The British Council in partnership with the Hanoi Grapevine and Creative Lab by UP jointly presented a report launch and discussion on the role of creative hubs in Vietnam as a key factor for developing a thriving creative economy in Vietnam. The event was organised on 1 August, 2017 at the capital city’s latest creative hub – the Creative Lab by Up at the Hanoi Creative City Building, No.1 Luong Yen, Hanoi.
The session presented two research reports, both commissioned by the British Council as part of a series of actions in support of the development and sustainable operation of creative hubs in Vietnam. The first report is the Creative hubs: Experience from Europe, lessons for Vietnam, 2016, by Professor Andy Pratt from City University London. The second report is the Review of regulatory framework for creative hubs in Vietnam, 2017, recently conducted by the Vietnam National Institute of Culture and Arts Studies.
Speaking at the event, Ms Cherry Gough, Director British Council stressed on the important role of creative hubs: “We recognise the role and the network of creative hubs across Vietnam, and the significant contribution of these hubs to the local communities and to the sustainable economic growth, as well social and cultural development goals of Vietnam. We hope that these are useful references for policy makers, creative people and entrepreneurs in Vietnam. All over the world, creative hubs have become one of the key answers for creative business challenges. It is important that we acknowledge the significant role of these hubs in our economy and our society, and take action to support their sustainable operation, their rights to creative expression, and their capacity to grow and contribute to the prosperous and inclusive growth of Vietnam in the future.”
The event featured three introductory presentations by three creative hubs, ranging from well-established to emerging hubs. They are the Creative Lab by Up in Hanoi, the Danang Business Incubator (DNES) in Da Nang, and Toa Tau in Ho Chi Minh City. Following the introductions by creative hubs and summary of the research reports will be a discussion on the role of creative hubs as key factor for developing the creative economy in Vietnam. The discussion will engage participants from the network of creative hubs in Vietnam, government sector, and members of the private sector and civil society. The discussion will be facilitated by a key member of the Hanoi Grapevine, a long-running online hub, with panel members from the hub community, the British Council, the Vietnam National Institute of Culture and Arts Studies. This discussion will present an opportunity for all participants to share their views about the sustainability of creative hubs in Vietnam and how creative hubs can contribute to the development of the creative economy.
For more information please visit:
British Council Creative Economy http://creativeconomy.britishcouncil.org/
British Council Vietnam Arts www.britishcouncil.vn/en/programmes/arts
British Council Vietnam Arts and Creative Industries resources www.britishcouncil.vn/en/arts/resources
Hanoi Grapevine https://hanoigrapevine.com/
Creative Lab by UP www.facebook.com/creativelab.byUP/
Vietnam’s first National strategy for the development of cultural industries to 2020, vision 2030 (NSDCI) was ratified by the Prime Minister in September 2016. The strategy outlines ambitious goals for the development of the cultural industries in Vietnam, which is set to account for 3 percent of GDP in 2020 and 7 percent of GDP in 2030. For some specific sectors, high revenue targets are set for 2030 including 3.2 billion US$ for the advertising industry, 250 million US$ for the film industry and 125 million US$ for fine arts.
In that context, as organisers we believe it is now more important than ever to mobilise resources from all stakeholders in order to promote the development of the creative sector. Creative hubs are valuable resources that are not yet fully being harnessed. Putting them at the heart of creative policy and action programme will unlease their potentials. Supporting creative hub development will not only enable us to expand access for arts and culture, but also offers opportunities for business collaboration and growth.
The British Council, together with key partners including UNESCO, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Vietnam National Institute for Culture and Arts Studies, have been working closely with a network of 40+ creative hubs across Vietnam. The British Council previously commissioned two important researches investigating the hubs scene in Vietnam: the Mapping of the creative hubs in Vietnam, 2014, and the Policy and creative hubs in Vietnam, 2016, both by independent journalist and media consultant Truong Uyen Ly. The British Council also worked with UNESCO in providing technical assistance to the drafting of the National strategy for the development of cultural industries to 2020, vision 2030, and engaging the network of creative hubs across Vietnam in a series of capacity building and networking activities.
For more information, please contact:
Hong Pham
Arts Manager
British Council
20 Thuy Khue, Hanoi, Vietnam
T +84 1800 1299 ext 1932
hong.pham@britishcouncil.org.vn
The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. We create friendly knowledge and understanding between the people of the UK and other countries. Using the UK’s cultural resources we make a positive contribution to the countries we work with – changing lives by creating opportunities, building connections and engendering trust.
We work with over 100 countries across the world in the fields of arts and culture, English language, education and civil society. Each year we reach over 20 million people face-to-face and more than 500 million people online, via broadcasts and publications.
Founded in 1934, we are a UK charity governed by Royal Charter and a UK public body. The majority of our income is raised delivering a range of projects and contracts in English teaching and examinations, education and development contracts and from partnerships with public and private organisations. Eighteen per cent of our funding is received from the UK government.
About Hanoi Grapevine
Hanoi Grapevine is an independent and not-for-profit online platform that aims to support the Vietnamese art scene by connecting local artists and art spaces with their audience. In 2014, the platform was identified by the British Council as a pioneering and major virtual creative hub in Vietnam.
Hanoi Grapevine provides bilingual content in English and Vietnamese of high-quality art and culture events in the contemporary cultural landscape in Vietnam, together with art reviews, artist interviews, news of Vietnamese artists’ activities overseas, exhibition photos and introduction of indie films, as well as open calls for creative practitioners. We also provide addresses of cultural institutes and art spaces as well as artists’ websites and contacts.
About Creative Lab by Up
Creative Lab by UP is a creative community for hardware designers, engineers, entrepreneurs and the young DIY generation who want to engage with technological advancement and social innovation. Creative Lab provides an inspirational working space with modern facilities, tools, equipment and latest software for the making of socially responsible products. Creative Lab’s vision is to create a community of tech-savvy start-up entrepreneurs, DIY youngsters, home-based engineers, creative minded students, designers and artists who come together to materialise their ideas.