Cultural industry to contribute 5% of Hanoi’s GRDP by 2025

The Hanoi People's Committee has issued a plan on Developing the Cultural Industry in the capital city for the period of 2021-2025, with an orientation to 2030 and a vision to 2045, in which, the industry would contribute around 5% of the city's GRDP.

The plan defines specific responsibilities and mechanism for closer cooperation among departments, agencies, people's committees of districts and relevant units to fulfill the target.

Dragon dance on Hanoi street. Photo: The Hanoi Times

Hanoi aims that by 2025, the capital city's cultural industry will become an important economic sector, creating a new driving force for economic, cultural and social development; honoring and developing the brand "City for Peace" or "Creative City".

Therefore, Hanoi will focus on developing a number of sectors that have advantages and potentials, including cultural tourism, handicrafts, performing arts, cinema, design, cuisine, software and games entertainment, advertising, architecture, television and radio, publishing, fashion, among others.

Hanoi would be an influential "Creative City" in Southeast Asia, and would be listed in the group of competitive cities in the region and the world. The capital would strive for revenue from cultural industries to increase year on year, contributing around 8% of the city's GRDP by 2030.

Another goal is to make the capital's cultural industry a spearhead economic sector by 2045, a lever for the development of other industries and fields, and a premise to turn Hanoi into a city with a high standard of living and quality of life, in order to contribute around 10% of the city's GDP.

The city will expand international exchanges and cooperation, implement initiatives that Hanoi had committed to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) when joining the Creative Cities Network.

According to the plan, Hanoi has assigned the Department of Culture and Sports to assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with relevant units in developing mechanisms and policies to promote creativity, remove difficulties, and reform administrative procedures to utilize all potentials and create a driving force for developing the cultural industry.

The Department of Planning and Investment will coordinate with the departments of Finance and Culture and Sports in formulating mechanisms and policies on investment incentives and encouragement to promote various types of cultural industries with available advantages and potentials, ensuring comprehensive Hanoi’s overall socio-economic development.

A Zither performance on Hanoi street. Photo: The Hanoi Times

The Department of Culture and Sports, the departments of Construction, Planning and Architecture are tasked with proposing mechanisms and reform investment procedures to attract reputable domestic and international investors in projects of building facilities, technical infrastructure, entertainment and sports complexes in accordance with international standards.

The Hanoi People's Committee assigned the Department of Culture and Sports to coordinate with the Department of Home Affairs and other units to train human resources for cultural industries and build a contingent of highly qualified professionals.

In addition, the committee has encouraged the sending of qualified officials, artists, actors to learn experiences in countries with developed cultural industries; step by step forming a team of high quality experts.

Regarding application of science and technology, the Department of Culture and Sports will coordinate with relevant units in proactively cooperating and applying modern technology in creating, producing, preserving cultural products, and improving the quality of cultural services.

It is also tasked with deploying digitization and perfecting the database of tangible and intangible cultural heritage, documentary heritage, Hanoi street names, and information about Hanoi Creative Cities Network for connecting, sharing and promoting information with domestic and foreign organizations, enterprises and communities.

The department would be in charge of coordinating the application of information technology and artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality to introduce cultural heritages, cultural industry products on the Internet and digital media platforms.

The Department of Culture and Sports will coordinate with relevant units to increase investment, enhance management and exploitation of the system of cultural institutions to develop Hanoi’s cultural industry via training programs. Moreover, the department will facilitate contacts between domestic and international experts to improve the creative capacity of theatres and art units.