
The event,held by the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports in coordination with theUNESCO Office in the city and the UN HumanSettlements Programme (UN-Habitat), was attended by over100 Vietnamese delegates and 20 foreign ones from member cities of the network inASEAN and the Asian cities cooperating with Hanoi.
It underlined the importance of culture and creation to urban development andlife quality in ASEAN countries. Participants also discussed the solutions thatthe network member cities in the ASEAN Plus 3 region can take to capitalise on theresources of culture and creation in the face of many urban issues caused by rapidurbanisation and climate change.
At the conference, Hanoi shared its new development orientation and cooperationpotential and opportunities in the field of design. It said that becoming amember of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network was a step for the city toestablish its brand, popularise its image in all fields of cultural creation,and join the group of global cities with innovation-oriented development that matchesthe UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Representatives from ASEAN countries and others in Asia also shared initiativesto make use of national resources for creation and urban development when theircities became members of the network. They discussed city-level cooperationopportunities to work towards sustainable development in the region.
Pham Thi Thanh Huong, head of the culture division at the UNESCO Office inHanoi, said not only setting targets, UNESCO has also been promoting sharingamong network members to turn cities into good living environments for residents.
UNESCO hopes that contributions by network members will be further expanded,and the cities will carry out different initiatives, share with other members,mobilise public and private resources, and connect experts and creators fromlocal to international levels, she added.
The ASEAN’sUNESCO Creative Cities Network Conference in Hanoi aimed to provide an occasionfor ASEAN countries to learn experience in cultural resources and creation fromone another. It also encouraged cities in the bloc to become members of the network.
The eventwas also part of Hanoi’s actions since it joined the network in late 2019.
The UNESCO CreativeCities Network, founded in 2004, aims to enhance cooperationamong the recognised cities with creativity considered a strategic factor ofsustainable development./.