Aspiration to help cultural industries “take flight”

Culture is opening up a new development space for Dong Nai, as the values of heritage, performing arts, traditional craft villages, and cultural tourism are increasingly recognized as resources for socio-economic development.

Bien Hoa pottery is expected to become a cultural industry product bearing the Dong Nai brand in both domestic and international markets. Photo: My Ny

Under the Strategy for the Development of Vietnam’s Cultural Industries to 2030, with a vision to 2045 for Dong Nai, the city has an opportunity to transform its potential into competitive cultural products, contributing to building its brand and promoting the local image in the new era.

Clearly identifying potential and strengths

With a rich heritage treasure comprising more than 1,500 surveyed relics and 121 ranked relics, Dong Nai has a solid foundation for developing its cultural industries. The city also possesses a distinctive heritage system, including cai luong (reformed opera) and don ca tai tu (southern amateur music), which has been inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity; along with 11 national intangible cultural heritage elements and numerous traditional craft villages and handicraft products preserved through generations. Notably, the city hosts more than 350 festivals each year. These resources provide favorable conditions for Dong Nai to develop cultural tourism and create distinctive products capable of attracting visitors.

Building on these advantages, the Strategy for the Development of Vietnam's Cultural Industries to 2030, with a vision to 2045 for Dong Nai, sets out the goal of developing cultural industries in a modern and sustainable manner, closely linked with preserving and promoting traditional cultural values and local identity. The strategy also aims to gradually establish a favorable environment for creative, production, and business activities in the cultural and entertainment sectors. Priority is given to areas with significant potential, including performing arts, cinema, advertising, handicrafts, and cultural tourism, in line with Dong Nai's potential.

The Strategy for the Development of Vietnam's Cultural Industries to 2030, with a vision to 2045, further aims to build Dong Nai into a smart, sustainable, and distinctive city on par with the Asian region. To achieve this objective, the city is determined to strengthen public communication, improve mechanisms and policies, attract social resources, develop high-quality human resources, and create branded cultural products that are competitive in both domestic and international markets.

Recently, 95 communes and wards across the city have proactively capitalized on their distinctive strengths to develop cultural products reflecting local characteristics. Among them, Trang Dai Ward, although it does not yet have any ranked relics, has invested relatively comprehensively in its cultural infrastructure, including two community cultural, sports, and learning centers, nine neighborhood cultural houses, and 30 sports facilities. A network of 39 cultural, artistic, and sports clubs maintains regular activities, contributing to a vibrant cultural life in residential areas. This provides an important foundation for developing a grassroots cultural service market and gradually meeting the people's cultural needs.

In the northern part of the city, Nha Bich Commune possesses distinctive cultural characteristics, including Bo De Pagoda, a more than 120-year-old pagoda of the Khmer community that is currently included in the list of surveyed relics. During traditional holidays, the pagoda welcomes thousands of Buddhists and local residents. The commune also has four recognized OCOP (One Commune One Product) products: green-skinned pomelo produced by Minh Thang Fruit Cooperative; cantaloupe produced by Nha Bich Agricultural, Trading, and Service Cooperative; durian produced by Minh Lap Fruit Cooperative; and rice flakes produced by Medifood.Io Co., Ltd. These OCOP products can be integrated with cultural resources to develop experiential tours featuring agriculture, craft villages, and cuisine.

Regarding the performing arts, Deputy Director of the Dong Nai Art Theater Nguyen Viet Bac said that the theater has continuously renewed its operations by applying digital technology and combining traditional and contemporary art forms to develop numerous performance programs serving political tasks and the public's cultural needs. The theater has also participated in many national festivals and competitions, including the 4th International Experimental Theater Festival in Hanoi, the National Competition for Young Talent Cai Luong Actors in Ca Mau, and the National Cai Luong Festival in Tay Ninh Province. Through these activities, creative quality has been enhanced, and the image of the land and people of Dong Nai has been further promoted.

Building a cultural industry brand

According to People's Artist Giang Manh Ha, Chairman of the Dong Nai Literature and Arts Association, major concerts and music festivals in Vietnam and around the world have demonstrated the strength of cultural industries by creating spiritual value while generating substantial revenue from tourism, services, and commerce. He noted that Dong Nai possesses favorable conditions to join this trend with a long-term vision. To achieve this goal, the city needs to develop a nationally branded creative space for performing arts associated with tourism. This requires planning land resources and establishing a cultural ecosystem featuring multi-purpose theaters and large-scale outdoor performance venues capable of attracting major domestic and international event organizers.

The Dong Nai Art Theater applies digital technology to cai luong performances, enhancing their appeal to audiences while helping open a new direction for cultural industry development.

In addition to the performing arts, many experts expect traditional crafts to become an important pillar of Dong Nai's cultural industries. Among them, Bien Hoa pottery is regarded as a key advantage because of its historical depth, artistic value, and potential to develop into a cultural product with its own distinctive brand.

Prof. Dr. and People's Teacher Nguyen Xuan Tien, former Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Fine Arts Association, said, "Bien Hoa pottery is not only a valuable heritage but also a cultural and economic product bearing the Dong Nai brand. The harmonious combination of traditional techniques and modern design thinking creates ceramic products of high artistic value that meet the demands of both domestic and international markets. This is also the path for Bien Hoa pottery to preserve its cultural identity while becoming a driving force for sustainable economic development."

To realize its aspiration of helping cultural industries “take flight”, Dong Nai has set the goal of establishing, by 2045, a chain of high-quality cultural industry products for export. The city aims for cultural industries to account for 3-5% of the GRDP. It also plans to develop the international event and entertainment center in the Long Thanh Airport area into a leading "sleepless destination" in Southeast Asia.

In addition, digital transformation is regarded as the key to creating a new stage of development. Dong Nai aims to enable digital content products and "Made in Dong Nai" entertainment software to participate more deeply in the global value chain. It also targets having 100% of cultural facilities and tourist attractions operating on smart management platforms using AI and big data.

By My Ny – Translated by Minh Hong, Minho