On October 30, 2019, Hanoi officially became a member of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, marking an important step in the sustainable development journey of the thousand-year-old capital.
Since then, the rich heritage system such as Hoan Kiem Lake, Temple of Literature, cultural institutions such as museums, theaters, and traditional craft villages such as Bat Trang pottery village, Van Phuc silk, Dong Ho paintings... have all undergone changes, both as spaces for preserving national culture and associating with innovative activities.
Joining the UNESCO Creative Cities Network is the first but important step towards the goal of enhancing the position and creating a new, more attractive image for Hanoi.
Hanoi: Asia's dynamic city
According to Bach Lien Huong, Director of the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports , after more than 6 years of becoming a member of the "UNESCO Creative Cities Network", Hanoi has had many activities to concretize its commitments to building a Creative City. The city has been affirming its position as one of the dynamic and creative cities in Asia, promoting creative design activities and connecting cooperation opportunities between cities in the Network.
In 2024, the City established an Advisory Council of experts; built creative activity spaces; developed criteria and creative activity spaces; established the Hanoi Creative Activities Coordination Center; built the Hanoi Creative Cultural Space Network connecting organizations, individuals, experts, artists, and community groups operating in the field of creative design; attracted and connected local and international creative resources; introduced, shared, and supported the creative community to develop and expand.
The highlight of these activities is the organization of the Hanoi Creative Design Festival. Ms. Bach Lien Huong assessed that the scale and quality of the Festival are increasingly expanding, creating a strong influence and inspiration, bringing extremely new creative discoveries into the common creative pulse of the city. The Festival attracts a large number of creative practitioners, organizations, and businesses to connect with each other to increase opportunities for cooperation, development, and positioning of the Hanoi Creative City brand.
“The good results achieved are due first of all to the attention, support and advice the City has received from many talented experts in the field of creative design. We deeply appreciate their contributions and help,” said Ms. Bach Lien Huong.
Assessing Hanoi's innovation activities, Mr. Jonathan Baker, UNESCO Representative in Vietnam, said that Hanoi's recognition as a UNESCO Creative City in the field of Design has opened a new chapter - where creativity is no longer a supporting factor, but becomes a key driving force for development.
“Over the years, the City has nurtured a dynamic creative ecosystem: festivals that enliven public spaces, community networks that connect, and initiatives that empower young designers to envision and create new futures for their city,” said Jonathan Baker.
The UNESCO Representative in Vietnam expressed his hope that Hanoi and UNESCO Creative Cities could share experiences on effective public-private-community cooperation models, promoting the role of the community, transforming urban life with creativity, and at the same time building a common festival framework for cities. This festival framework is not a rigid template, but a flexible orientation for cities to adjust to suit their own cultural identity and development aspirations.
Empowering the younger generation
In that spirit, on December 5, the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports coordinated with the UNESCO Office in Vietnam to organize an international conference on the practice of creative cultural festivals.
Ms. Suwannee Senee, representative of Chiang Mai Creative City (Thailand), said that Chiang Mai builds a sustainable creative community with a 3-party cooperation model: public-private-community (PPP).
The city has nine recognized key craft industries, including silversmithing, lacquerware, textiles, wood carving and many other forms of fine arts. There are more than 200 creative spaces supporting artists, designers and craftspeople. Chiang Mai’s creative industries employ more than 60,000 people, contributing 12-14% of the province’s GDP.
Ms. Suwannee Senee also shared that in public-private-community partnerships in Thailand, the public sector plays a policy-oriented and supportive role. Local and provincial governments develop creative district plans, including the old town. Chiang Mai Provincial Administration sponsors and implements handicraft programs.
Providing insights from “Asahikawa Design Week,” Ms. Tomoko Hayashi, Executive Committee Member of the Federation of UNESCO Associations in Japan, said that one of the manifestos for Asahikawa Design City is to enhance the public's ability to perceive and understand design.
“We will strive to enhance the design appreciation and understanding of all citizens. This will also help strengthen the community ties within the design city. We will also strive to expand the network of connections between design cities by learning about the diverse cultures present in each city,” said Ms. Tomoko Hayashi.
Contributing her experience to Hanoi, Ms. Tomoko Hayashi especially noted the role of the young generation.
“To encourage youth to cultivate knowledge through education and practical experience, Asahikawa City designed a youth empowerment mechanism to create medium-term impacts for local communities,” said the Japanese expert.
Meanwhile, Ms. Tan Shen Lene Esther, Deputy Director of Industry, Singapore Design Council, focused on the story of commitment to sustainability and urban design strategy to create a livable city.
Ms Tan Shen Lene Esther said that Singapore is working towards an innovation-based economy, in which reducing waste and creating a sustainable lifecycle for materials at festivals is an important task.
She shares practical initiatives that are being applied, such as converting recycled structural materials into office furniture, or applying flexible modular design so that components can be easily distributed and reused for different exhibitions.
Joining the UNESCO Creative Cities Network not only helps Hanoi promote culture and artistic creativity, but also boosts creative industries, thereby creating opportunities for international cooperation and enhancing the city's position on the world map./.
The Hanoi Creative Design Festival 2026 is scheduled to take place from January 10 to 11 at Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc Square. The program aims to connect the creative community, promote urban heritage, promote the development of cultural industries and honor innovative values in the context of strong urban-rural transformation.
From March to May 2026, Hanoi will deploy the Cultural Industry Center model in the Dong Xuan-Bac Qua area. Here, the City will pilot the Creative Workshop model at Dong Xuan Market, organize creative accommodation activities, promote interdisciplinary practice to create products to participate in the Creative Design Festival 2026 and the "Hanoi Creative Design 2026" competition.
Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/thuong-hieu-thanh-pho-sang-tao-dong-luc-phat-trien-moi-cho-thu-do-ha-noi-post1081241.vnp
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