Creative labs nomad

The Hanoitimes – The priority for Hanoi is to turn its creative aspect into the foundation to realize the socio-economic development goal under the 2045 vision, said the UNESCO chief representative in Vietnam.

Hanoi is open to recommendations and opinions to set up specific plans towards transforming the city into the region’s creative hub, according to Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Vuong Dinh Hue.

Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Vuong Dinh Hue.

More than a millennium ago, Ly Cong Uan, the first king of the Ly dynasty, made a historic decision of moving the capital of the country from Hoa Lu to Dai La, later renamed as Thang Long (the Rising Dragon) and eventually Hanoi. The city is now home to 10 million people and remains Vietnam’s political-social – economic hub with rich cultural heritage, Mr. Hue said at a conference discussing the creative aspect of Hanoi on October 2.

The conference, jointly held by the Hanoi People’s Committee and the UNESCO Office in Vietnam, is part of a series of events celebrating the 1010 ^th anniversary of the founding of Thang Long – Hanoi.

Hanoi’s Party chief Hue said as the city further integrates into global economy, its relations with over 100 capital and cities globally have created strong momentum for Hanoi to pursue rapid and sustainable development.

In a world of rapid changes, Mr. Hue expected Hanoi to continue thriving in the role of Vietnam’s driving force for growth by taking advantage of its creativity.

Mr. Hue referred to the development strategy of Vietnamese cultural industry by 2020, with vision to 2030 adopted in 2016, with the target of making Hanoi Vietnam’s creative hub.

In October 2019, 20 years after Hanoi was honored as the City for Peace by UNESCO, the capital city has officially become a member of UNESCO’s Network of Creative Cities in the “Design” category.

The Creative Cities Network was launched in 2004 to promote cooperation with and between cities that have identified creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable urban development.

Overview of the conference.

According to Mr. Hue, this is a major boost for Hanoi to realize its 2030 strategic goal of becoming a green, smart and modern city capable of competing with cities in the region and all over the world; by 2045, Hanoi would be a global city having high standards of living with comprehensive and sustainable development in fields of culture, economy and society.

By being a member of the Creative Cities Network, Hanoi would realize its commitments to UNESCO by setting up visions and policies to gradually turn the city into a creative city, Mr. Hue stressed.

UNESCO Chief Representative in Vietnam Michael Croft, said the priority is to turn the city’s creative aspect into the foundation to realize the socio-economic development goal under the 2045 vision.

UNESCO Chief Representative in Vietnam Michael Croft.

Under UNESCO Creative Cities Network, Hanoi could enhance cooperation with other “Design” cities such as Seoul, Singapore, Kobe, Shanghai, Bandung in the region, and Helsinki, Montreal, Berlin in the world, Mr. Croft said.

However, the most important issue for Hanoi is to ensure efficient city-level cooperation among the community, authorities, universities and the private sector to support Hanoi’s development, especially in realizing innovative ideas into good practices, Mr. Croft added.

The UNESCO representative stated that by promoting the Creative City title, Hanoi has again reaffirmed its commitment of taking the people at the core of the development process.

Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chairman of the Vietnam National UNESCO Committee Le Hoai Trung said Hanoi’s participation in the network paves the way for the city to turn creativity and cultural industry into a core aspect of development; offers opportunities for Hanoi to further integrate globally.

Mr. Trung said “Creative city” is a vision for Hanoi to draft its next development strategies, requiring sufficient investment in human and resources accordingly.

The Hanoitimes – Once becoming a creative city, Hanoi will have to materialize its long-term programs and action plans on visions and political ties in the city.

Cultural resources have become soft power in the development strategy of Hanoi as a creative city, helping to build political culture, business culture, and penetrating deeply into all other fields of the capital city.

Ngo Thi Thanh Hang, member of the Party Central Committee and Permanent Deputy Secretary of the Hanoi Party’s Committee made the statement at the seminar titled “Cultural resources in the development strategy of Hanoi creative city” on September 28.

Ngo Thi Thanh Hang, member of the Party Central Committee and Permanent Deputy Secretary of the Hanoi Party’s Committee, speaks at the seminar. Photo: Hoa An

Ms. Hang said that Hanoi, which has a long history of a millenary culture, has been honored by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a “City for Peace” and “Creative City”.

In the city’s development process, the municipal government and people of Hanoi always attach great importance to culture regarding it as the spiritual foundation of society, endogenous strength and the great motivation to develop the capital city, Ms. Hang added.

She stressed that building a beautiful and impressive city image with friendly and elegant people in the eyes of international friends will contribute to enhancing Hanoi’s prestige and position in the country and on the international arena.

Mr. Michael Croft, UNESCO Representative to Vietnam, noted that joining the Creative Cities Network is a start in the process of positioning Hanoi’s development as a Creative Capital.

In the years to come, Vietnam can establish a network of UNESCO Creative Cities nationwide. Besides the socio-economic benefits, this creative “belt” will be a powerful expression for a modern, dynamic and creative Vietnam, Mr. Michael Croft said.

For his part, Vice President of the Hanoi People’s Committee Ngo Van Quy assessed that all recommendations and solutions made at the seminar aim to effectively leverage cultural resources to turn Hanoi into a creative center in Vietnam as well as Southeast Asia, and strengthen Vietnam’s soft power in the process of globalization and international integration.

On October 31, 2019, Hanoi became the first city of Vietnam to receive an official designation by UNESCO as a Creative City, which coincided with the 20th anniversary of the city’s designation as a UNESCO City for Peace.

Following Hanoi’s successful application to the Creative Cities Network, UNESCO has been working with the city leadership and the central government to realize a vision of Hanoi as a Creative Capital.

In keeping with its commitments to UNESCO, once becoming a creative city, Hanoi will have to materialize its long-term programs and action plans on visions and political ties in the city.

Moreover, Hanoi will create favorable conditions to lift the field of creativity and design to new heights, as well as to raise awareness in the community to undertake step-by-step initiatives and turn Hanoi into a creative city.

The Hanoitimes – The gathering is expected to contribute to presenting the new direction for the development of Hanoi.

The People’s Committee of Hanoi and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) will hold the high-level seminar titled “Consultation on initiative: Hanoi – Creative City” on October 2 to discuss how to turn Vietnam’s capital city into a creative one, the Government Portal reported.

Hanoi – Creative City. Photo: Hanoimoi

The event is part of activities to celebrate the 1010th anniversary of Thang Long – Hanoi and the 17th Hanoi Party Congress. It is aimed to realize Hanoi’s commitments as a member of the “UNESCO Network of Creative Cities”.

Furthermore, the event is expected to contribute to presenting the new direction for Hanoi’s development, the potentials and opportunities for cooperation in the field of creative design, attracting attention and connecting with international investors and companies.

The seminar is also an opportunity for Hanoi’s leaders, local and international experts, investors to exchange innovative ideas to support Hanoi in building long-term strategies and plans to promote the city’s role as a UNESCO creative city and attract the support of the local and international community.

The high-level seminar is expected to be attended by about 100 delegates who are representatives of Vietnamese ministries and the National Commission for UNESCO in Vietnam; foreign ambassadors to Vietnam, including those from France, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, Japan, South Korea and Singapore; the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA); leaders of some international corporations and experts in the field of creative design.

In keeping with its commitments to UNESCO, once becoming a creative city in the field of design, Hanoi will have to materialize its long-term programs and action plans on visions and political ties in the city.

Moreover, Hanoi will create favorable conditions to lift the field of creativity and design to new heights, as well as to raise awareness in the community to undertake step-by-step initiatives and turn Hanoi into a creative city.

The Hanoitimes – Guided by the values of sustainability and respect for local culture, the deal envisions Hanoi’s development as a “Creative Capital” whose development builds on its creative past and the energy of its youth.

Vietnam’s SOVICO Group has become a strategic partnership of the United Nations (UN) after the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Hanoi on September 23, pledging to develop Hanoi into a UNESCO Creative City, Kinh Te & Do Thi reported.

The signatories were UN Resident Coordinator in Vietnam Kamal Malhotra and Chairwoman and CEO of SOVICO Group Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao.

Chairwoman and CEO of SOVICO Group Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao (R) and UN Resident Coordinator in Vietnam Kamal Malhotra sign a MoU in support of the sustainable development goals. Photo: Vietjet Air

Noting that both parties share common interests in promoting youth engagement, green growth and the protection and promotion of natural and cultural heritage in Vietnam, the MoU establishes a long-term framework for action, and calls on the parties to work together to broaden this partnership with other like-minded Vietnamese businesses.

As a first step, SOVICO Group will collaborate with the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat) to support Hanoi’s development as a UNESCO Creative City through the preservation and restoration of cultural heritage, revitalization of craft villages and supporting creative hubs to nurture the young creative talent of Hanoi.

Guided by the values of sustainability and respect for local culture, this partnership envisions the development of Hanoi as a “Creative Capital” whose development builds on its creative past and the energy of its youth.

Speaking to the gathering of interested parties including government ministries, city officials and international partners, Ms. Thao stressed that this partnership with the UN to support Hanoi’s cultural heritage and development demonstrates the continued commitment of SOVICO and its affiliates to support the long-term development of Vietnam by assisting youth leadership to make meaningful contributions to social, cultural and economic development in the country.

“We also expect our cooperation with the UN through UNESCO technical assistance will help establish a SOVICO Fund for Vietnam’s Heritage & Innovation to support even more initiatives and solutions for cultural and green city development, artistic and design activities, as well as creative hubs to nurture creative talents, promoting entrepreneurship and innovation,” Ms. Thao said.

For his part, Mr. Kamal Malhotra noted that with this new partnership, SOVICO Group demonstrates its commitment to sustainable development in Vietnam and to the principles and values of the UN.

“We salute them for being pioneers among Vietnamese corporations, and welcome them as partners. We hope that SOVICO’s example will inspire other Vietnamese private sector companies to take the necessary actions that will realize a sustainable future for Vietnam,” said Mr. Kamal Malhotra.

The event was attended by senior government representatives and development partners who signaled their strong support to this innovative public-private partnership and their hope for new initiatives that unite the private sector, development partners and government to support sustainable development and help Vietnam realize its objectives in the Decade of Action for the sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Ngo Van Quy praised this strategic and pioneering partnership, as the cooperation between SOVICO Group and the UN is a vivid manifestation and a specific action, which support the capital city’s development.

The inauguration of Rockwell Automation Lab at Can Tho University marks a milestone in educating the future generations of automation engineers in the delta region

In hope of assisting automation students in their in-depth research of the operation procedure of industrial automation and digital transformation in practice, Rockwell Automation has sponsored a complete set of laboratory facilities with a total value of VND7 billion($304,350).

Rockwell Automation Lab at Can Tho University (CTU) is the most modern and well-equipped automation laboratory in Vietnam, with 20 basic and 19 advanced automation training kits as well as one experimental model to emulate factory automation solutions.

This has not only enabled instructors and students to enhance the quality of education and science research but also acts as a medium for knowledge and experience exchange among Rockwell Automation partners in the Mekong Delta region and across Vietnam.

The new lab is equipped with 20 basic and 19 advanced automation training kits as well as one experimental model to emulate factory automation solutions

Rockwell Automation has accompanied CTU throughout the execution of Rockwell Automation Lab. Despite several interruptions caused by COVID-19, Rockwell Automation and CTU have dedicated tremendous efforts to provide future automation engineers with a modern research space.

Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Rockwell Automation employs approximately 23,000 problem solvers dedicated to customers in more than 100 countries.

“Through this collaboration with CTU, Rockwell Automation hopes to provide instructors and students with hands-on experience in the rising field of automation in Vietnam,” said Le Van Hai, CEO of Rockwell Automation Vietnam. “Having a profound experience in providing automation solutions to thousands of businesses around the world, Rockwell Automation is committed to sharing practical tools and advanced technology to help students build a well-rounded set of skills relating to industrial automation, contribute to the transformation of smart manufacturing and processing industry in Vietnam.”

During the event, Professor Ha Thanh Toan, principal of CTU also gave a speech to express gratitude to valued partners, especially Rockwell Automation, for their strategic and sustainable partnership with CTU.

“The advanced facilities sponsored by Rockwell Automation will be utilised in a wide range of our education, scientific research, and technology transfer activities. We are sincerely thankful and hope to receive support from Rockwell Automation in the future,” Toan said.

Rockwell Automation is a global leader in industrial automation and digital transformation. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Rockwell Automation employs approximately 23,000 problem solvers dedicated to customers in more than 100 countries.