Ilstrator Jeet Zdũng is among ten Vietnamese individuals and organisations selected as recipients of the Connections Through Culture programme. Photo Nguyễn Kim Long

HÀ NỘI — Weaving new links in Hà Nội, Vietnamese and British artists and organisations, and creative practitioners will coordinate on projects fostering cross-cultural exchange.

Under the United Kingdom's Connections Through Culture (CTC) 2025-2026 programme, ten Vietnamese projects have been selected for support. This year, recipients span a range of artistic disciplines and themes, from diversity and inclusion to climate change and beyond.

These collaborations bring together partners across borders to generate fresh ideas and creative solutions to today's shared challenges. Among the supported projects are DeafLink Wales-VN, Playing Together, Rising and Sinking Like Mountains in Streams, Tracing The Natural World Inside Out, and Treasury of Vietnamese Folk Tales: A Journey Through Cultural Heritage, to name a few.

DeafLink Wales-VN is an initiative to create a sustainable arts community for deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) individuals in Việt Nam and the UK through new artistic practices. This collaboration enables them to craft their own stories and gain meaningful exposure in mass media through valuable networking opportunities and inclusive creative methods.

The project will be carried out by Saigon Theatreland and hearing-impaired theatre-maker Jonny Cotsen.

Việt Nam Youth Music Institute (VYO) will co-work with the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) on Playing Together: A Cross-Cultural Music Education Toolkit, aimed at strengthening music education in Việt Nam through cross-cultural exchange. LSO musicians will lead a residency with the Việt Nam Youth Orchestra, while Vietnamese coaches engage in reflection and peer learning.

A project on the treasury of Vietnamese folk tales by Jeet Zdũng and Major Books will take audiences on a journey through cultural heritage. This innovative cultural exchange presents Vietnamese folk tales through original translation, artwork and performance.

It begins with the publication of 11 stories translated from Nguyễn Đổng Chi's definitive folklore anthology, illustrated by Zdũng. He won the Yoto Carnegie Medal, the UK's longest-running and most prestigious children's book award.

The project will include a London exhibition featuring more than 50 original illustrations, community workshops and academic talks.

CTC has been run by the British Council in the UK and East Asia for the past 16 years to foster international collaborations through arts and culture.

The Southeast Asia (SEA) edition of CTC was successfully launched in August 2019, with the primary objective of supporting new connections, exchanges and collaborations between the UK and Southeast Asia. VNS