Tthe first Global Festival for the Preservation and Development of Craft Villages will be organised at the Thăng Long Imperial Citadel heritage site in November. — VNS Photos Đoàn Tùng

HÀ NỘI — Hà Nội will host the first Global Festival for the Preservation and Development of Craft Villages as an attempt to preserve, honour and promote traditional cultural craft values.

Vice Chairman of the Hà Nội People’s Committee Bùi Duy Cường has signed and issued Plan No. 395/KHLT-UBND-BNNMT regarding the organisation of the festival to be scheduled in November at the Thăng Long Imperial Citadel heritage site.

The event also aims to shape contemporary cultural values ​​for Vietnamese craft villages, with Hà Nội serving as a hub for outreach both domestically and internationally. It seeks to gradually establish the city as a prominent centre for handicrafts within the region and the world.

It is an attempt to inspire pride and a love for the craft, and to attract people, especially the younger generation, to participate in the preservation and development of traditional crafts.

Other tasks are to boost the economic development of craft villages in connection with exports; develop and promote craft village-based tourism tours and destinations; as well as new, sustainable business models to improve community livelihoods.

It is expected that the festival will be attended by about 200 delegates from 40-50 countries and regions of all five continents, bringing artisans, designers, representatives of businesses, cooperatives, craft village entities, professional organisations, and partners within the domestic and international handicraft sector.

The main venue will be Thăng Long Imperial Citadel, with the opening ceremony on November 14 and the closing ceremony on November 16.

In an area of 10,000sq.m, there will be many spaces for displaying products, preservation workshops, digital transformation, and net-zero and craft demonstrations. Many other activities will be available, such as creative designing, photo exhibitions, flower and ornamental plant display, cultural and culinary experiences and commercial booths from November 13.

Meanwhile, experiential programmes and sightseeing tours will be organised in selected prominent localities across the city such as Vạn Phúc Silk Village and Chuyên Mỹ Mother-of-Pearl Inlay Village from November 12.  

Many activities of the festival will be conducted at the Bát Tràng's Centre for the Quintessence of Vietnamese Craft Villages.

On November 14, an investment promotion conference for rural craft products will be held at the Centre for the Quintessence of Vietnamese Craft Villages in Bát Tràng Pottery Village. That same afternoon, leaders from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Hà Nội People’s Committee will hold a meeting with representatives from the World Crafts Council and delegates from various international organisations and both domestic and foreign localities.

The next day, a programme designed to foster connections between artisans and designers will take place at the Imperial Citadel, centred by the Asia-Pacific Handicraft Products Competition. 

A cultural exchange event, featuring the promotion of handcrafted fashion from participating nations will be held in the evening.

Alongside the main programme, the festival is set to feature the first Hà Nội Craft Village Products Competition, a ceremony to pay tribute to artisans and skilled workers and the Việt Nam Handicraft Products Competition, as well as various cultural performances, exchanges, and hands-on experiences within the craft villages of Hà Nội and Ninh Bình Province. — VNS