International Festival 2025: Preserving and Developing Traditional Craft Villages

On July 3, the Hanoi People's Committee held a conference on organizing the International Craft Village Conservation and Development Festival in 2025. Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Nguyen Manh Quyen and Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Vo Van Hung chaired the conference.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Vo Van Hung speaking at the meeting

Information about the International Craft Village Conservation and Development Festival in 2025, Mr. Nguyen Dinh Hoa, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Environment said: The event is an important task to celebrate major events of the country and Hanoi; celebrate the 80th anniversary of the traditional day of the Agriculture and Environment sector. At the same time, this is also an opportunity to honor craft villages, artisans, skilled workers, and an opportunity to promote, introduce, and promote trade in craft village products of the capital Hanoi to a large number of domestic and international tourists.

Through the series of activities of the event, it is necessary to invite international artisans and famous craft villages in the world to attend and exchange so that artisans and skilled workers from domestic craft villages can learn from each other's experiences and expand cooperative relationships for mutual development.

The main activities of the 2025 International Craft Village Conservation and Development Festival include: Incense offering ceremony at Kinh Thien Palace - Thang Long Imperial Citadel; Opening ceremony of the 2025 International Craft Village Conservation and Development Festival and honoring and awarding prizes for the Vietnam Handicraft Product Contest; Hanoi Craft Village Product Contest; organizing exhibition spaces, performing and creating typical craft village works of Hanoi, provinces and cities in the country and international craft villages with the theme "Preservation - Development - Integration" ... In addition to the main activities, there are also sideline events such as: Organizing a Workshop on Preservation and Development of Hanoi Craft Villages; Vietnam Handicraft Product Contest; Hanoi Craft Village Product Contest; Conference on promoting investment in developing rural industry products and craft villages; participating in the Kokan - Uzbekistan World Craft Festival in 2025, creative cities in the World Craft Council network.

Vice Chairman Nguyen Manh Quyen Noi speaking at the meeting

At the conference, Vice Chairman Nguyen Manh Quyen Noi emphasized: Hanoi currently has 1,350 craft villages and villages with crafts, of which 327 craft villages and traditional craft villages are recognized by the City People's Committee. Therefore, Hanoi identifies the craft village sector as the "gold mine" of the city, which needs to be exploited and developed.

Hanoi identifies socio-economic development as a key task, in which priority is given to developing high technology and forming industrial clusters, especially concentrated industrial clusters to attract investment in a synchronous manner, associated with environmental protection and towards sustainable development.

At the same time, the city also focuses on developing industrial clusters of craft villages, gradually moving small-scale production households out of residential areas, and putting them into concentrated operations in industrial clusters to ensure safety, efficiency and improve product quality. At the same time, the city aims to link the development of craft villages with the development of experiential tourism and cultural tourism of craft villages, thereby contributing to improving the income and life of the people of the capital.

Mr. Nguyen Manh Quyen said that it is necessary to organize international events in large spaces with high symbolic value. The most suitable time to organize is in the fall - the time when Hanoi is most beautiful in the year. The proposed location is Thang Long Imperial Citadel - a world cultural heritage, both of historical value and suitable for honoring traditional craft villages.

According to Mr. Quyen, the products introduced at the event need to achieve many goals: both introducing and promoting craft village products and connecting with international markets and partners. The event needs to be linked with travel companies to attract international visitors to Hanoi and Vietnam. At the same time, he suggested that the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment pay attention to investing carefully in the fair, both in content and form. The development of the event's theme requires the participation of experts and relevant parties to ensure depth and reach. This is not only an opportunity for integration, but also a step forward in raising the level of development of craft villages.

Meeting scene

Hanoi currently has 1,350 craft villages - the largest number in the country. This is considered a "gold mine" that has not yet fully exploited its potential. The city determined that the craft village economy needs to become a driving force to promote the economic development of the capital in particular and the country in general.

At the conference, delegates representing a number of agencies under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment such as the Department of Economic Cooperation and Rural Development; Department of International Cooperation; Central Office for New Rural Area Coordination; Agricultural Trade Promotion Center; Hanoi departments and branches enthusiastically discussed and contributed ideas to the Program for Organizing the International Craft Village Conservation and Development Festival in 2025.

Concluding the meeting, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Vo Van Hung said that the Ministry has developed a detailed implementation plan and a specific program framework for the International Craft Village Conservation and Development Festival in 2025. He emphasized that close and effective coordination between the parties is a key factor to ensure the success of the event. This meeting aims to receive more comments from delegates, thereby perfecting the content and improving the quality of the organization.

Representatives of Hanoi People's Committee and Ministry of Agriculture and Environment signed a joint plan to organize the Festival

Concluding the conference, Deputy Minister Vo Van Hung affirmed the importance of clearly defining responsibilities between units in the process of organizing and implementing the event. He emphasized that the Festival is not only a unique cultural playground, but also a valuable opportunity to promote the quintessence of Vietnamese craft villages to international friends. The event needs to create conditions for typical domestic artisans and craft villages to have the opportunity to exchange and learn from international artisans, thereby expanding cooperation, improving skills and sustainably developing traditional craft villages.

Within the framework of the conference, representatives of the Hanoi People's Committee and representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment signed and issued a Joint Plan to coordinate the organization of the International Craft Village Conservation and Development Festival in 2025.

The International Craft Village Conservation and Development Festival in 2025 will be held for 5 days, expected in November 2025. The organization of the Festival's side events is expected to take place from September 2025 to November 2025. Regarding the main event venue of the Festival at the Thang Long Imperial Citadel and the side events held in Hanoi.

Source: Vietnam Business Forum