Deputy Mayor of Toulouse City, Vice President of Toulouse Urban Community Jean-Claude Dardelet at the workshop (Photo: VietnamPlus)
Hanoi (VNA) – Developing cultural and creative industries is key to the preservation and promotion of heritage values, providing stable income for people living in heritage areas.
Deputy Mayor of Toulouse City, Vice President of Toulouse Urban Community Jean-Claude Dardelet suggested so at the workshop "Culture, Heritage and Tourism" on April 14, within the framework of the 12th Vietnam-France decentralisation conference in Hanoi.
Co-chair of the workshop, Jean-Claude Dardelet reviewed the cultural-heritage-tourism cooperation projects between Vietnamese and French localities during the past 30 years.
He affirmed that French localities, the French Agency for Development (AFD), and the French Embassy in Vietnam will continue to accompany Vietnam in the conservation and promotion of heritage values.
Dardelet said that Vietnam and France share views, visions, and ambitions in preserving and promoting heritage values, on the basis of sustainable tourism development, turning heritage into resources of cultural industry, thus improving people's living conditions and economic development.
Architect Melanie Doremus, General Director of AREP South Asia Company, said that developing the cultural and creative industries is a sustainable way to preserve heritage in modern life.
She said that heritage should not be considered a mere component of integrated planning, but an "umbrella" covering all aspects of development, including urban development, environment, society, agriculture, industry, and tourism.
“Heritage is a guiding element for the entire development strategy of a locality. It is necessary to elevate heritage into a driving force of development,” she emphasised.
Participants at the workshop. (Photo: VietnamPlus)
At the workshop, French experts also focused on the need to harmonise heritage conservation with people's livelihood.
Many opinions agreed that local residents have an important role in accessing and improving public awareness of the conservation and promotion of cultural heritage values.
Dardelet said that he visited the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long years ago, and felt happy to revisit the site and see that the relic still retains its inherent beauty while Hanoi’s urban infrastructure is developed much.
He said that resident, experts, and the Hanoi administration know very well how to best preserve their heritage, adding that State management agencies need to come up with solutions to support people to actively promote their cultural identity, and bring stable income for people living in heritage areas.
Tran Hai Van, Deputy Director of the International Cooperation Department under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, speaks at the workshop. (Photo: VietnamPlus)
Tran Hai Van, Deputy Director of the International Cooperation Department under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said that the Vietnam-France cooperation in cultural heritage is considered as a vivid proof that contribute to the bilateral relations.
Van suggested that in 2023, the two sides should strengthen coordination and support each other to organise events to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic relations and the 10th anniversary of their strategic partnership.
The official said that she hopes the French side will continue to pay attention to promoting cooperation between the localities of the two countries, contributing to their sustainable socio-economic development, and creating favourable conditions for residents to have stable ways of life./.
