The top leader identified the country's limited capacity to convert cultural heritage into data resources, digital knowledge, intellectual property and creative capital as one of four major gaps in Vietnam's cultural development.

Vietnam possesses an immense cultural legacy, with more than 40,000 historical and cultural relics and scenic sites, nearly 70,000 elements of intangible cultural heritage, and 38 UNESCO-recognised heritage listings. Yet much of this wealth has yet to be digitised, standardised or integrated into shared databases, while its potential as intellectual property and a resource for education, cultural industries and artificial intelligence remains largely untapped.

Addressing the second meeting of the Central Steering Committee for Vietnamese Culture Development on July 13, the Party General Secretary and State President stressed the need to turn the country's vast heritage into an endogenous engine of growth for the digital age.

Dr. Nguyen Thu Hanh, Director of the Centre for Research and Development of Vietnam Cultural Industry (SDCI), said Vietnam has traditionally focused on preserving heritage rather than creating new value from it. The key obstacle, she noted, is the weak connection between heritage and science, technology, education, design, communications and the marketplace, limiting its economic, educational and social impact despite the country's abundant cultural resources.

According to the top leader, the challenge extends beyond technology or digital transformation to the broader question of how heritage is perceived and utilised. He called for stronger efforts to convert cultural heritage and cultural capital into knowledge, intellectual property, creative products and strategic resources for education, science, technology, cultural industries and innovation.

He also warned against digitising heritage simply to meet numerical targets, saying heritage data must be properly identified, authenticated and standardised, while remaining searchable, interoperable, shareable and reusable. Every digitised heritage asset, he said, should be managed as a valuable resource capable of generating scientific, cultural and economic returns.

Hanh said stronger policy support is needed to connect the cultural, technology, education, tourism, design, media and creative business sectors into an integrated value chain, alongside sustainable mechanisms for protecting and commercialising intellectual property. She also urged greater investment in heritage-based innovation models that allow heritage to be experienced, reinterpreted and continuously renewed, creating fresh value for both culture and the economy.

Lawyer Le Quang Vinh, Director of Bross & Partners Intellectual Property Law Firm, said building a heritage economy requires a coordinated legal framework covering the Law on Cultural Heritage, the Law on Intellectual Property, the Law on Data, the Law on Management and Use of Public Assets, as well as regulations on digital transformation and artificial intelligence.

He emphasised the need to clearly define the multiple layers of value embedded in cultural heritage, from the heritage itself to the intellectual property, data assets, digital assets, state-owned assets and community assets derived from it. Properly identifying these layers, he said, would provide the legal foundation for effectively managing and commercialising the diverse assets created from Vietnam's cultural heritage./.