Hoang Thu Trang (third from the right) at an event organised by Art Space (Photo: VNA)  

The 14th National Party Congress is expected to continue to firmly affirm the role of culture, treating it as a key pillar in the country’s sustainable development strategy for the new period, according to an overseas Vietnamese living in France.

Speaking to a Vietnam News Agency correspondent in Paris, Hoang Thu Trang, founder and president of Art Space, a non-profit organisation established in 2018 to promote Vietnamese culture to French and international audiences and foster community-based cultural, educational and art projects, said the cultural industries should be placed at the centre of development. They should not be seen as a supporting sector, she said, but as a socio-economic industry capable of generating lasting value.

Experience in Europe shows that countries with strong cultural influence have built their cultural industries as ecosystems linking creativity, media, education, technology, tourism and diplomacy. In such systems, culture not only creates spiritual value but also generates jobs, drives innovation and enhances a nation’s image.

From this perspective, Trang said she hopes the 14th National Party Congress will set out clear, long-term orientations for investment in fields such as film, performing arts, design, digital content, cultural festivals and public art, in combination with modern communications. At the same time, it should encourage non-commercial cultural models, community projects and youth initiatives, viewing them as “incubators” for creative values and future human resources for the cultural industries.

In the context of deeper international integration, she noted that the key challenge is not how much Vietnamese culture is introduced abroad, but how it can “live alongside” international communities. The implementation of cultural projects in France shows that global audiences no longer want to remain passive observers but increasingly seek to participate, co-create and engage.

She, therefore, argued that the orientations of the 14th National Party Congress should strongly promote interactive cultural models in which audiences become participants, and even part of a cultural work or project, while also fostering two-way cultural exchanges. In such exchanges, local communities can tell Vietnam’s story in their own language and through their own experiences. This approach, she said, allows Vietnamese culture to transcend geographical boundaries and gain a more natural and sustainable presence.

On the role of overseas Vietnamese, Trang stressed that young Vietnamese abroad should be regarded as a vital resource for the future of Vietnam’s cultural industries. Trained in international environments and familiar with both Vietnamese culture and that of their host countries, they are well placed to connect and convey Vietnamese values to the world using modern thinking and methods.

She expressed hope that the Party and the State will introduce long-term investment and networking programmes for young overseas Vietnamese in creative, media and art fields, creating mechanisms for them to experiment and innovate through cross-border projects, innovation funds and a global Vietnamese creative network. More importantly, she said, they should be seen not merely as “ambassadors” but as co-creators of Vietnam’s cultural industries in a globalised world./.