Festival and heritage promotion activities at the villa at 46 Hang Bai. “We are ready to accompany Hanoi in preserving and promoting heritage and building an effective cultural center,” said Mr. Emmanuel Cerise.

Permanent Vice Chairman of the City People's Committee Le Hong Son concluded at the conference. Photo: Ngoc Tu

Meanwhile, Ms. Pham Thanh Huong, Head of the Cultural Department, UNESCO Office in Hanoi, said: Hanoi has many old urban heritages that have been revived through creative festivals such as Hang Dau Booth, Gia Lam Railway Factory... This is a great potential for developing a cultural and industrial center.

Ms. Pham Thanh Huong proposed reusing old industrial zones and abandoned industrial heritage into cultural and industrial centers - both cost-saving and inspiring creativity. In addition, it is necessary to develop a multi-disciplinary center: culture, creative design, technology, encouraging new experiments and creating experiential spaces.

As a participant in the construction of many CNVH models in Hanoi, architect Doan Ky Thanh shared the criteria for building new models in addition to reusing old buildings. According to him, to be effective, the CNVH center should have an area of ​​1-5 hectares, attracting about 60-80 booths, and at the same time have a common space designed to be friendly and connect the community.

Promoting Public-Private Partnership

At the workshop, delegates contributed comments to the draft Resolution, suggesting that the city should further clarify resources for developing the cultural industry, especially from foreign enterprises; develop a more specific mechanism for leasing public assets; and supplement policies to support creative entities in cultural industry activities based on cultural spaces, cultural heritage, and closely linked to the community.

In his concluding remarks at the workshop, Permanent Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Le Hong Son affirmed that the development of cultural industry is one of the city's important policies to turn culture into a driving force for socio-economic development. In the current conditions, the city will prioritize the reuse of old factories, headquarters, and industrial parks to renovate and convert their functions to serve cultural development.

In addition, the city has issued a Resolution on joint ventures, associations, franchising, etc. This is the basis for units to promote the development of cultural industries in this form. "The city will promote the form of public-private cooperation (public investment, private management), promoting the creativity and innovation of the private sector," said Permanent Vice Chairman of the City People's Committee Le Hong Son.

In addition, comrade Le Hong Son noted that it is necessary to pay attention to specialized planning, avoid overlap, in order to mobilize maximum resources to participate in development. With the role of orientation, Hanoi city will focus on supporting technology, communication, international cooperation and market development. The development of the cultural industry center needs to be carried out according to a roadmap with appropriate and certain steps.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/xay-dung-trung-tam-cong-nghiep-van-hoa-luc-day-de-phat-trien-thu-do-699439.html