Developing the cultural industries: From cultural identity to national competitiveness
Speaking at the second meeting of the Central Steering Committee for the Development of Vietnamese Culture, General Secretary and President To Lam called for “developing the cultural industries into a new growth engine and transforming cultural strength into national competitiveness”. How can this goal be achieved?
Four major gaps and challenges
In the age of digital technology and artificial intelligence, countries compete not only through capital, technology and markets, but also through culture and soft power. The Republic of Korea, Japan and other countries have demonstrated that when national identity is transformed into creative products, culture can become an economic sector, a national brand and a resource for sustainable development.
For Vietnam, developing the cultural industries is not simply about creating a new economic sector. It is also a way to bring Vietnamese values to the world and contribute to the aspiration of building a strong and prosperous nation in the new era.
However, as General Secretary and President To Lam has pointed out, Vietnam still faces four major gaps: positive cultural values have yet to achieve sufficient reach in the digital space; cultural heritage has not been effectively transformed into data, intellectual property and creative resources; internationally competitive cultural products remain limited; and the institutional framework and cultural industry ecosystem are not yet fully developed.
These shortcomings have created significant gaps between policy and products, potential and economic value, and cultural heritage and national soft power.
Vietnam possesses a rich cultural legacy, but has produced relatively few cultural products capable of succeeding in global markets. It has thousands of years of history, but still lacks internationally recognised cultural brands. It embraces many admirable values, but has yet to tell the Vietnamese story in a language that global audiences are eager to hear.
What should Vietnam be remembered for?
The most important question is not merely what Vietnam possesses, but what Vietnam wants the world to remember it for.
Vietnamese identity is not confined to Lac bird motifs, bronze drums, the ao dai, ancient towns or UNESCO-recognised heritage sites. These are visible expressions of something deeper. The true vitality of Vietnamese culture lies in values cultivated over thousands of years: patriotism, solidarity, self-reliance, compassion, integrity, responsibility, discipline and creativity.
Patriotism encompasses national pride, the determination to safeguard sovereignty and the aspiration to contribute to a stronger country. Solidarity is the ability to unite differences into common purpose and collective action. Self-reliance reflects the will to remain independent, rise through one’s own efforts and overcome adversity. Compassion means remembering one’s roots, remaining faithful to the community and treating others with gratitude and humanity.
Integrity requires honesty, respect for the truth and consistency between words and actions. Responsibility is the commitment to fulfil one’s duties to oneself, one’s family, the community and the nation. Discipline means upholding the law, respecting shared principles and honouring collective commitments. Creativity enables society to adapt, explore new paths and develop under changing circumstances.
These values should become the “operating system” of Vietnam’s cultural industries. Ultimately, international audiences remember not only a symbol, but also the values and stories behind it. Vietnam must therefore incorporate its core cultural values into cinema, fine arts, the performing arts, advertising, handicrafts and other creative products.
The global market will not embrace a product merely because it is described as “distinctively Vietnamese”. A product must be attractive enough to compete, authentic enough to possess a soul and meaningful enough to inspire empathy.
A successful film must not only tell a Vietnamese story; it must also touch audiences across cultures. A video game drawing on Vietnamese legends must be compelling enough for players worldwide to explore. A museum must do more than preserve artefacts; it must tell stories that transform every object into a memorable experience.
This requires a transition from preserving culture to creating cultural value; from safeguarding heritage to developing cultural industries; and from exploiting cultural resources to building intellectual property and national soft power.
The cultural industries should therefore serve a broader mission: promoting a model of development that is modern without losing its roots, growth-oriented without sacrificing identity, creative without abandoning moral values, and internationally integrated without becoming culturally assimilated.
Action at three levels
This mission should be pursued simultaneously at the individual, organisational and national levels.
At the individual level, every Vietnamese person should become an active cultural participant who understands, takes pride in and creates on the foundation of the nation’s core values. Culture should not only be studied in books; it must be experienced, practised and transmitted through everyday life.
At the organisational level, every enterprise, school, museum and locality should become a centre of cultural creativity. Businesses create products, schools nurture people, museums tell stories, and localities capitalise on their distinctive advantages to build unique cultural brands.
At the national level, the State should create a modern cultural industry ecosystem by improving institutions, developing national cultural databases, strengthening copyright protection, investing in sectors where Vietnam has a competitive advantage, supporting creative enterprises and promoting Vietnamese cultural brands internationally.
The effectiveness of cultural development policies must ultimately be measured through concrete results: their contribution to GDP and annual growth; the number of new cultural products, enterprises and intellectual property assets created; and the extent to which Vietnamese values become recognised and embraced around the world.
These are the substantive measures of whether cultural identity has truly been transformed into economic value, national soft power and global competitiveness.