Pham Tuan Long, Director of the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports (standing), speaks at the conference. Vice Chairwoman of the Hanoi People's Committee Vu Thu Ha (second from left) attend the conference.
On December 27, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism held a national conference to review work in 2025 and the 2021–2025 period and to outline key tasks for 2026, in a hybrid in-person and online format.
Vice Chairwoman of the Hanoi People's Committee Vu Thu Ha attended the conference at the Hanoi site.
The conference theme was "Culture as the foundation – Information as the lifeline – Sports as strength – Tourism as the connecting bridge – Moving confidently into a new era."
According to Pham Tuan Long, Director of the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports, in the context of deep globalization and rising soft power competition, culture has become a core pillar in national sustainable development and international integration strategies.
International cultural integration now goes beyond exchange and promotion, evolving into dialogue, sharing and value diffusion that enhances national standing.
"Hanoi, a thousand-year-old capital and the country's political, administrative, cultural and diplomatic center, has established cooperative ties with more than 100 capitals and major cities worldwide, including official partnerships with 58 of them, while hosting 81 embassies and top diplomatic missions," Long said.
"This unique position allows Hanoi to effectively implement the Party and State's cultural integration policy. The 2024–2025 period marked a clear shift from isolated events to building a cultural and creative integration ecosystem linking heritage, contemporary creativity, cultural industries, tourism and people-to-people diplomacy."
Statistics show that in 2025 Hanoi not only increased the number of international cultural activities but also emphasized sustainability and long-term impact.
As part of UNESCO Creative City initiatives, Hanoi hosted major events such as the Hanoi Creative Design Festival, PHOTO HANOI'25 Biennale, the Hanoi International Film Festival, multilateral cultural festivals and international academic forums.
Notably, on December 10, the city announced the Hanoi Creative Design Festival Framework 2026 and launched the Hanoi Creative Spaces Network, signaling a long-term ecosystem approach aligned with global integration demands.
Alongside contemporary creativity, Hanoi strengthened its cultural integration role through heritage, highlighted by activities marking "A decade of UNESCO recognition of tug-of-war rituals and games", involving domestic and international practitioner communities.
These activities show that cultural integration runs deep within communities, where values are passed on, interact, and gain recognition in a spirit of diversity.
Long noted that cultural integration in Hanoi is closely linked to sustainable tourism. In 2025, the capital welcomed around 33 million visitors, including 7.8 million international arrivals, generating more than VND120 trillion (US$4.5 billion) in tourism revenue.
Experience shows that when cultural integration aligns with tourism, culture gains preservation and promotion while transforming into a driver of socio-economic development that improves livelihoods and reinvests in heritage.
"Hanoi's experience confirms that international cultural integration succeeds only through an ecosystem approach that places people and communities at the center, balances preservation with creativity and harmonizes tradition with international standards," Long said.
"With these achievements, Hanoi is steadily affirming its role as Vietnam's center of international cultural integration, contributing meaningfully to promoting Vietnamese cultural values and people in the era of integration and development," he emphasized.