The Vietnam Moment 2025 thematic forum, themed “Vietnam’s Soft Power: Advantages, Challenges and Prospects,” hosted by the Ho Chi Minh City Peace and Development Foundation (HPDF), will take place on November 13th at the International Conference Center, Military Hospital 175 , Ho Chi Minh City.
This event continues the spirit of in-depth dialogue initiated at the Vietnam Moment Forum 2024, aiming to identify core values that can become the foundation for a national brand strategy in the new phase.
For many years, diplomat Ton Nu Thi Ninh, former Vice Chair of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs Committee, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Vietnam to Belgium and the European Union, and President of HPDF, has been one of the pioneers in proposing and promoting a systematic approach to "soft power" and national branding.
With her extensive experience in foreign affairs, she firmly believes that this is the opportune time for Vietnam to better identify its intangible advantages and to shape its national narrative before the world using the language of Vietnamese culture, knowledge, creativity, and humanistic values.
Opening dialogue in a volatile global context.
According to the organizers, the Vietnam Moment Forum 2025 is designed as an open space, bringing together scholars, experts, entrepreneurs, artists, and representatives of the younger generation from various fields. The goal is to create a focused discussion on the significance of soft power for a rapidly developing and deeply integrated country like Vietnam.
Explaining the reason for choosing the topic, the Organizing Committee stated that the issue of soft power is becoming increasingly urgent in the context of a world undergoing complex changes. Although this concept has been discussed in international research circles, it has not yet been systematically approached in Vietnam, and there is no widespread consensus on its definition, content, and implementation methods.
Therefore, the forum aims to explore, inspire, analyze, and, more importantly, seek practical proposals that can contribute to policy planning and topics that can be considered part of the issue of national branding/Vietnam branding.
Building on the success of the Vietnam Moment Forum 2024, HPDF continues to uphold the spirit of "community brainstorming," multi-faceted dialogue, and respect for the feelings and perspectives of each social group. This year, the entire program is designed around a single theme: "Vietnam's Soft Power."
With its structure comprising numerous thematic discussion sessions, this year's program aims not only to exchange knowledge but also to contribute to shaping the initial pillars for Vietnam's long-term soft power development strategy.
The opening session of the forum will focus on identifying the concept of soft power, with a presentation by Dr. Tran Nguyen Khang (Faculty of International Relations, University of Social Sciences and Humanities - VNU-HCM).
Beyond academic perspectives, this session also features international speakers from France, Japan, and the United States, broadening the comparison and analysis of successful soft power building case studies across various regions.
Speakers included Adam Koulaksezian, Director of the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Takahashi Kunio, Japanese Ambassador; Sam Korsmoe, writer and journalist; and Tommy Nguyen, documentary filmmaker from the United States.
International case studies demonstrate that building soft power requires perseverance, a clear strategy, and the ability to connect policy, cultural innovation, media, and content industries.
These are experiences that Vietnam can learn from as it enters a new phase of national brand building. In the discussion sessions, speakers from academia, business, human resources, and media will analyze the importance of soft power from various perspectives: culture, economics, labor market, and brand strategy.
According to experts, in the context of Vietnam becoming a destination for new value chains, national image and social trust are becoming strong influencing factors in investment, cooperation, and exchange decisions.
Culture, as the material that creates identity and distinctiveness, is a crucial foundation for enhancing soft power. However, the economic sector, innovation, and the development of high-quality human resources are also complementary factors that help transform cultural values into tangible appeal.
Identify cultural strengths to effectively leverage "soft power".
At the Forum, the discussions focused on the central question: in the current stage of development, what aspects should Vietnam prioritize to build soft power that is appropriate to the country's context and potential?
With their experience living and working in international environments, the experts will also provide practical insights into how Vietnam is perceived, cultural strengths that can be better leveraged, and challenges in national communication.
Each sharing from overseas Vietnamese is an important feedback channel, helping to identify the gap between the image Vietnam aspires to project and how Vietnam is currently perceived from the outside...
The brainstorming session was a highlight of the Forum, where speakers and participants worked together to build a picture of Vietnam's current position on the international stage. This activity aimed for a spirit of "co-creation," rather than simply receiving information in a one-way manner.
Diverse perspectives ranging from fashion, books, healthcare, defense, innovative technology to the role of women in society will be presented by designer Si Hoang, Dr. Nguyen Manh Hung, Major General Nguyen Hong Son, Tran Vu Nguyen, and journalist Khong Loan.
These analyses will help to reveal a more complete picture of areas where Vietnam can gain a competitive advantage in the eyes of the international community.
According to the organizers, the discussion will also delve into the necessary policies to identify, build, and leverage soft power.
Speakers such as Associate Professor Phan Thanh Binh, former Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee on Culture and Education, former Director of the Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City; Pham Minh Toan, General Director of VietFest; Tran Si Chuong, economic expert; Vo Quang Hue, former Deputy General Director of VinGroup; and representatives from international organizations such as Australian Consul General Sarah Hooper, founder and Senior Advisor of Grant Thornson - Ken Atkinson OBE will analyze both sides: opportunities and challenges.
Vietnam possesses a long-standing culture, a distinct identity, and a large global Vietnamese community – natural advantages for developing soft power. However, the implementation process faces numerous challenges: a lack of long-term strategy, insufficient measurement tools, and the absence of a sufficiently strong cultural industry system to transform cultural values into sustainable appeal.
Expert opinions highlight the urgent policy need: how to coordinate the cultural, educational, foreign affairs, and economic sectors to form a comprehensive national soft power strategy.
In particular, the Forum will feature young representatives in the field of culture and arts such as Duc Phuc and the DTAP group, reflecting the new generation of creative individuals who are contributing to building an image of a modern, dynamic, and distinctive Vietnam.
Accordingly, Duc Phuc recently won the Intervision 2025 Championship and The Voice Vietnam 2015 Championship; meanwhile, DTAP is a group of three talented young musicians and producers who have been honored as "Producer of the Year" at many prestigious awards such as the Dedication Awards and the Green Wave Awards.
DTAP is the name behind a series of outstanding hits by VPOP artists in recent years, such as " Made in Vietnam . " The artists will bring a vibrant perspective from the field of music – a cultural industry with the potential to strongly contribute to Vietnam's soft power in the digital age.
According to the organizers, the Vietnam Moment Forum is a non-profit initiative promoted by HPDF, aiming to connect Vietnamese people at home and abroad; encourage two-way exchange, interaction and cooperation between the Vietnamese community overseas and in Vietnam; share success stories, especially from the younger generation, thereby bringing honor to the country and the global Vietnamese community.
The Vietnam Moment 2025 Forum hopes to contribute to identifying Vietnam's identity in a globalized world, spreading the image of a modern, humane, creative Vietnam that is always oriented towards sustainable development values.
Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/van-hoa/suc-manh-mem-viet-nam-loi-the-thach-thuc-va-trien-vong-180763.html
![[Photo] Prime Minister Le Minh Hung presides over the thematic session on promoting science and technology development and innovation.](https://vphoto.vietnam.vn/thumb/1200x675/vietnam/resource/IMAGE/2026/06/23/1782207872934_ndo_br_dsc-1724-jpg.webp)
