In 2020, Hanoi People’s Committee directed Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports, the Architecture Magazine under Vietnam Association of Architects to collaborate with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the People's Committee of Hoan Kiem District, and For a Hanoi Worth Living (ECUE) to host the Hanoi Creative Space Design Contest (in Vietnamese: “Cuộc thi Thiết kế Không gian Sáng tạo Hà Nội”). This important event, as part of a series of activities that Hanoi has initiated with support from other art sectors, aims to raise awareness, and to engage the community in the cultural and creative pulse of the city, thus step by step realising the creation of creative spaces and communities.

With the desire to honour the results of the Hanoi Creative Space Design Contest, and at the same time, initiate an artistic and cultural event series that sparks and promotes creative community activities in the City, under the direction of the Hanoi People's Committee and the Vietnam Association of Architects, the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports collaborates with the Architecture Magazine, UNESCO, Hoan Kiem District People's Committee to continue organising the Unleashing Creative Week (Tuần lễ Khơi nguồn Sáng tạo), with the vision to become an annual event in the future.

Unleashing Creativity Week 2021 will take place from 24 to 31 December 2021 at the cultural and architectural heritage site at 22 Hang Buom – Hoan Kiem – Hanoi, expected to create an intriguing multi-dimensional dialogue between the creative arts with a place, a space imbued with cultural and artistic interference.

Unleashing Creative Week presents more than 20 events, exhibitions and performances from fashion design, calligraphy, sketches, experimental music, video art performance installations, to the highlighted showcase of architectural ideas and solutions from young people in the city from the contests Hanoi Creative Space Design Contest and “Hà Nội là…”.

The programme also includes talks with artists, architects, and experts on the theme of creativity inspired by local and traditional heritage values in contemporary life and technology… Particularly, the seminar “Unleashing Creativity – Hanoi 2021” will open a discussion between managers, policy-makers, and investors to evaluate the potential, advantages, opportunities and challenges; promoting the formation of creative communities, looking for ideas for the design and utilisation of creative space in Hanoi; elevating the city’s competitive position in comparison to other cities in the region.

Concluding the Unleashing Creativity Week 2021, the signing ceremony between the Vietnam Association of Architects, Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports and related stakeholders is to realise cooperation agreements to build and develop Hanoi – the Creative City in 2022 and the years to come.

Unleashing Creativity Week 2021 serves as the premise for an annual event series of the same name, aiming to create a platform connecting the cultural and creative resources of Hanoi, embracing the quintessence of cultural heritage so that the city matches its status as a Creative City in Design, as part of UNESCO Creative Cities Network.

Following this event, from 22 January 2022, Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports will continue to coordinate with Sovico Group, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, UNESCO, and UN-Habitat to host the flower festival “Home Hanoi Xuan” at Bắc An Khánh residence complex (Hoài Đức District) on the occasion of the Lunar New Year (Tết). Home Hanoi Xuan carries the meaning of culture and education, with the focus on the interference of the past, the present and the future, igniting creativity in young people. On the other hand, the event is also a destination for cultural exchange, local and traditional value preservation, and a new playground for people in the West of Hanoi in the traditional new year’s holiday. It is also an annual event that aims to create and expand the cultural and creative space connecting Hanoi’s old quarter to its West-side area.

Detailed information on the programme and how to join the Unleashing Creativity Week will be updated regularly on the Week’s official communication channel at https://www.facebook.com/khoinguonsangtaoHN

Background for the creation of Unleashing Creativity Week 2021

In 2019, Hanoi is recognised by UNESCO as one of the 246 cities in the Creative Cities Network. All member cities of the Network places culture, creativity, and creative resources growth at the core of their sustainable development.

Hanoi joining UNESCO Creative Cities Network is a great honour and a challenge, in regard to positive impacts to the sustainable development of the City, aiming to propel the creative economy, supporting start-ups, and promoting traditional cultural values, to match Hanoi with the status of the Creative Capital of Southeast Asia.

In 2020, Hanoi People’s Committee thus directed Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports, the Architecture Magazine under Vietnam Association of Architects to collaborate with UNESCO, Hoan Kiem District People's Committee, and For a Hanoi Worth Living (ECUE) to host the Hanoi Creative Space Design Contest. This important event, as part of a series of activities that Hanoi has initiated with support from other art sectors, aims to raise awareness, and engage the community in the cultural and creative pulse of the city, thus step by step realising the creation of creative spaces and communities.

Sau 18 tháng phát động, Cuộc thi Thiết kế Không gian sáng tạo Hà Nội đã nhận được 93 phương án của 3 hạng mục, hạng mục dự thi: Hạ tầng thúc đẩy sáng tạo; Tổ chức không gian sáng tạo trên cơ sở khai thác các công trình công nghiệp trong đô thị phải di dời hoặc chuyển đổi chức năng; Bảo tồn và phát huy giá trị không gian kiến trúc, quy hoạch truyền thống. Hội đồng Giám khảo đã chọn được 18 giải trong sự trao đổi về chuyên môn sâu sắc nhất.

As part of Unleashing Creative Week 2021, Hanoi Creative Space Design Contest will present an exhibition of winning entries and public talks, introducing the winning solutions and share the vision of a creative city, with the participation of cultural and creative experts, architects, and young people.